Cobb Pasta Salad School Lunch

This salad includes:

• Pasta: macaroni or shells.
• Grape tomatoes: a classic Cobb salad ingredient to add freshness and nutrition.
• Bacon: deliciously cooked and chopped!
• Deli meat: chopped ham and turkey.
• Hard-boiled eggs: check this post to see how to cook easy-to-peel hard-boiled eggs.
• Cheese: I added cheddar, but any other cheese you have on hand works.
• Avocado: optional for extra creaminess and nutrition.
• Ranch dressing: or your favorite homemade or store-bought salad dressing.

You’ll find the measurements in the recipe card below.

Here’s the step-by-step:

1. Cook the pasta
   Cook the macaroni pasta according to the package directions. Once ready, drain the water out and rinse with cold water. Transfer the macaroni to a large bowl.
2. Add toppings
   To the macaroni, add the grape tomatoes, chopped bacon, ham, turkey, egg, and cheese. Add the ranch dressing and toss to combine. Since the salad will be coated with Ranch, the diced avocado won’t be as noticeable once it browns. Otherwise, omit it from the recipe.
3. Refrigerate
   Cover and refrigerate the pasta salad for two hours or up to 3 days.

Check out how this pasta salad is made:

Cooked pasta storage tip
Toss plain cooked pasta with olive oil to prevent it from becoming sticky. Once coated in olive oil, refrigerate it for up to 5 days.

Make it flavorful
Take plain pasta salad from good to great by tossing it with Ranch, Italian dressing, or your favorite vinaigrette.

Make ahead
Once you add the other ingredients to the pasta, most pasta salads can be made up to 3 days ahead. This is convenient and also allows the pasta to have more flavor.

Storage
Pasta salads can be stored inside a traditional lunch container, with compartments or without, or inside a thermos if you want to keep it chilled.