This sweet Creamy Pasta Salad recipe is a quick and easy summer side dish that is hearty enough to be served as the main meal.
Loaded with bow tie pasta, meat, cheese, and vegetables, all tossed together in a homemade tangy Ranch dressing. This cold pasta salad is the perfect way to feed your friends at your next warm-weather gathering.
Easy Pasta Salad
Our Loaded Pasta Salad recipe is so much more than macaroni salad doused in dressing. It will change the way you think about that classic creamy bowtie pasta bowl on the picnic table!
It takes just minutes to prepare this dish of tender pasta, ham, cheese, onions, cucumber, and tomatoes, and toss it all in a flavorful homemade dressing.
My favorite thing about a cold summer salad is that it has no rules. There are a variety of ways to create your own customized version and fill it with your favorite foods and dressing ingredients.
Serve your bow tie pasta salad as a side dish, eat leftovers for lunch, or make it the main meal. It’s the perfect marriage of fresh flavors and textures that taste delicious when tossed in a mayo dressing.
Why We Love This Bow Tie Pasta Salad Recipe
- Quick and easy to make in 20 minutes.
- Uses simple, budget-friendly ingredients.
- Packed with protein and plenty of vitamins.
- Completely customizable and versatile recipe.
- Great recipe to feed a crowd and can easily be doubled or tripled.
- Hearty and satisfying side that pairs well with many main dishes, like grilled chicken, beef or fish.
- Make-ahead and travel-friendly salad makes it perfect for potlucks, picnics, barbecues, and summer parties.
More Easy Pasta Salads
Ingredients
- Mayonnaise
- Whole milk
- White vinegar: I used white vinegar to make my dressing but apple cider vinegar will work too.
- Ranch seasoning
- Granulated sugar
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Bowtie pasta: (cooked pasta) Make sure to cook and drain according to box instructions.
- Smoked uncured ham steak
- Cheddar-monterey jack cheese
- Cucumber
- Red onion: Feel free to use sweet yellow onion if you prefer.
- Grape tomatoes
Substitutions and Additions
- Choose Your Cheese: I like the flavor of the block of cheddar-monterey jack cheese but you can certainly substitute a different cheese. We also love sharp cheddar, colby jack or a block of swiss cheese. Or you can try using mozzarella or provolone in your salad instead.
- Pick Your Pasta: You can substitute rotini, farfalle, penne, fusilli, shells, elbow macaroni, or any short pasta for the bowties.
- Pick Your Protein: Feel free to swap the ham for your favorite protein. Some ideas include crumbled bacon, hard salami, grilled chicken, and pepperoni.
- Vary The Veggies: A loaded bow tie salad can easily be customized. Try adding your favorite veggies, like peas, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, sliced black olives, celery, and even sun-dried tomatoes.
- Vegetarian Version: You can make a vegetarian version of this salad by omitting the meat and adding some extra veggies. You bulk it up with beans, like garbanzo beans, chickpeas, black beans, or kidney beans.
Recommended Tools
- Large bowl
- Measuring tools
- Whisk
- Serving bowl
See Full Recipe Card Below
Jump to RecipeHow to Make Creamy Pasta Salad
- Make The Dressing: Whisk together the mayonnaise, milk, vinegar, ranch seasoning, sugar, salt, and pepper. Transfer ½ cup of the dressing to a separate bowl and set aside to thicken.
- Prepare The Salad: Coat the cooked and cooled pasta with your creamy dressing. Add the pasta to the meat, cheese, and veggies. Toss well.
- Serve: Transfer to a serving bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to serve. Enjoy!
Tips from Our Recipe Developer
- If your ham steak has been packaged in a liquid, you will want to pat it dry before dicing it. I also like to trim off the tough edges before dicing it as well. This does not have to be done, as it is an edible part of the ham steak, however, it is a personal preference for me.
- Make sure that you dice all your vegetables, block cheese, and ham steak the same size (approximately ¼-½ inch-sized cubes). Your grape cherries only need to be cut in half.
- Drain and rinse! After you boil your pasta, run it under cold water to cool. This stops the cooking process so the noodles don’t get overcooked and mushy.
Storage
- To Store: Keep any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- To Freeze: This pasta salad does not freeze well.
Other Easy Pot Luck Recipes
- Crack Chicken Sliders
- Funeral Potatoes
- Traditional Potato Salad
- Loaded Mashed Potatoes
- Pesto Pasta Salad
Creamy Pasta Salad
Serves — 12
Loaded Pasta Salad is packed with meat, cheese, and veggies, all tossed in a creamy dressing. This quick and easy summer recipe is perfect for warm weather meals.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Ingredients
Dressing
- ¾ cup mayonnaise
- ¾ cup whole milk
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon ranch seasoning (from a 1 oz. packet)
- 1½ teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Pasta Salad
- 12 oz box bowtie pasta (cooked and drained according to box instructions)
- 7 oz smoked uncured ham steak diced
- 1 cup cheddar-monterey jack cheese block diced
- 1 cup cucumber seeds removed and diced
- 1 cup red onion diced
- 1 cup grape tomatoes that have been cut in half
Instructions
- To make the dressing whisk together, in a medium bowl, the mayonnaise, whole milk, white vinegar, ranch seasoning, granulated sugar, salt and pepper. Transfer ½ cup of the dressing to a separate bowl to reserve. Set aside the dressing to thicken up while you make the rest of the recipe.
- In a large mixing bowl add the cooked and drained bowtie pasta and allow it to cool for 10 minutes while you dice all your other ingredients.
- To the cooled bowtie pasta add the remaining 1 cup dressing and toss it to coat all the pasta with the dressing.
- To the bowl of pasta and dressing add the diced ham, diced cheddar-monterey jack cheese, diced cucumber, diced red onion and grape tomatoes halves.
- Toss all the diced vegetables, diced ham and diced cheese with the dressing coated bowtie pasta until everything is evenly distributed.
- Transfer to a large serving bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Jenn’s Notes
Storage:
- To Store: Keep any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- To Freeze: This pasta salad does not freeze well.
- If your ham steak has been packaged in a liquid, you will want to pat it dry before dicing it. I also like to trim off the tough edges before dicing it as well. This does not have to be done, as it is an edible part of the ham steak, however it is a personal preference for me.
- Make sure that you dice all your vegetables, block cheese and ham steak the same size (approximately ¼-½ inch sized cubes). Your grape cherries only need to be cut in half.
- After you boil your pasta, run it under cold water to cool. This stops the cooking process so the noodles don’t get overcooked and mushy.
- I like the flavor or the block of cheddar-monterey jack cheese but you can certainly substitute a sharp cheddar, colby jack or block of swiss cheese.
Nutrition Info
Calories: 288kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 26mg | Sodium: 662mg | Potassium: 222mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 255IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 108mg | Iron: 1mg
made this everyone loved it!
Hi Patricia! Thanks so much for the feedback! So glad it was a hit!
Quite good, although I will use a smidge more dressing powder. Originally thought the dressing mixture was gonna be a lot n a little runny, but thickened sufficiently n was perfect.
We liked the pasta salad.
It was easy to make and had all the ingredients to fix cause it was fresh.
The only thing is, I did not understand about setting aside half the dressing.
I am looking for a recipe I got from a restaurant Over twenty years ago and lost it during a move it was called sweet bow tie pasta. Can you help me the restaurant was on 13 hy way going toward Clinton mo. thanks.
What a wonderful pasta salad recipe, going to try it soon.
made this salad for my friends and we all loved it! would for sure make it again.
all the salads look wonderful plus fairly easy to make .
Very easy and tasty