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Corn Pasta Salad with Bacon and Creamy Pesto Dressing

4 from 1 vote
Corn Pasta Salad with Bacon and Creamy Pesto Dressing takes only 30 minutes and makes a beautiful appetizer, light meal, or even dinner! I doubled this recipe for a crowd-pleasing side dish that is perfect for sharing and bringing to picnics, potlucks, BBQs, or parties. Your family and friends with love the fresh, savory, and sweet combination of flavors!
Make it in the Summer and year-round.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Servings: 10
Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 8 oz Penne pasta or other short pasta
  • 1 cup corn kernels cooked I cut corn off corn cobs and then sauteed them for 2-3 min in some olive oil
  • 1 red bell pepper diced I used a mix of green and red
  • 4 slices bacon cooked and sliced baked in 400 degree oven until crisp
  • fresh cilantro chopped
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • Salad dressing
  • ⅓ cup basil pesto store-bought or homemade
  • 3 tablespoons Greek yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice freshly squeezed

Method
 

  1. Cook pasta
  2. Bring a pot of water to boil. Add in 1 Tablespoon of kosher salt, Add pasta and cook according to package instructions. Drain.
  3. While the pasta is cooking, proceed with the rest of the recipe.
  4. Make salad dressing
  5. In a mason jar, whisk together basil pesto with Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, and freshly squeezed lime juice.
  6. If your dressing is too thick, you can thin it out by adding more Greek yogurt, small amounts of water, or extra lime juice (or lemon juice). Or, combination of what I just listed.
  7. Assembly
  8. In a large bowl, combine cooked and drained pasta, cooked corn kernels, diced bell pepper, and chopped cooked bacon. Mix to combine.
  9. Top with the salad dressing. Sprinkle the chopped fresh cilantro on top and serve.
  10. Notes
  11. Corn. I used 1 cup of cooked fresh corn kernels. That equals to 2 ears of corn (corn on the cob). I sauteed them for about 3 min. No need to over cook them
  12. Basil pesto. Use store-bought or homemade basil pesto.
  13. Pasta. I used Penne pasta in this recipe.