Ham & Cheese Pasta Salad is a very nice side dish. Made with Short Pasta, diced Ham & Cheese in a Sweet Pasta Salad Dressing and Vegetables. It’s a simple Pasta Salad recipe that you can pretty much throw in anything. However, the Ham & Cheese cubes are a must. Include it as a go-to side over the Holidays or anytime of the year when the craving hits. It really is simply delicious.
Ham and Cheese Pasta Salad ingredients
Made with Short Pasta, Diced Ham & Cheese, Salad Dressing (Mayo, Sugar, Apple Cider Vinegar, Parsley, Black Pepper), Bell Peppers, Celery, and Onion.
Short Pasta
I like the Rotini or Cavatappi Pasta, but any short pasta will do just fine.
Just boil with some salt until done. Strain and place back into the pot to fill with cold water. This will stop the cooking process. Strain very well before combining with the remaining ingredients.
Ham & Cheese Pasta Salad
Made with Rotini Pasta.
Ham
If preparing a Ham Roast, some of it can be chopped off and frozen to add to this Salad whenever you make it. The Diced Ham can also be frozen to use at a later time. Just cut off a few slices and dice it. Then freeze in a Ziploc Bag.
Diced Ham
Use diced Ham from a precooked Ham or Deli Ham.
Cheese
Diced Cheddar Cheese in particular for us anyway is Old Fort Cheddar Cheese, but sometimes we add in Marble Cheese.
Other Cheeses can be added. Such as Romano & Parmesan. Gouda Cheese is very nice as well. If you want to add in a bit more heat from a different source, use Jalapeño, Habanero, or Monterrey Jack Cheese.
Cheddar Cheese
Old Fort Cheddar Cheese.
Pasta Salad Dressing
The Sauce is a Mayo Based Sauce. With Sugar added for the Sweetness and Apple Cider Vinegar for a Slight acidity. When combined with the sugar, it is a really nice touch to the added Mayo.
Pasta Salad Vegetables
Bell Peppers, Celery, and Onions. Add in other vegetables such as Pimentos, Hot Peppers, Broccoli, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Lettuce, Green Peas, Carrots, Olives.
Salad Vegetables
Sweet Long red Peppers or Bell Peppers can be used. Along with Celery & Onions add a nice visual and crunch.
Ham & Cheese Pasta Salad Seasoning
There aren’t really any Herbs & Spices that go into this. It mostly relies on the Ham & Cheese and various Vegetables within the Salad for crunch. With the flavoring coming from the combination of Mayo, Sugar, Vinegar, Parsley, and Black Pepper.
It’s a very simplistic Salad. Although other ingredients can be added, such as Paprika, Dill Seeds, Celery Seeds, Tarragon, Chervil.
Equipment
- 1 Pasta Pot
- 1 Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
- 4 C Short Pasta - like Rotini, Cavatappi or Macaroni
- 1 Red Bell Pepper - Diced
- 1-2 Celery - Diced
- 1 small Onion - Diced
- 1 C Cheddar Cheese - Diced
- 1 C Ham - Diced
Sauce
- 1 C Mayo
- 1/4 C Sugar
- 2 Tbl Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 tsp Parsley
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
Instructions
- Combine all the Sauce Ingredients and Mix well.
- Bring a Pot of Water to boil and Boil the Pasta until done. Meanwhile, prepare all the ingredients you will add to the Salad. When the Pasta is done, Strain and Place back into the pot to fill with cold water, strain again.
- Combine everything together and mix. Refrigerate at least one hour.