Home ยป Recipes ยป Side Dish

Ranch Pasta Salad For A Crowd

A creamy ranch dressing coats a big batch of this simple pasta salad with tomatoes and cucumbers to make a great side dish.

Our Ranch Pasta Salad for a crowd is the fastest pasta salad in our collection and a budget friendly side dish for a potluck, party or big event.

Halves of cherry tomatoes and chopped cucumbers nestled among colorful rotini pasta coated in ranch dressing and accented with parmesan cheese.

We have several more easy Recipes for a Crowd and Graduation Party Food Ideas.

Easy Side Dish For A Crowd

This ranch pasta salad recipe is easy to keep light and simple as a side or enhance with bacon to make more of a main dish.

Delicious and eye pleasing, halves of cherry tomatoes and chopped cucumbers nestled among colorful rotini pasta salad coated in ranch dressing and accented with parmesan cheese is popular.

Save this Recipe
Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Enter your email and I’ll send this recipe right to your inbox! Plus, I’ll send you new recipes every week!

Italian dressing in our basic Pasta Salad for a crowd tends to have more general appeal, but ranch lovers go for the simplicity and creaminess in this recipe.

Spoon lifting a delicious light pasta salad coated in ranch dressing and filled with tomatoes and cucumbers above a mixing bowl full.

This ranch pasta salad is perfect to serve with Crudite, Coleslaw for a Crowd and a Deli Tray.

Ingredients

  • Rotini – Tri-color or plain work fine, since the pasta is coated with white dressing the difference isn’t as obvious.
  • Ranch Dressing – The best quality comes from mixing up a packet of Hidden Valley Ranch Restaurant Style Dressing – just whisk in some buttermilk and mayonnaise for a high quality dressing with low effort.
  • Cucumbers – Try to choose smaller cucumbers as they will have smaller seeds.
  • Cherry Tomatoes – Grape tomatoes are fine too – choose a smaller, sweeter variation and cut in half instead of quarters to save time.
  • Parmesan – A bag of shredded is our go-to.
Ingredients to make ranch pasta salad are rotini pasta, cucumbers, parmesan cheese, cherry tomatoes, hidden valley ranch dressing mix, buttermilk and mayonnaise on a wooden counter top.

Add Bacon Because It Pairs Well With Ranch and Pasta

For a more hearty side dish add crumbled bacon or bits. There’s a saltiness and crunch which is enjoyable. For a lighter side dish stick with the more basic pasta, ranch, cucumber, and tomato combination.

A group of friends tested various options of this recipe. They noted that bacon, carrots or other add ins do increase the flavor, but it also increase the cost of ingredients and time spent preparing the pasta salad.

Our group prefers to keep is simple with a lighter side dish versus a heavier, heartier option. One friend would rather save her bacon and eat a separately or in Chopped Salad, Bacon Cheese Ball or Bacon Quesadilla

Step By Step Instructions

In a medium sized mixing bowl whisk together the packet of ranch dressing, buttermilk and mayo. Chill until ready to use.

Cook pasta according to the directions on the box. Then drain and quickly rinse under cold water to cool the pasta off, prevent overcooking and to rinse off some of the starch.

Mix the dressing into the pasta coating all of the noodles well.

Then add chopped vegetables and parmesan cheese. Stir again.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator and chill thoroughly.

Stir again just before serving to ensure the pasta is well coated with the ranch that sinks to the bottom of the dish over time.

Close up tomatoes and cucumbers in a ranch pasta salad coated with ranch dressing in a disposable foil pan ready for a party.

Recipe Tips and Tricks

  • Using a 20 or 24 quart commercial sized mixing bowl makes this recipe much easier.
  • A long handled metal spoon is best for mixing and serving this salad at a big event.
  • With these tools the whole batch can be made at once. With typical sized bowls and spoons making two batches is easiest.
  • This recipe fits in two half size 9 x 13 disposable foil pans.
  • Plan to have plenty of space in your refrigerator to spread out the pans and adequately chill the pasta salad.
  • Pasta can be cooked a day ahead, tossed in a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil and stored in the refrigerator. This will also decrease the amount of time needed to chill the entire salad before serving.
  • This recipe uses 4 cups of chopped veggies for every pound of pasta – we have added carrots, broccoli and onion into the mixture at times.
Foil pan with a big batch of creamy ranch pasta salad.

More Easy Recipes for a Crowd

Spaghetti for a Crowd and Chicken Noodles in a Roaster have been easy and popular to share with big groups at a local shelter.

Mac and Cheese for a Crowd and Cheesy Potatoes in a roaster are popular at any event!

Corned Beef in a Roaster and Turkey in a Roaster are great for special events.

Corner of a pan filled with a simple ranch pasta salad that is great for big crowds.

Ranch Pasta Salad For A Crowd

Servings 50 servings
Author: Jennifer
Our Ranch Pasta Salad for a crowd is the fastest side dish that coats rotini, tomatoes, cucumbers and parmesan cheese with a creamy dressing.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Chill time 3 hours

Ingredients
  

  • 2 pounds rotini pasta tri-color or plain
  • 4 cups cucumber about 3 small cucumbers
  • 4 cups cherry tomatoes about 25 – 30 ounces
  • 1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese

Ranch dressing

  • 2 cups buttermilk
  • 2 cups mayonnaise
  • 2 .4 ounce packets Hidden Valley ranch restaurant style dressing mix

Instructions
 

  • Cook pasta according to the directions on the package. Drain and rinse with cold water.
  • Whisk ranch dressing packet into buttermilk and mayo.
  • Pour over cooked pasta and stir well.
  • Chop cucumbers into small triangles. Cut tomatoes into halves.
  • In an extra large, commercial sized mixing bowl add veggies and parmesan cheese to pasta. Mix well.
  • Pour into serving dishes, cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.

Notes

If you don’t have a commercial sized mixing bowl I recommend making this recipe in two batches. 

Nutrition

Calories: 110kcalCarbohydrates: 16gProtein: 4gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 5mgSodium: 138mgPotassium: 99mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 111IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 54mgIron: 0.4mg

Nutritional Disclaimer

“Plowing Through Life” is not a dietitian or nutrition professional. Any nutritional information shared is an estimate and can vary greatly depending on specific products are used. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator of your choice.

Tried this recipe?Mention @PlowingThroughLife or tag #PlowingThroughLife!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating