This post is sponsored by Lodge and their amazing skillets! Huzzah! All opinions and recipes are my own, so enjoy!
I may or may not be completely obsessed with this Bacon Pasta Salad.
For a little backstory, I went to a restaurant here in San Antonio awhile back called Mamacitas. I had never been there before even though I lived like maybe a mile away from it for yeeeeeeeeears.
Anyway. When we sat down, we were immediately served a big basket of chips, cups of salsa, and this green sauce that was so delicious I barely have words to describe it.
I tried my hardest via Snapchat, but all that came out of my mouth was some weird sounds in between the crunching of the chips I kept shoveling into my face with that sauce on it.
It was heavenly. I knew right off the bat that it had to be some sort of mythical concoction of avocado, crema, and red onion. Beyond that, I was just guessing. But I think I have mastered that sauce and I am giddy with glee cause zomg zomg ZOMG.
So this is definitely not your typical pasta salad. I loaded it up with bacon because it’s bacon month and bacon month clearly calls for bacon, duh.
But the sauce. That is where it’s at. And of course, the fact that I sauteed the corn and zucchini in the bacon grease like the crazy person I am. FLAVOR!
And hello there, favorite Lodge carbon steel skillet that I gushed about over here earlier. Oh how I love thee. LOOK AT THAT BACON COOKING THERE. It’s amazing. You best read all about it, and then go get it, cause you are missing something amazing from your kitchen arsenal if you don’t have this bad boy in your cabinet.
Fo realz.
Now how about we check out today’s delicious dishes from my Bacon Month posse! HELLS YES.
|| Bacon & Egg Puffs from It Is A Keeper
|| Bacon Scalloped Potatoes from Kleinworth & Co.
|| Savory Oatmeal with Bacon, Spinach and Blistered Tomatoes from Cooking in Stilettos
|| Beer Bacon and Cheese Dip Recipe from Bread Booze Bacon
|| Sriracha Bacon Lobster Rolls from Nomageddon
|| Sticky Bacon and Salmon Kebabs from Hey Grill, Hey
|| Cheddar Bacon Ranch Pull-Apart Rolls from Love Bakes Good Cakes
|| Bacon Pasta Salad with Avocado Crema Sauce from A Simple Pantry
|| Peanut Butter, Banana & Bacon Muffins from Forking Up
Now go forth and make bacon pasta salad!
- 16 oz Orecchiette Pasta
- ½ lb Bacon
- 1 C Sweet Corn
- 1 C Zucchini, chopped
- 3 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 1 Avocado
- ⅔ C Mexican Crema
- ¼ C Red Onion, sliced
- Kosher Salt, to taste
- Cracked Pepper, to taste
- 3 Plum Tomatoes, sliced
- ¾ C Queso Fresco
- Cilantro, to garnish
- Mexican Oregano, to garnish
- Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil over high heat. Follow the package instructions to cook the orecchiette pasta, drain, and set aside in a large bowl.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, add the bacon and cook until crispy, around 5 minutes. Set on paper towels to drain excess grease. Remove all but a couple tablespoons of bacon fat from the pan and return to medium heat. Add the corn, zucchini, and garlic and cook until just tender, around 5 minutes.
- While everything is cooking, add the avocado, crema, and red onion to a blender and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, then add it to the pasta and stir to combine. Gently mix in the vegetables, then crumble the bacon and stir it into the pasta. Mix in the queso fresco and garnish with cilantro and oregano. Serve immediately.
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