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If you have any pasta left over, try this tasty Bacon Pasta Salad. It’s an easy side dish or dinner that can be made in no time!

A person holds a round dish filled with fusilli pasta salad, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella balls, bacon, basil leaves, and yellow flower-shaped bites, on a gray surface with grape tomatoes and a striped tea towel nearby.
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You only need cooked pasta (you can use any you like), creamy bocconcini (mozzarella balls), bacon, chopped San Marzano tomatoes, and red onions.

Top the salad with a zingy olive oil, white wine vinegar, and maple syrup dressing for an irresistible lunch or side salad. You can even bring it along on a picnic.

Serve this delicious pasta salad recipe hot or cold, and mix up the ingredients exactly to your liking. Feel free to swap bocconcini for chopped cheddar cheese, chopped salami for bacon, or semi-baked tomatoes for fresh tomatoes.

A person holds a round dish filled with healthy fusilli pasta salad, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella balls, basil leaves, and yellow flower-shaped bites, on a gray surface with grape tomatoes and a striped towel nearby.
Servings: 4 people

Bacon Pasta Salad

Family-friendly pasta salad with bacon, tomatoes, red onions, and mini mozzarella balls topped with a sweet n'sour olive oil dressing.
Prep: 25 minutes
Cook: 0 minutes
Total: 25 minutes
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Ingredients 

Pasta salad

  • 250 grams cooked pasta, fusilli or penne
  • 200 grams tomatoes, San Marzano
  • 150 grams bocconcini, halved
  • 240 grams bacon, or pancetta
  • 1/2 red onion

Dressing

  • 8 tablespoons olive oil
  • 6 tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • fresh basil
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • black pepper

To serve

  • 2 mini yellow peppers
  • 1 teaspoon capers, to garnish

Instructions 

  • Fry the bacon in a dry medium-hot pan until golden and browned.
  • Leave the bacon to cool slightly in the pan.
  • Place the cooked pasta on a platter.
  • Top with chopped tomatoes, mozzarella balls, bacon, and red onion.
  • Mix the olive oil, white wine vinegar, maple syrup, dijon, garlic, chopped basil, sea salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl.
  • Pour the dressing over the pasta salad and mix well.
  • Sprinkle with whole or chopped basil leaves.
  • Halve the mini peppers.
  • Use the cookie cutter to make the yellow pepper flowers.
  • Spread the flowers on top of the salad.
  • Add capers in the center of the flowers.
  • Serve.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 726kcal, Carbohydrates: 27g, Protein: 19g, Fat: 61g, Saturated Fat: 15g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g, Monounsaturated Fat: 31g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 53mg, Sodium: 1040mg, Potassium: 314mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 442IU, Vitamin C: 9mg, Calcium: 161mg, Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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