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This ham and cheese bowtie pasta salad is perfect for a lunch in spring and summer. Or make this pasta salad for the neighborhood potluck.
Ham and cheese pasta salad is a delicious side dish that you can serve on any occasion.
It also makes an amazing lunch.
This ham and cheese bowtie pasta salad is delicious, full of color and texture, and is very satisfying.
The flavors come from the creamy and tasty dressing, and you get a variety of textures with the ingredients like pasta, ham, cheesy, and bell peppers.
This salad goes well with almost anything!
Whether it’s BBQ or a family get together, the salad will a hit. It is versatile. Easy to make and very economical.
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💭 Top tips
Although making this ham and cheese pasta salad recipe is super easy, here are a few tips and tricks that you should keep in mind:
- Refrigerate the pasta salad for at least a few hours in the fridge. This way, the salad not only gets chilled, but it allows the flavors of the pasta salad to meld.
- Don’t leave this ham and cheese pasta salad out for longer than two hours to prevent it from going bad.
- If you want to keep it on the dinner table for an extended period of time, place it in an ice bath to keep it cold.
- If you use frozen ingredients like peas, make sure you thaw them before putting them in the salad. If you add them in frozen, it will add more liquid to the pasta salad, diluting the dressing.
🥘 Ingredients
- 1 box (1 pound) farfalle or mini farfalle pasta
- ¾ cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half or quartered
- ¾ cup broccoli, cut into small pieces
- 1 cup ham, diced
- 1 cup mild cheese or your favorite, diced
- 2 tablespoons red bell pepper, diced **see notes
- 2 tablespoons yellow bell pepper, diced
- 2 tablespoons orange bell pepper, diced
- ½ cup cucumber, sliced
📖 Variations
You can add or switch out ingredients to this ham and cheese bowtie pasta salad if you want. Here are a few ideas that you can use to change the recipe a bit:
- Pasta shape: if you don’t have bow-tie pasta, you can also use shells or fusilli.
- Meat: Although ham tastes delicious, if you want to use some other meat, you are free to do so. You can use shredded chicken, turkey, bacon bits, or tuna. You can also combine any two types of meat as well.
- Mayonnaise: you can replace mayonnaise with Greek yogurt to make it a healthier version or to lighten up the creaminess of the salad.
- Vegetables: although bell peppers are just enough to give it color and texture, you can use other vegetables as well. Peas, corns, and carrots would also be tasty in this.
- Fruit: To give it a bit of sweetness, you can also add fruits like apples or pineapple to the salad. This will give it a tropical feel.
🍽 Equipment
- saucepan
- knife
- cutting board
- large bowl
- small bowl
- whisk
🔪 Instructions
Step 1: Cook pasta according to the instructions on the package until al dente.
Step 2: While the pasta is cooking, cut up the vegetables, ham and cheese.
Step 3: Drain pasta and rinse with cold water.
Step 4: Add pasta, cut vegetables, ham, and cheese to a large bowl and stir to combine.
Step 5: In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients until smooth.
Step 6: Pour dressing over pasta salad and toss to combine.
Step 7: Cover and refrigerate until chilled at least 3-4 hours.
Enjoy!
Leftovers
- If you have leftover pasta, store it and place it in the refrigerator as soon as possible so that you can keep it fresh.
- You can store the leftover pasta salad in an airtight container. Place it in the refrigerator, and it is good to go for 5 days. You can also make it ahead of time, especially if you like to take lunch to work. But, because the dressing uses mayonnaise and a dairy product, it won’t freeze well.
🥗 Recipes That Pair Well
One of the great things about pasta salad is that it does well as both a side dish or as a lighter main dish. Here are some of our favorites to pair this ham and cheese pasta salad with:
- BBQ hamburgers and hot dogs
- Chicken wings or legs
- Fried chicken
- Sandwich
- Corn on the cob
Ham and Cheese Bowtie Pasta Salad
Equipment
- Saucepan
- wooden spoon
- Cutting board
- Knife
- large bowl
- Small bowl
Ingredients
- 1 box farfalle or mini farfalle pasta 1 pound
- ¾ cup cherry tomatoes cut in half or quartered
- ¾ cup broccoli cut into small pieces
- 1 cup ham diced
- 1 cup mild cheese or your favorite, diced
- 2 tablespoon red bell pepper diced
- 2 tablespoon yellow bell pepper diced
- 2 tablespoon orange bell pepper diced
- ½ cup cucumber sliced
Dressing
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon dried chives
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to the instructions on the package to al dente.
- While the pasta is cooking, cut vegetables, ham, and cheese
- Drain pasta and rinse with cold water.
- Add pasta, vegetables, ham, and cheese to a large bowl and stir to combine.
- In a small bowl whisk together the dressing ingredients until smooth.
- Pour over pasta salad and toss to combine.
- Cover and refrigerate until chilled. At least 3-4 hours.
Notes
Nutrition
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