Bacon and Tomato Macaroni Salad

creamy bacon tomato pasta salad in green bowl

Tender pasta, crispy bacon, and fresh tomatoes are tossed in a creamy dressing. This creamy bacon tomato salad recipe has been a favorite in our family for decades and once you taste it you'll see why!

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword bacon, easy recipe, macaroni, pasta, salad, sides, tomato

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 30

Total Time 1 30

Servings

Calories 388kcal

Author Sara Garska

Cost $6

Ingredients

1/2 pound bacon cooked and crumbled
8 ounces dry macaroni boil per directions on package
2 tomatoes Can use pint of cherry tomatoes
1/2 sweet onion chopped
1 Tablespoon bacon grease reserved from cooking the bacon
1 or 2 Tablespoons green onions chopped
1/2-1 teaspoon salt to taste

Instructions

Cook the bacon. I like to line a pan with foil. Then place a sheet of parchment paper over that. I lay my bacon flat on the pan and put it into a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes. It turns out perfect every time.
Cook macaroni according to package directions, but take care not to overboil. Al dente pasta holds up better in this dish. When done cooking, drain macaroni and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
While bacon and macaroni are cooking, chop your onions, tomatoes, and green onions.
After bacon is cooked, remove it from pan and drain it on a plate covered with a paper towel. Save the bacon grease on the baking pan.
Carefully pick up your parchment paper and transfer the bacon grease to a small bowl.
Cut up or crumble the bacon when cool.
Mix the macaroni, tomato, bacon, onions, and bacon grease together.
Start with about ½ cup of mayonnaise and stir gently into the other ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste, if desired.
Transfer to your serving bowl. You can garnish with chopped green onions, a few chopped tomatoes, and crumbled bacon if you want it to look a little fancier.
Cover and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Notes

I made it with gluten-free pasta and that worked fine. I also used elbow macaroni for that traditional look. Penne or spirals would also be great.
If you can get fresh homegrown tomatoes, you will take the taste to a new level. Try to get the best ones you can.
Small cherry tomatoes would also work well since they are sweet. Use a pint and cut them in half.
The recipe is easily doubled.
Make this recipe the day of serving. It needs a couple of hours to rest in the refrigerator before you serve but will taste best if eaten the day you make it.
If you have leftovers and it’s a little dry the next day, you can add a little more mayonnaise to make it creamy again.
Next time I make it, I’m going to try adding about a cup of chopped spinach to it for some additional color and crunch.
Use sweet onions if possible.
Check for salt before adding since bacon can vary in how salty it is.

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