BLT Macaroni Salad Recipe
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Randy is here again today to talk about one of his new favorite dishes, this BLT Macaroni Salad Recipe that I regularly make for picnics and potlucks. There are a few macaroni salad recipes we like, but when bacon, baby spinach, and tomatoes get together with pasta, something special happens. I’ll let Randy tell you more about it. Take it away, Randy!
When I think of macaroni salad, I think of eating outdoors. I normally enjoy macaroni salad at picnics or tailgate parties, or church luncheons. It’s easy to make a lot of it at one time, it goes with many different main dishes, it travels well, and it’s so familiar that even picky eaters will scarf it down. What’s more, if you make extra, macaroni salad makes for great leftovers right out of the fridge.
This BLT Macaroni Salad Recipe is everything that’s great about macaroni salad and more. It’s satisfying but not too rich, and it can be a meal in itself. The vegetables are definitely pretty and add color to the salad, but they aren’t just for show. The tomatoes and the greens just taste great together, and they are the perfect compliment to the crispy bacon. There’s a reason BLT sandwiches are so popular.
I am not always the most polite person around large outdoor spreads of food. That’s because outdoor food spreads involve fried chicken, and there’s almost never enough fried chicken to go around. I do what it takes to make sure I get some prime fried chicken pieces. Sometimes I begin conversations with the person who is closest to the chicken platter right before the dinner bell rings just to claim the best real estate. Or, before the meal, when no one is looking, I conceal one of the chicken plates with a dishtowel. One time I brought a casserole lid from home labeled ‘pickled sardines’ that I used to cover the best-looking fried chicken plate.
The best thing about Amy’s BLT Macaroni Salad Recipe is I don’t need to bully my way to the chicken to eat well. If I get boxed out, and all the legs and wings are gone before I get there, I can still eat something delicious and satisfying. And I can look down my nose at those fried chicken bullies.
Thanks, Randy! Lesson of the day: Don’t get between Randy and the fried chicken unless you have a batch of BLT Macaroni Salad as a backup. Enjoy!
A few BLT Macaroni Salad recipe notes:
- You can store this homemade BLT macaroni salad in the fridge for up to 2 days.
- The combination of tomatoes, bacon and spinach is definitely the best but the mix in can be slightly switched inf yo don’t have some of the ingredients on hand. You can add cherry tomatoes instead of regular ones; you can use spinach or lettuce.
- The mayo and sour cream dressing can be mixed with the macaroni the night before and refrigerated that way.
- Add all your mix-ins a couple of hours or right before serving, if possible, for the best texture and results!
More delicious salad recipes:
- Cucumber and Tomato Quinoa Salad Recipe
- Blueberry Watermelon Feta Mint Salad Recipe
- Avocado Bacon Tomato Spinach Corn Salad
BLT Macaroni Salad Recipe
BLT Macaroni Salad Recipe
A tasty macaroni salad with all the flavors of a BLT.
Ingredients
- 16 ounces elbow macaroni, uncooked
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
- 8 pieces of bacon, crumbled
- 1 cup seeded and diced tomato
- 1 cup roughly chopped baby spinach
Instructions
- Cook macaroni according to package instructions. Drain.
- Mix together remaining ingredients, and toss with macaroni until combined.
- Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Oh yeah, I’m going to need you to send me a big bowl of that right away!!! YUM!
BLT is my favorite sandwich. I’ve seen recipes for this, but haven’t found one that I like. I’ll have to give this a try.
I am not an outdoorsy person but I can totally go for this salad! Gorgeous!
HI,
I’m new to this site …….Can someone please tell me how to save this recipe ???
Thanks
Touch the screen (on a phone) until it gives you the choice of saving it etc and click save.
This really looks wonderful. I can’t wait to give it a try.
Hello,
When this recipe first showed up on my computer the SAVE BUTTON wasn’t there ..only the PRINT BUTTON
so I must have sounded nuts to everyone……..after many times bringing it up FINALLY the Save button showed up
just wanted to say Thanks for not saying —DUH it’s right there !
Oh my goodness, Abby! I fixed the problem just yesterday and had every intention of emailing you back but forgot! So sorry. You are NOT nuts. 😉
I meant to say you are NOT nuts. Fixed the prior message. I need more coffee.
I love macaroni salad and bacon pretty much makes everything better, so this is definitely going on our must-make list!
I’m unable to find “rice wine vinegar” anywhere. I can find regular rice vinegar and also some flavored rice vinegar but no rice wine vinegar. What is a good substitute… Red Wine Vinegar or just plain Rice Vinegar????
I’d really like to try this recipe over the weekend.
Rice Vinegar is correct. I’m not sure why I put rice wine vinegar. Whoops! Sorry about that.
Thank you!
it only asks for rice vinegar…
Had anyone tried this with white, apple cider or red wine vinegar? I have all those in my pantry and not rice vinegar! ????
A little late, but yes. I used apple cider vinegar and some Truvia. I also cut the pasta WAY back to 1 1/4 cups dry pasta for the two of us and kept the bacon the same, tomatoes, lettuce/spinach. I had to play around with the dressing.. Deelish.
Hi there,
Found this recipe on pinterest. I made it yesterday for a potluck at work, and it was a huge hit! And so easy.
Also really easy to adapt to gluten-free for my celiac coworkers, just buy gluten-free macaroni and make sure your mayo is gluten-free.
Thanks a lot!
So glad to hear it. And thanks for the gluten-free tip!
I’m not real big on bacon ~ love it but don’t like the mess of coking it. I substitute a small can of Hormel ham for the bacon and add frozen English peas instead of spinach leaves. I put the peas in the colander and then drain the pasta over them. This thaws them and give just a touch of sweetness to the salad.
Can regular vinegar be substituted for the rice vinegar?
Yes, it can. I hope you enjoy it!
Can this be made ahead of time?
Yes it can. It may be better to add the tomatoes just before serving as they will get a little mushy, but otherwise this salad is better if made a day ahead.
this sounds great. will give it a try
I hope you enjoy it, Phyllis.
I have made something similar. I use ranch dressing both dry and bottled. I also omit the tomatoes for shredded carrots, green onion, green pepper. It is my new favorite!
This looks amazing! Is there anything I can substitute the mayo with?
Maybe Greek yogurt?
I make this quite often with a couple changes. I do use lettuce rather than spinach. I also do not seed the tomatoes. For the dressing, I use Miracle whip and thin it down with some milk and add sugar (to taste). Everyone just loves it and very rarely is there any left over.
I made this but added diced onions and diced sharp cheddar cheese. I cut some of the fat and calories by using fat free sour cream and turkey bacon. It is so good I will be making this again.
Great substitutions, Ken! I just made another batch of this yesterday and it needs to go away as I can’t stop getting “just another bite.”
I was wondering instead of sour cream can I sub Greek yogart?
Yes you can! Greek yogurt will work just as well.
made this today and it is sooooo awesome !!! thanks so much for sharing !
Happy to hear that you enjoyed it, Deneen!
Mmmm, this sounds so good. Unfortunately, I would be eating it all by myself, as my husband and daughter hate mayonnaise. But I can always make it and take it somewhere and enjoy it to my heart’s content. 🙂
Made this for a potluck at work tomorrow but I just “sampled” it and ‘fraid it might not make it until tomorrow. Really tasty! May just have to add some extra greens and tomatoes to make up for the taste(s) I snuck! Thanks for the recipe!
Glad to hear that you enjoyed it, Gina! I tend to get carried away myself with sampling this one too. 😉
I too do not eat bacon. However I immediately thought of picking up a little barbeque chicken.
barbeque for the added flavor. The Turkey bacon sounds good as well.