Ranch Pasta Salad
This super simple pasta salad was a staple in our home when our children were young, but I stopped making it when I stopped purchasing commercially prepared salad dressings.ย Now that we have Leppโs homemade Ranch Dressing in our produce case, itโs back in rotation, and still one of our familyโs favorite. If you love spicy food, try making it with our Jalapeno Ranch Dressing, or use a combination of both to tame some of the heat!ย Of course, the amount of pasta and veggies is totally up to you, feel free to increase or decrease amounts. Chopped cucumber, cooked and crumbled bacon, broccoli or sliced sugar snap peas would all make delicious additions. These quantities serve 5-6, but youโre going to want to have leftovers for lunch the next day!
Ranch Pasta Salad
Ingredients
3 cupsย dried pasta, your favorite shape
1 Tbsp. Majorโs chicken base OR
1ย litre Leppโs chicken broth
2–3ย sliced carrots
1 cupย frozen peas
ยฝย diced sweet red pepper
ยผ cupย grated Parmesan cheese
Leppโs Ranch Dressing, approximately 1 cup
Fresh Basil leaves, thinly sliced
Instructions
Bring a large pot of water and chicken base to a boil, or chicken broth and enough water to cook pasta.ย Add dried pasta, cook according to package instructions until al dente. When you have approximately 3 minutes of cooking time remaining, add the sliced carrots to boiling water and continue cooking until pasta is al dente.ย Put frozen peas in the bottom of pasta strainer, and drain pasta over the peas. (This cooks the peas just enough for the salad). Donโt rinse pasta, as the chicken broth serves to both give the pasta extra flavour and keep it from sticking together.ย Place pasta, carrots, peas, and chopped pepper into a large bowl, allow to cool. Once cool, add enough Leppโs Ranch Dressing to coat the pasta. Start with ยฝ cup, and continue adding enough to taste. The pasta will absorb some of the dressing but you can always mix in more just before serving if it seems a bit dry.
Add Parmesan cheese, stir to combine.ย Top with sliced fresh basil to serve
