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Broccoli Pasta Salad with crispy bacon, sweet peas, and a creamy parmesan dressing is the cookout side that gets recipe requests every single time, and the first batch I stirred together on a sunny Memorial Day weekend came home in an empty bowl with three texts asking for the recipe. It sits right next to our classic potato salad in the summer side dish rotation.
Tender rotini, fresh broccoli, and a sweet tangy dressing chill into a make ahead side that tastes even better the next day.
Broccoli Pasta Salad Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 12 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 1 hour 22 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 6 servings
- ⚡ Calories: 386kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Creamy and tangy with smoky bacon and sweet crunchy vegetables
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, on par with our creamy macaroni salad with peas
Quick Answer
To make broccoli pasta salad, whisk mayonnaise, grated parmesan, sugar, white vinegar, and black pepper into a dressing in a large bowl. Cook rotini just to al dente, drain, and rinse with cold water. Add chopped bacon, broccoli florets, diced red bell pepper, red onion, and frozen peas to the dressing, stir, then fold in the pasta. Cover and chill at least an hour before serving.
Jump to:
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- The dressing is built in the serving bowl. Whisking the dressing first and adding everything into it means one less dish and a perfectly even coat on every piece.
- Rinsing the pasta is correct here. Cold water stops the cooking and washes off surface starch, which keeps the rotini springy and the dressing from turning gluey, exactly what a cold pasta salad needs.
- Frozen peas go in straight from the bag. They thaw right in the salad as it chills, staying sweet and plump instead of mushy.
- Sugar and vinegar balance the mayo. That sweet tangy push and pull is the signature of a great deli pasta salad, and it sharpens as it chills.
- Raw broccoli holds its crunch. Bite sized florets soften just slightly in the dressing while keeping their fresh snap against the tender pasta.
- The hour chill is part of the recipe. Time lets the pasta drink in the dressing and the flavors round out, which is why day two tastes even better.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- One bowl, 25 minutes of work, and it feeds a crowd at potlucks, BBQs, and baby showers.
- Bacon and parmesan make it taste indulgent while the broccoli and peas keep it fresh and colorful.
- It is the make ahead hero, like our 5 bean salad, that actually improves overnight.
Key Ingredients
Simple deli case staples stack up into a seriously crave worthy bowl.
- Rotini Pasta: The spirals grab and hold the creamy dressing in every twist. Cook just to al dente so it stays springy after chilling.
- Fresh Broccoli: A cup of bite sized florets brings crunch, color, and freshness to balance the creamy dressing.
- Thick Cut Bacon: Four slices, cooked crisp and diced, thread smoky, salty richness through the whole bowl.
- Mayonnaise and Parmesan: The creamy, savory backbone of the dressing, with grated parm adding a salty depth most pasta salads are missing.
- Sugar and White Vinegar: The sweet tangy duo that makes deli pasta salad taste like deli pasta salad, same as our KFC coleslaw dressing.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
This bowl welcomes whatever your fridge and garden are offering.
- Cheddar lover: Fold in a cup of small diced sharp cheddar cubes with the vegetables.
- Ranch style: Swap the sugar and vinegar for a packet of ranch seasoning whisked into the mayo.
- Add crunch: Sunflower seeds or sliced almonds on top just before serving add a great toasty bite.
- Lighter bowl: Use half mayo and half Greek yogurt for a tangier, lighter dressing.
- Chicken dinner salad: Stir in shredded rotisserie chicken to turn the side into a main, like a cold cousin of our chicken noodle casserole.
How to Make Broccoli Pasta Salad
- In a large bowl, add the mayonnaise, parmesan, sugar, vinegar, and black pepper and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- Cook the pasta per the directions on the box, being careful not to overcook. Drain and rinse with cold water, then let it drain well while you assemble the rest.
- In the bowl with the dressing, add the cooked bacon, broccoli, bell pepper, onion, and frozen peas.
- Stir to coat everything in the dressing, then add the pasta and fold to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour, until completely cold.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Salt the pasta water well. It is your only chance to season the pasta itself.
- Pull the rotini at al dente. Soft pasta turns mushy once it sits in dressing.
- Drain the pasta thoroughly. Water trapped in the spirals thins the dressing, give the colander a few good shakes.
- Cut everything bite sized. Broccoli, pepper, and onion should all fit on a fork with a piece of pasta.
- Cook the bacon extra crisp. It softens slightly in the salad, so start crispier than you think.
- Chill at least one hour. The flavor genuinely changes as the dressing soaks in, do not skip it.
- Refresh before serving. If it tightens up overnight, a spoonful of mayo or a splash of milk brings the creaminess right back.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
This is cookout royalty. Serve it beside perfect smash burgers or slow cooker hot dogs and watch it outshine the main.
For potlucks, pair it with pearl couscous salad so there is a creamy option and a bright option on the table.
It is sturdy enough for picnics and beach days, just keep the bowl in a cooler until serving time and give it a quick stir.
Leftovers make a great desk lunch with grilled chicken on top, or alongside a cold Italian slider sub.
Broccoli Pasta Salad FAQs
Yes, it is actually better made ahead. Assemble it up to 24 hours before serving and keep it covered in the fridge. Give it a stir before serving and refresh with a small spoonful of mayo if the pasta drank up the dressing.
Yes, raw bite sized florets keep their crunch and fresh flavor against the creamy dressing. If you prefer it softer, blanch the florets for 60 seconds and shock them in ice water before adding.
Stored airtight, it keeps for 3 to 4 days. The pasta absorbs dressing over time, so loosen leftovers with a little mayo or a splash of milk before serving again.
Pasta keeps absorbing dressing as it chills, especially if it was overcooked. Start with al dente pasta, make sure it is well drained but not hot when it meets the dressing, and hold back a few spoonfuls of dressing to stir in before serving.
Rotini is the gold standard because the spirals trap dressing, but bowtie, penne, and shells all work well. Skip long noodles like spaghetti, they clump when chilled.
Freezing is not recommended. Mayonnaise dressings separate and the pasta and broccoli turn mushy when thawed. It keeps so well in the fridge for several days that make ahead chilling covers party prep.
Need a sweet finish for the cookout? Our fresh strawberry dump cake is the easiest dessert on the table.
Want a second creamy salad on the table? Our creamy pea salad brings sweet peas, smoky ham, and cheddar to the spread.
Broccoli Pasta Salad
Ingredients
For the dressing:
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon fresh black pepper
For the salad:
- 8 ounces rotini pasta
- 4 slices thick-cut bacon small dice cooked crispy
- 1 cup bite-sized cut broccoli florets
- 1/2 small diced red bell pepper
- 1/8 cup small diced red onion
- 3/4 cup frozen peas
Instructions
For the dressing:
- In a large bowl, add all of the ingredients and whisk to combine, set aside.1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or grated parmesan cheese, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons white vinegar, ¼ teaspoon fresh black pepper
For the salad:
- Cook the pasta per directions on the back of the box, do not overcook. Drain and rinse with cold water. Let drain as you assemble the rest of the salad, so a lot of the water drips off.8 ounces rotini pasta
- In the bowl with the dressing, add the cooked bacon, broccoli, bell pepper, onion, and frozen peas.4 slices thick-cut bacon small dice, 1 cup bite-sized cut broccoli florets, 1/2 small diced red bell pepper, 1/8 cup small diced red onion, 3/4 cup frozen peas
- Stir to combine with the dressing. Add in the pasta and fold in to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and let chill for at least an hour in the fridge or until cold.
Notes
- You can use any small pasta for this recipe.
- Add in any of your favorite vegetables, we included the ones we liked but you can swap them out.
- This needs time to chill so the flavors can combined, so make sure you do chill this recipe.
- Make sure you rinse your pasta in cold water after cooking to remove the starch and cool down the salad.
- You can double this recipe to serve at larger gatherings or to have more for meals over the next few days.
Nutrition
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The recipe is at the bottom of the post.
I must be blind I can not see the measurements for ingredients