I took my best BLT pasta salad from 2018 and turned it into this green goddess BLT pasta salad. I didn’t think that salad could be improved because it’s my favourite pasta salad but adding avo and spinach to the mix just somehow took it up a notch.

Greed goddess dressing is having its big moment on TikTok right now and I tried the famous Baked by Melisa version the other day. It packs a major flavour punch with all that raw shallot and garlic, but I found it incredibly abrasive. I prefer my version with anchovies and limited garlic. I did enjoy her use of Nutritional yeast in place of parmesan though, keeping it vegan.

For a low-carb carb easy dinner idea my lettuce and chicken wraps with green goddess Caesar dressing is always a winner. Swap out some of the mayo to give it more tang and lighten it up.

This green goddess dressing for this bacon pasta salad is right up there amongst my favourite dressings I’ve even made. Modified from my cheats Caesar dressing I could pour this over everything. Adding leftover roast chicken to this salad makes it a complete meal and it competes with Ottolenghi’s roast chicken and 3 rice salad as my best chicken salad ever.

What to use a green goddess dressing with:

Green goddess salad dressing is great in a leafy salad or slaw, with pasta or potatoes. Named after the green colour the dressing takes on, this is a fresh, herby and bright salad dressing with loads of flavour. I love it with leftover cold roast or rotisserie chicken and often add it to this BLT salad to make it a more robust meal.

Tips and substitutions:

Use a lower-fat yoghurt if you prefer but I think the thicker full-fat yoghurt is much nicer.

Use lemon juice instead of vinegar to give it a lemon edge which would be wonderful with fish dishes.

If you are sensitive to raw garlic, roast 1 – 2 cloves of garlic with the bacon to take off the edge. Alternatively, blanch the garlic for 3 minutes in boiling water before adding it to the dressing.

I used fusilli here as it has loads of crevices which holds the sauce so well. Use any short pasta of your choice such as penne.

The best Green goddess BLT pasta salad recipe

Prep Time:5

Cook Time:20

Ingredients

Dressing:

½ cup Greek yoghurt
½ cup low fat Hellman’s mayonnaise
4 anchovies
1 clove garlic crushed (cook it with the bacon to temper the raw flavour)
a few basil leaves – about 6 medium/large
1 ½ cups baby spinach leaves
1 small avocado or half a large
2 Tbsp good quality white wine vinegar
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp water
½ tsp sea salt flakes
Generous few grinds of black pepper

Pasta salad:

300 gms fusilli pasta or any other short pasta
250 gms Medley of tomatoes mixed baby rainbow tomatoes
250 gm streaky smoked bacon 1 pack
60 gms baby spinach leaves or more if yo prefer
20 gms chives finely chopped

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 200c/ 400F and place the bacon on a bacon tray. Line the tray with foil to make washing up easier. When the oven is ready, roast the bacon for 15 minutes and until golden brown and crispy
Bring a medium pot of salty water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water to suspend the cooking process. Drain and set aside.
Cut the tomatoes and the chives and set them aside.
To make the dressing blitz all the ingredients in a small food processor until smooth and emulsified.
When you are ready to serve, toss all the salad ingredients with as much of the dressing as you like. I used about ¾ of it. Adjust the seasoning and if necessary add more salt and pepper. Serve immediately.