Runza Ranch Pasta Salad

Summertime is going by so quick and I love having a cold pasta salad already made up in the fridge. After the heat all day the last thing I want to eat is a heavy meal. Some of this pasta salad and a protein is the perfect summer evening meal. 

This is a VERY large batch that I take to events! (Can easily be halved, or take some and leave some at home)

• PASTA SALAD

• 16 oz. Noodles, cooked, drained

  2 cups frozen peas, thawed

  16 oz. chopped ham

  1 cup bacon, crumbled

• COPYCAT RUNZA RANCH

• 2 pkgs. Hidden Valley Ranch Buttermilk Mix

  1 1/2 c. real mayo

  1 1/2 c. whole milk

• Combine the cooked noodles, peas, ham, and bacon into a large bowl and refrigerate for an hour or until noodles are cold. Meanwhile, whisk together ranch packets, mayo, and whole milk. Allow the ranch to chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes ( this is when it really starts to taste good). Mix half of the ranch mixture into the salad and chill until ready to serve. Right before serving, I add the rest of the ranch to the pasta salad to keep it creamy, as it tends to absorb a little of the liquid. The longer this is chilled before serving the less runny the dressing is.

• This ranch is fabulous as a dipping sauce or served over lettuce salads as well!

And because I end damn near every blog post I write the same way…we would love to know how you change up this salad by changing the vegetables and protein. I also love making it as written above but adding broccoli and red onion.

I feel like so many of our recipes we share have multiple ways that they could be changed up and made in different flavors. Which is what I (Anna) love so much about cooking, the ability to make it my own! I encourage you to get creative and make a recipe to match your flavor preferences. Then share it with us so we can pass it along!

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