Ranch Pasta Salad
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Last updated on Apr 21, 2025
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This creamy ranch pasta salad is loaded with fresh veggies and tossed in a homemade Greek yogurt ranch dressing. It’s the perfect light and flavorful side dish for any occasion!
If you grew up on ranch dressing like I did, I know you’re going to love this pasta salad recipe! It’s creamy and delicious, but surprisingly vegetarian (easily made vegan) and gluten-free!
Whether you want a simple light lunch or are looking for the perfect summer pasta salad recipe to bring to a potluck, this recipe is sure to be a hit.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Ranch Pasta Salad
This easy, veggie-packed pasta salad is about to become your go-to side dish. Here’s why:
- Creamy and flavorful – The homemade ranch dressing is herby, tangy, and so satisfying.
- Loaded with veggies – Every bite has a crunch from fresh cucumber, bell pepper, broccoli, and onion.
- Lightened up – The dressing uses Greek yogurt and avocado mayo for a creamy texture without being too heavy.
- Make-ahead friendly – It tastes even better after chilling, making it perfect for prep or parties.
- Naturally gluten-free – Made with gluten-free pasta but easy to customize with any pasta you like.
Ranch Pasta Salad Ingredients
- pasta – I recommend using a gluten-free pasta, but any type of pasta works. I used Banza rotini.
- cucumber – finely chopped for a refreshing pop of flavor. I love using mini cucumbers or english cucumbers because they have less seeds.
- broccoli – I love the texture, color and flavor that fresh broccoli adds! Feel free to use pre-chopped broccoli for a shortcut.
- red bell pepper – a slightly sweet addition to the salad. It adds a great crunch too!
- sweet vidalia onion – you can also use a white onion if you can’t find a vidalia onion!
- homemade ranch dressing – a creamy combination of Greek yogurt, mayo, fresh dill, fresh chives, white vinegar, garlic salt, onion powder, black pepper and sea salt.
Substitutions
This ranch pasta salad is super customizable. Here are some easy swaps you can make:
- Vegan version: Use vegan sour cream in place of the Greek yogurt and vegan mayo instead of regular mayo. Or make my vegan ranch dressing.
- Non gluten-free option: Use regular pasta. Just be sure to only use 8 oz of dry pasta as most regular pasta comes in a 16 oz box.
- Veggie variations: Feel free to mix in whatever fresh veggies you have on hand—cherry tomatoes, corn, shredded carrots, or snap peas would all be delicious.
How to Make Ranch Pasta Salad
This ranch pasta salad is super easy to throw together—just a little chopping and mixing, and you’re done!
Step 1: Cook your pasta according to the package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water to cool completely.
Step 2: While the pasta cooks, whisk together all the dressing ingredients in a bowl until smooth and creamy. Pop it in the fridge while you prep everything else.
Step 3: In a large bowl, combine the cooled pasta, cucumber, broccoli, red bell pepper, and onion.
Step 4: Pour the ranch dressing over the salad and toss to coat everything evenly. Taste and add more salt and pepper, if needed.
Step 5: Serve right away or cover and chill for 1–2 hours before serving to let the flavors meld.
Brittany’s Tips
A few helpful tips to make this ranch pasta salad turn out just right:
- Chop everything small: This might seem minor, but it makes a big difference! Smaller pieces mean you get a little crunch, a little creamy dressing, and a whole lot of flavor in every bite.
- Rinse your pasta: I know it goes against everything you’ve heard for hot pasta dishes, but rinsing is key here. It cools the pasta down quickly and keeps it from sticking together in the salad.
- Use fresh herbs if you can: Fresh dill and chives are what make this homemade ranch taste next-level. Dried herbs work in a pinch, but fresh is totally worth it here.
- Let it chill: I always like to refrigerate this salad for at least an hour before serving. It helps the flavors meld and the dressing thicken up a bit.
What to Serve with Ranch Pasta Salad
Like I mentioned earlier, this would be the perfect side for a backyard BBQ or potluck. Here’s what I would serve it with:
How to Store
This ranch pasta salad stores beautifully, making it perfect for meal prep or prepping ahead for a cookout:
Refrigerator: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4–5 days. Give it a good stir before serving to redistribute the dressing.
Make-ahead tip: If you’re making this more than a day in advance, you can store the dressing separately and toss everything together the day of so the veggies stay crisp and the pasta doesn’t soak up too much of the dressing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes—as long as you use gluten-free pasta like Banza or your favorite brand. You can also use regular or whole wheat pasta if you don’t need it to be gluten-free.
Grilled chicken, chickpeas, hard-boiled eggs, or even tofu would all be great options to turn this side dish into a full meal.
While I do think homemade dressing is so much better than store-bought dressing (and super simple to make!), you can absolutely use store-bought ranch. Here are the brands I recommend:
Tessemae’s Organic Creamy Ranch
Primal Kitchen’s Dairy-Free Ranch Dressing with Avocado Oil
Sir Kensington’s Classic Ranch
All of these options are dairy-free and made with great ingredients!
More Pasta Salads to Try
- Healthy Pasta Salad
- Vegan Pesto Pasta Salad
- Pesto Pasta Salad
- Caprese Pasta Salad
- Poppy Seed Chicken Pasta Salad
- Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
Be sure to check out all of the pasta salad recipes as well as the full collection of salad recipes on EBF!
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Creamy Ranch Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 8 ounces gluten-free pasta, (I used Banza Rotini)
- 1 cup diced cucumber
- 1 cup bite-size broccoli florets
- ½ small red bell pepper, diced
- ½ cup diced sweet vidalia onion
Creamy Ranch Dressing
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- ½ cup mayonnaise, (I used avocado oil mayo)
- ¼ cup minced fresh dill
- ¼ cup minced fresh chives
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- ½ teaspoon garlic salt
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to the package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water to cool.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- In a large bowl, combine the pasta, cucumber, broccoli, bell pepper, and onion.
- Pour the dressing over the pasta salad and gently toss to combine. Taste for salt and pepper, adding more if needed. Serve right away or refrigerate in a container with a lid for 1-2 hours or until ready to serve.
Video
Notes
- Vegan version: Use vegan sour cream in place of the Greek yogurt and vegan mayo instead of regular mayo. Or make my vegan ranch dressing.
- Non gluten-free option: Use regular pasta. Just be sure to only use 8 oz of dry pasta as most regular pasta comes in a 16 oz box.
- Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4–5 days. Give it a good stir before serving to redistribute the dressing.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This post was originally published on June 23, 2021 and republished on April 21, 2025.
Love this! I did blanch the broccoli, draining and cooling before boiling pasta, for easier digestibility. Other than that, this was a hit. Thanks Brittany!
So glad you loved this salad. Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a review. I appreciate it!
How long would this dressing keep (stored in airtight container) in the fridge? Thank you!
Hi Kirby – It should last about 5-7 days in an airtight container. Enjoy!
This is absolutely amazing! The dressing itself i made another batcg for dipping veggies as well because it is so amazingly good!
Ahh! I am so happy that you enjoyed this recipe, Trisha. Dipping veggies in the dressing is a great idea! Thank you for coming back to your review + star rating, I so appreciate you being here!
This was delicious pasta salad! We were in a hurry to grill and eat and needed a quick side – this was quick and easy. Used all Hellmann’s, as had no Greek yogurt. Definitely a keeper!
Hi Karen, so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for leaving me a comment and review, I appreciate it!
So freaking delicious!! The only thing I added was a couple shakes of red chili flakes to give it a bit of a kick. I topped the salad off with some marinated grilled chicken to add some extra proteins. 10/10 recommend.
That sounds like a delicious addition! Thanks so much for taking the time to come back and leave a review + comment. It’s so appreciated!
I made this recipe for the first time yesterday and it was such a hit with my whole family- even my grandma loved it, and she’s a picky eater! Im not surprised that this turned out great, as all of the recipes I’ve made so far on EBF have! Is there a cookbook I don’t know about?! Thank you so much again for a healthy, tasty dish!
So glad this recipe was a hit with your family, Anissa! Thanks for coming back to leave a review. I appreciate it so much! My cookbook will be published next year, so stay tuned!
Totally enjoyable one!! Thanks a lot!
This is SO yummy! I’d never tried Banza before, but definitely will again. We used paleo mayo I made with olive oil and added even more of the veggies and it was super delicious and filling! The recommended veggies in the recipe are great in it, but I think it could also be a fab “clean out the fridge” recipe. My two year old gobbled it up too! I’ll definitely add this to our regular repertoire :). Thanks!
Woo!! I love hearing this, Sara! I’m so glad this pasta salad was such a success. Thanks so much for the review. I really appreciate it!
Great Info In This Blog Thanks FOr Sharing This
Thanks!!
If making this a couple days ahead, should you wait to put the ranch dressing on until closer to serving Time?
You could top the salad with the ranch and let it sit before serving so the flavors have time to marinate together. Since it’s a pasta salad it shouldn’t get too soggy. You could totally wait to put it on until right before serving – up to you!
What can you substitute for the Mayo?? We do not like anything about mayonnaise!!! Otherwise the recipe looks and sounds delicious!!
Hey Denise – You could try using more yogurt instead of mayo. I haven’t tried it, but let me know how it turns out if you decide to try it!
Well this was a delightful treat for using up some leftover aldente broccoli and a half a Vidalia. Recipes are always better when I have everything on hand! The dressing is so yummyWe can’t have dairy so used unsweetened coconut milk yogurt and you wouldn’t know the difference! Next time I make the dressing I’ll use a bit less vinegar. Had to Looking forward to really diving in later once all the flavors meld. (I may have eaten two cups of broccoli for lunch drizzled in the dressing while making the rest of the salad!) Yum!
So glad you enjoyed this salad, Betsy!! Thanks for making it and for leaving a review. I so appreciate it!
So, while the flavors were all so great, the gf rice pasta I used hardened up when the salad was cold. Have you found that with the Banza or can you recommend another gf pasta that doesn’t not get hard when cold?
Most pastas tend to get a little firmer in the fridge, but I haven’t had issues with Banza being too hard. One suggestion is to cook the pasta a little beyond al dente, which might help from it getting too hard in the fridge.
I usually hate these questions/ but need to know so I don’t ruin the dressing. I’m
In lockdown in the country I live in, and only have apple cider vinegar/ will
That ruin this ranch? I don’t want to use those ingredients up if you think so. I also don’t have chives but I do have dill- so I may be able to slide on that one. Ty hank you!! Your recipes are LIFE to me!!!
You can totally use apple cider vinegar instead of the regular vinegar. It will still taste delish! Let me know if you try it!
I think apple cider vinegar will work just fine instead of the white vinegar. And you could use more dill instead of chives, that should be just fine! Let me know what you think of this salad if you try it. 🙂