Creamy ham pasta salad – Julia’s album

So easy Ham Pasta Salad is a delicious way to use up leftover cooked ham! This recipe made with fresh cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and spring onions is bursting with color and freshness! The creamy salad dressing is made from scratch with mayo, sour cream, Dijon mustard, and lemon juice. It’s a popular side dish (or lunch or dinner) it can be made 20 minutes on busy weekdays and is perfect for sharing at parties, picnics and potlucks.

Quick and Easy 20 Minute Ham Pasta Salad

There is nothing complicated about this recipe. Simply combine cooked ham (leftover ham works great!) with fresh veggies (cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and scallions) and pasta (I used farfalle or bow tie noodles). Quickly whip up the homemade creamy salad dressing and in 20 minutes the ham pasta salad is ready! Easy enough to make for lunch or dinner on busy weekdays. Perfect for sharing at parties, picnics, BBQs and other festive events. It’s a crowd favorite, as is this Creamy Chicken Pasta Salad.

What makes this salad different from other ham salads?

It’s packed with fresh ingredients like cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and scallions. Add more veggies if you like. Other veggies I like to use in a ham pasta salad are diced bell peppers, broccoli, celery, green peas, or red onions.

salad ingredients

• Ham. I used regular par-cooked ham that I cut into small cubes. This recipe is great for leftover ham!
• Pasta. Short noodles work best in pasta salads because they absorb the dressing easily and are bite-sized just like other ingredients. You can use fly pasta (farfalle), rotini, fusilli (spiral pasta), penne, or rigatoni.
• cherry tomatoes (or grape tomatoes) are halved and bite-sized for the ham pasta salad. You can also use diced regular tomatoes.
• cucumbers. I used 1 small cucumber that I cut into bite-sized pieces.
• Green Onions have a milder flavor than regular onions and I love using them in pasta salads.
• Ingredients for salad dressing These include mayo, sour cream, freshly squeezed lemon juice, Dijon mustard, and salt.

Homemade Salad Dressing

Whenever I make a pasta salad, I love to combine the mayo and sour cream for a creamy salad dressing and it’s a beautiful flavor combination! I also add Dijon mustard, lemon juice and salt. If you don’t like (or don’t have) sour cream, you can use Greek yogurt instead of sour cream for just as great a taste! Combine all of the salad dressing ingredients in a medium bowl or mason jar and whisk well. You can not only use this homemade dressing with this ham and pasta salad, but also with any other salad of your choice!

How to make ham pasta salad

1. Cook noodles in a pot of boiling water according to package directions.
2. Halve the cherry tomatoes.
3. Cut the cucumber into small, bite-sized pieces.
4. Finely chop the spring onions and ham.
5. In a large bowl, combine all of the salad ingredients: ham, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, scallions, and cooked and drained pasta.
6. In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream (or kefir or Greek yogurt), lemon juice, Dijon mustard, and salt.
7. Pour the dressing into the bowl with the ham pasta salad and mix everything together.

Cooking tips and recipe notes

• Cook pasta al dente for best texture. This means the noodles should feel al dente but be soft, but not mushy. This type of texture works best with pasta salad, especially if you’re going to pull it off.
• Rinse pasta under cold water after cooking. I always make it for pasta salads as it doesn’t make the pasta softer and mushy. It also prevents the short-cut noodles from sticking together.
• Make it gluten free. Use the gluten-free pasta of your choice. Gluten-free pasta made from lentils or chickpeas tastes great here. If you’re using gluten-free pasta, rinse under cold water after cooking to keep it from getting mushy.
• Serve warm or at room temperature. This ham and pasta salad tastes best when reheated a little or brought to room temperature. Not fridge cold.

variations

• Add more vegetables, like diced peppers, broccoli, celery, green peas, or red onions.
• Add pickles or pickle relish.
• Add chopped boiled eggs.
• Add shredded or diced cheese: Cheddar, Pepper Jack. Small mozzarella balls (pearls) work great too.
• Add chopped cooked bacon or cooked prosciutto.
• Season the salad dressing with smoked paprika, cayenne pepper or garlic powder.

storage tips

• Store leftover Creamy Ham Pasta Salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
• It’s a great recipe to make ahead! In fact, you might find that it tastes even better the next day when the flavors blend. Serve warm or at room temperature (not refrigerated).

More recipes for leftover ham

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