{"id":6889,"date":"2026-07-28T20:44:01","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T20:44:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/?p=6889"},"modified":"2026-07-28T20:44:01","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T20:44:01","slug":"creamy-ranch-pasta-salad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/28\/creamy-ranch-pasta-salad\/","title":{"rendered":"Creamy Ranch Pasta Salad"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Creamy Ranch Pasta Salad<\/h2>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<p>This <strong>Creamy Ranch Pasta Salad<\/strong> is the perfect make-ahead side dish for potlucks, backyard barbecues, family dinners, or summer picnics. Tender rotini pasta is tossed with crisp cucumbers, juicy cherry tomatoes, plenty of Parmesan cheese, and a rich homemade ranch dressing. It&#8217;s creamy, refreshing, and packed with flavor in every bite!<\/p>\n<h4>\u00a0Ingredients<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>2 pounds rotini pasta (tri-color or plain)<\/li>\n<li>4 cups cucumbers, diced (about 3 small cucumbers)<\/li>\n<li>4 cups cherry tomatoes, halved (about 25\u201330 ounces)<\/li>\n<li>1\u00bd cups grated Parmesan cheese<\/li>\n<li>2 cups buttermilk<\/li>\n<li>2 cups mayonnaise<\/li>\n<li>2 (1.2-ounce) packets Hidden Valley Ranch Restaurant-Style Dressing Mix<\/li>\n<li>1 teaspoon garlic powder (optional, for extra flavor)<\/li>\n<li>\u00bd teaspoon black pepper<\/li>\n<li>\u00bc cup chopped fresh parsley (optional, for garnish)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>\u00a0Instructions<\/h4>\n<ol>\n<li>Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the rotini according to the package directions until al dente.<\/li>\n<li>Drain the pasta and rinse it under cold water until completely cooled. Drain well.<\/li>\n<li>In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, mayonnaise, ranch dressing mix, garlic powder, and black pepper until smooth and creamy.<\/li>\n<li>Add the cooled pasta, diced cucumbers, halved cherry tomatoes, and grated Parmesan cheese to the bowl.<\/li>\n<li>Toss everything together until the pasta and vegetables are evenly coated with the creamy ranch dressing.<\/li>\n<li>Cover and refrigerate for at least <strong>2 hours<\/strong> before serving to allow the flavors to blend.<\/li>\n<li>Stir well before serving. If the salad has thickened too much, add a splash of buttermilk to loosen the dressing.<\/li>\n<li>Garnish with fresh parsley and an extra sprinkle of Parmesan cheese, if desired.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h4>\u00a0Tips<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Make it a complete meal by adding grilled chicken, diced ham, or crispy bacon.<\/li>\n<li>For extra crunch, stir in chopped bell peppers, celery, or broccoli florets.<\/li>\n<li>This salad tastes even better the next day after the flavors have had time to develop.<\/li>\n<li>Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to <strong>3 days<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Prep Time:<\/strong> 20 minutes<br \/>\n<strong>Cook Time:<\/strong> 10 minutes<br \/>\n<strong>Chill Time:<\/strong> 2 hours<br \/>\n<strong>Total Time:<\/strong> 2 hours 30 minutes<br \/>\n<strong>Servings:<\/strong> 12\u201316<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Creamy Ranch Pasta Salad This Creamy Ranch Pasta Salad is the perfect make-ahead side dish for potlucks, backyard barbecues, family&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6890,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-recipe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6889"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6889\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6891,"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6889\/revisions\/6891"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}