You’ll have to excuse my less than professional photography, but I was on my way to a cookout! And the actual recipe name is Parmesan Pea and Pasta Salad. I added bacon, hence the pork in the title. What isn’t better with bacon, besides the title of this page?

Summer is meteorologically speaking OVER, but we still have time for cookouts before the cold sets in. I’ve got applesauce simmering stovetop, pulled pork in the InstantPot, and this delicious, quick recipe to add to meals any night of the week.

There aren’t many ingredients, so buy the good bacon and parmesan cheese. Crack open a new jar of mayonnaise and search your freezer for some frozen peas. This could not be easier. For the pasta, find something bite-size. I used bow tie pasta. Perfect fork size pasta. To avoid messing up my already messy kitchen, I cook my bacon in the oven. It’s on foil and parchment paper. I’m all about the easy clean up. I used 3 pieces of bacon. Fine, I used 7 crisp pieces of bacon. SEVEN. Cook it so it’s crisp and dab off the grease with a paper towel.

If you haven’t already figured it out, here’s how to make this heavenly pasta salad.

1 pound bite-size pasta

1 cup green petite peas (maybe an overflowing cup) fresh or frozen

1 1/2 cups of mayonnaise

2/3 cup fresh grate Parmesan cheese (use good quality and you can be a little heavy handed)

salt and pepper to taste

Boil pasta according to package directions using salted water and until the pasta is al dente. The last 5 minutes of the pasta’s cooking time, throw in the peas. When finished cooking, drain and let cool. Taste test the pasta to make sure it’s finished cooking.

Place the cooled pasta and peas in a large bowl, add the mayonnaise and Parmesan cheese. Mix until thoroughly combined, season with salt and pepper, cover, and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. It’s best cold. You can make it your own by adding celery, a few shakes of red pepper flakes, whatever you want to add, you can. I like it simple, with lots of bacon.

Here’s the original recipe. Credit, where credit is due!

Enjoy!