A great make-ahead entry this Southern Style Pasta Salad R
Macaroni and Ham Pasta Salad
Living in California and specifically the Central Valley sometimes skews your weather outlook. We've been barbecuing and enjoy easy summer foods for some time now.
Weekends have consisted of long drives in the country enjoying the wildflowers. My favorites are these amazing California Poppies!
What does that have to do with this recipe... nothing, but I just love this picture and wanted to show it to you! 😀
Now as we're approaching Mother's Day I'm thinking about beautiful buffets filled with piles of delicious food closely followed by Memorial Day full of grilling fun! Have you been planning your menu yet?
We were just talking with Dan's Mom yesterday. Dan suggested a home cooked meal for Mother's Day and Lawanda thought that was a great idea,
I'll be making her Mom's Meatloaf Recipe, a delicious
I was teasing her when we had her on the phone last night. I told her since we'd be feasting on her favorite meatloaf recipe she probably wouldn't be hungry enough for dessert right?
She cackled so loud and said no dessert are you crazy? That's the best part!
My mom-in-law definitely has a sweet tooth!
So as I mentioned I'm going to put together an easy salad. I try and sneak some extra veggies in whenever I have the opportunity to cook for her and that's why this salad came to mind.
Ok... let's talk pasta salad!
Ham and Cheese Pasta Salad
Perfectly cooked pasta, salty ham and feta cheese with crunchy fresh vegetables all topped off with a creamy southern style salad dressing - YUM!!
The ham from this salad was leftover from Easter. That's one of the things I really like about ham, you can stretch it out and remake it a hundred different ways. Deviled Ham, Instant Pot Potato Soup with Ham or Ham and Bean Soup (one of my personal favorites!).
I love this salad because...
- It uses everyday ingredients (in fact you may even have everything you need!)
- It's quick and easy to make.
- Uses up leftovers - always a bonus, right?
- And ... that same family that loved your holiday ham is going to gobble up pasta salad with ham!
Ingredients for Ham Pasta Salad
- ham -
great source of protein, ham adds salt and deliciousness! - feta cheese - speaking of salty and delicious, crumbly feta cheese is this perfect addition to this salad.
- pasta - cooked to al dente, seashell pasta salad has plenty of nooks and crannies to hold the creamy dressing!
- red bell pepper - for sweetness
- green onions - adds light oniony crunch
- broccoli, celery
and carrots - add a bright fresh crunch - red onion - are sweeter and have a less pungent flavor.
Easy Ham Pasta Salad
Steps to make Salad Recipe
- Cook the pasta and allow it to cool completely
- Dice ham into half inch cubes
- Clean and dice the vegetables. Dicing the veg into small pieces will allow you to get a scoop of everything when you grab a big forkful!
- Make the dressing by combining mayonnaise and vinegar. Mix until creamy and add to the salad bowl
Easy right?!!
Tips to make pasta salad - cook the pasta ahead of time and allow it to cool completely.
Why? Because if you try and dress the salad when the pasta is hot it will soak up the dressing and you'll end up using twice as much! Cook the pasta ahead of time and tuck it into the refrigerator to cool.
Ham and Pasta Salad
More of my favorite salads recipes!
Some of the items below contain affiliate links; I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. However, I only promote things that I love and think you will love, too. For more information, please see my Disclosure Policy.
Items you made need -
- Stainless Steel Colander - great for draining the pasta.
- Mixing Bowl Set - This is the set I have and I love them, the bright colors are so pretty, plus they are light and easy to handle when they are full of food.
Ham Pasta Salad
Ham Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 16 oz. pasta cooked according to package directions, drained and chilled
- 1-2 cups ham ½ inch dice
- 1 cup feta cheese crumbled
- ½ bell pepper diced
- 3 green onions thinly sliced
- 1 carrot peeled and diced
- 1 stalk celery diced
- ½ red onion diced
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp seasoning salt
- 1 cup broccoli diced
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package directions to al dente. Drain well, place in a large bowl.
- Add the olive oil and seasoning salt to the pasta. Toss well and refrigerate. Allow it to cool completely.
- Dice the bell pepper, celery, broccoli and red onion. Peel and dice the carrot. Slice the green onions. Mix the vegetables into the pasta.
- Dice the ham, crumble the feta cheese. Add to pasta also.
- Mix the mayonnaise and vinegar together and toss everything with the pasta and vegetables. Mix well to combine.
- Serve chilled - refrigerate leftovers. This will keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
