Creamy and Tangy Pasta Salad

Creamy and Tangy Pasta Salad is flavored with bacon bits, cheddar cheese, red onion, and red bell pepper. This pasta salad has a whole lot of flavor and it’s perfect for a summer potluck or BBQ.

Pasta Salad is such a popular food and economical to make. And a cool, creamy pasta salad makes an ideal summer side or even a light meal on its own.

This Creamy and Tangy Pasta Salad gets its creaminess from a combination of mayonnaise and sour cream. You could use all mayonnaise, but I think a combination of the two produces the best flavor and creaminess. A tablespoon and a half of apple cider vinegar plus a little Dijon mustard are added for tang. Garlic powder and onion powder help flavor the pasta and keep it from tasting bland.

Red onion, diced red bell pepper, bacon bits, and shredded cheddar cheese round out the ingredients. Peas or broccoli would also be a good addition to this Creamy and Tangy Pasta Salad if you want more veggies. I would add them to the boiling pasta the last minute of cooking. If you like a little sweetness in your pasta salad, you could add a teaspoon or two of sugar.

More Pasta Salad Recipes

• Jalapeno Popper Pasta Salad
• BBQ Ranch Pasta Salad
• Tzatziki Pasta Salad
• Caesar Pasta Salad

Creamy and Tangy Pasta Salad

5 from 2 votes

Prep: 15 minutes mins

Servings: 8

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Creamy and Tangy Pasta Salad is flavored with bacon bits, cheddar cheese, red onion, and red bell pepper. This pasta salad has a whole lot of flavor and it's perfect for a summer potluck or BBQ.

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Ingredients

• ▢ 8 ounces uncooked pasta,, i use medium shells
• ▢ 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• ▢ 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• ▢ 1/2 cup sour cream
• ▢ 1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• ▢ 1/2 red onion, diced
• ▢ 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
• ▢ 1/2 cup real bacon bits
• ▢ 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions 

• Cook pasta in boiling salted water according to package directions. Drain. Rinse under cold water and drain again.
• Transfer pasta to a large bowl and toss with the oil. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
• In a small bowl stir together mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar, mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.
• Add mayonnaise mixture to bowl with pasta and mix well.
• Add onion, bell pepper, bacon bits, and cheddar cheese and mix again. Cover and chill 1 hour before serving.

Notes

For best flavor be sure to add salt to the water when you boil your pasta.

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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