Kitchen notes · a little help before you start
Mexican Avocado BLT Pasta Salad
A bowl of this pasta salad has all the pleasure of a BLT, with creamy avocado tucked between the bowties. There's crisp romaine to keep each forkful lively and a dressing with a little hot sauce behind it.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 10 min
- Total
- 20 min
- Original yield
- Serves 6
- Ingredients
- 13 listed
Make it part of your week
Recipe categories & planning details
- Meal type
- Main course
- Primary protein
- Pork
- Cuisine
- Mexican
- Preparation & total time
- Prep: 15 minutes or less · Total: 30 minutes or less
- Dish type
- Salads · Pasta salad · Pasta
A few quick notes
1. Start with cooked pasta
The bowties should already be cooked and drained when you begin layering the salad, so check that job first.
2. Blend the dressing smooth
Give the mayonnaise dressing a proper turn in the food processor before it meets the chunky salad ingredients.
3. Combine with a light hand
Fold the dressing through gently once the layers are assembled, keeping the avocado chunks recognizable in the bowl.
Get to know the ingredients
Crumbled bacon
Cook and crumble the bacon before assembling. Small pieces can settle among the bowties instead of sitting in whole strips.
Chopped romaine
Have the romaine chopped for the salad layer. Its pieces join the pasta and bacon before any dressing goes in.
Diced tomato
Dice the tomato before layering it into the bowl so it's ready to mix through with the rest.
Let’s make it
Choose your servings, then check things off as you go.
Original recipe: Serves 6. Original quantities shown.
Check ingredients as you prepare them. These checks stay on this page.
How to make it
0 of 5 steps completeMake room for Mexican Avocado BLT Pasta Salad
Review ingredients in your pantry before anything is added. Meal plans use your household size; grocery-only additions use the servings selected above.
The last little job
Dress the whole bowl
Add the smooth dressing over the layered salad and gently bring everything together before taking the bowl to the table.
A little more help as you go
Lime for the avocado
Add lime juice to the avocado chunks before layering them into the salad; that happens separately from blending the dressing.
Keep the dressing ingredients together
The olive oil, garlic and salt all belong in the food processor with the mayonnaise, hot sauce and dressing lime juice.
A few questions you might have
How much lime juice belongs in the dressing?
Use the two tablespoons called for in the dressing step. The salad has a separate lime addition for the avocado chunks.
Do I add the bacon to the processor?
Keep the cooked, crumbled bacon for the salad layers. Only the dressing ingredients go into the food processor.
Does the hot sauce go over the finished salad?
Blend it into the mayonnaise dressing first so it mixes throughout when you combine the salad at the end.
Should I dress each layer as I go?
Assemble the pasta, bacon, romaine, avocado and tomato first. The dressing goes over the assembled layers before gentle mixing.
Do the bowties need to be drained?
Yes, use cooked and drained bowties. They're ready for layering by the time you start putting the salad together.
Storage & reheating safety
For cooked, perishable leftovers, refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F), using shallow containers for prompt cooling. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below, use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days, and reheat hot leftovers to 165°F, checked with a food thermometer. Follow any shorter package limit.
These are general safety limits, not a tested storage or freezing recommendation for this particular dish. USDA leftovers guidance · Safe cooking temperatures
Recipe source: dinnerthendessert.com. Ingredient names and quantities may be adapted for the pantry.
Preparation notes follow the recipe shown here.
