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.
I make this too. Often leaving out the bacon,,sour cream and spinach, adding capers and salad shrimp. Use malted vinegar in place of rice vinegar.
what other vinegar could i use instead of rice wine vinegar
Any white vinegar will work well, Gloria.
I would suggest ranch dressing mixed with sour cream as a substitute for mayo. I do that a lot and most recipes turn out perfect…
I just made this for work tomorrow and had to sample it – SO yummy! I doubled the batch! Thanks for an easy and tasty recipe. I think everyone is gonna love it.
I think they will too, Jessie! It’s sneaky good. 😉
My guest and I thought it was very bland. Any suggestions what can I add to give it more flavor?
Just made this BLT Mac salad. It is very good. Waiting for reviews from the rest of the family. Just one observation: for me, its a tad too much black pepper. I will try alittle less next time. Please give this a try. You will not be disappointed!!!
Update: Served this with dinner last night. Other family members tried it for the first time and really liked this salad! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
I made this yesterday and it was pretty good. I used gluten free macaroni, bacon and mayo. It kept absorbing the mayo, I ended up using about double just to keep it moist, I also used double tomato, bacon and spinach to make it heartier. For the tomatoes I used really sweet grape tomatoes and I didn’t have to seed them, they are so tasty and made a nice flavour impact. I took this salad to a family reuninion and had requests for the recipe! 🙂 will definitely make again
So happy to hear that you enjoyed it and you were able to make substitutions successfully.
I made this today and was so looking forward to it, but the pepper made it way to spicy. Next time I will only add 1/2 teaspoon.
this salad look very good. But did you know that because the pasta is serve cold that the resistant starch in the pasta will make it pass though the stomach without making your blood sugar high like it does when you eat hot cooked pasta, check it out and see that a lot a things that have a high starch or carb count can be eaten cold when you cook it and let it get cold or room temp, help with keeping high blood sugar down for people with diabetes , the starch can’t be digested when it is cold, and if you do reheat it, it still will pass with a much lower starch count. Check it out on google for Resistant Starch.
this looks great. i would like to make it fir thanksgiving party, so can you please tell me how much of the ingredients to use for about 20 to 25 people. thank you cheryl.
I made this per the recipe, but it was kind of blah. I used fresh baby kale and miracle whip and sour cream, didn’t like it with miracle whip. Next time I will also try small dice of half a medium red onion to give it some zip and I will try caines mayo. Loved fresh tomatoes and I used roma. I also used turkey bacon which again did not fit right with recipe. Next time I will use regular bacon.
Just made this for a Christmas potluck. Used sundried tomatos instead of fresh and also added grated sharp cheddar. Just tasted before putting in the fridge and Boy! It is yummy! Finally I used Canadian back bacon which is our favorite. Cannot wait to share tonight. Doubled the recipe so I had an extra bowl for the family tomorrow.
Those substitutions and additions sound delicious, Susan!
A teaspoon and a half of pepper was TOO much for my family. Too much spice! I’d recommend lowering it to a 1/2 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon max.
Otherwise, it was delicious!
Holy Cow!!! I made this last night to have for dinner and OMG!!!! I didn’t have Rice Vinegar so I omitted it and used gluten free noodles and I must say, when I tasted it I had to look back at the bowl to make sure it was what I had just made! Best BLT pasta salad I have EVER tried. I even wrote in my food journal about it lol! Thank you for sharing!!!!
🙂 So happy to hear that, Jaylyn. Glad you enjoyed it!
How much bacon? I did not see that in the ingredients.
Oops….nevermind.
Oh wow this looks fabulous!! I’m always looking for new takes on classics, and this sounds perfect. My husband would just love it! Thanks!!!
I made this yesterday and my husband as declared it his new favorite pasta salad. I follow the recipe exactly……almost…..I may have added an extra handful of bacon 🙂 I will definitely be making this allot this summer!!! Thank you Christy Jordan for sharing this recipe! Now I have another good cook to follow!
I’m so happy y’all like it, Patti! It sure is a great pasta salad for summer. And an extra handful of bacon sounds like a good idea. (I love that Christy Jordan!)
We can’t have dairy, would it effect the overall taste if one just left out the sour cream?
I think it will still taste good, Jessie! Add a bit more mayo and adjust seasoning to taste.
Love this salad! Since it’s just the two of us right now, I used 2 cups mini pene because that’s what I had, and do a taste and see with the dressing. I also made some croutons to sprinkle on top. I will definitly be making this again. I made oven fried chicken legs to go with it.