Easy Ranch Pasta Salad is my go to summer pasta salad recipe – perfect for serving at BBQ’s or summery family dinners and it’s super easy to make too!
Honestly I just can’t wait to dig my fork into a bowl of this creamy ranch pasta salad – it’s just so good!
This is the pasta salad I throw together for BBQ’s because it just goes so perfectly alongside a juicy loaded burger or grilled chicken kebabs.
There’s something about ranch dressing that just shouts BBQ time!
Now you don’t have to save this just for BBQ’s it’s also a great pasta salad for lunch boxes or just to serve as an easy family dinner.
And because you can make it ahead of time it works well for me when I make it in the morning and then just pull it out of the fridge at dinner time.
I like my pasta salad to be totally LOADED with little added extras so we add lots of tasty salad ingredients as well as shredded cheese and ham.
I usually make this pasta dish when I’ve got leftover shredded ham from a previous meal – if you’ve not made our slow cooker shredded ham recipe yet than you should check it out.
Slow Cooker Shredded Ham is great for using in pasta, stir fried rice or just on sandwiches and wraps – I probably make shredded ham at least once a week and then use it in a few meals.
Easy Ranch Pasta Salad Ingredients
To make our Easy Ranch Pasta Salad you’ll need the following
- 6 tbs ranch salad dressing
- 300g rigatoni pasta – you could also use penne or fusilli – both those pasta shapes work well in pasta salad.
- 250g baby plum tomatoes – chopped
- 1/2 cucumber – diced
- 300g sweetcorn – just use a can of sweetcorn
- 150g black olives – roughly chopped
- 2 large dill pickles – diced – pickles add a lovely tang – you could use jalapeño though if you like a spicy kick, or both!
- handful of flat leaf parsley – chopped
- 4-5 spring onions – finely sliced
- 2 large handfuls of shredded ham (approx 300-400g)
- 150g grated cheese
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Easy Ranch Pasta Salad Recipe
- Cook the pasta – as per the packet instructions then, drain and rinse under cold running water to cool quickly.
- Put the cooled drained pasta into a mixing bowl and pour over 3 tbs of ranch dressing – then stir well to coat all the pasta – rigatoni pasta has grooves all along the pasta which the sauce really clings into.
- Add in the chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, olives and sweetcorn
- Stir the pasta salad well to distribute all the ingredients.
- Add in the shredded ham and cheese
- Mix everything together well.
- Tip in the chopped dill pickles, flat leaf parsley and spring onions
- Add in 3tbs ranch salad dressing (or more if you like)
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- Give the pasta salad one last mix so everything is nicely coated in ranch dressing.
- Tip the pasta salad into a serving bowl and dig in.
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How To Serve Pasta Salad?
Pasta salad is great alongside BBQ food, roast chicken, grilled kebabs or grilled fish. It goes great with our air fryer chicken breast foil packets.
It’s also great as a stand alone quick dinner idea or in packed lunches or for taking along to potlucks or picnics.
Can I Make This A Vegetarian Salad?
Yes totally – just skip the shredded ham and add something like garlicky sautéed mushrooms or marinated tofu.
How To Store Pasta Salad?
I keep this pasta salad in an airtight container in the fridge and use within 24 hours.
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Love Pasta Salad? Try These Easy Recipes…
- Easy Kids Lunchbox Pasta Salad (ad feature recipe) a quick and tasty pasta salad that’s just perfect for kids lunches.
- Greek Orzo Pasta Salad – this pasta is so perfect with lamb burgers or chicken kebabs.
- BLT Pasta Salad – a big flavour classic pasta salad that’s perfect with roast chicken for easy summer dinner.
- Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta Salad – a delicious quick pasta salad with chicken and peas in a fresh and zingy creamy dressing.
- Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad – a delicious Italian style pasta recipe with tender chicken, pesto, asparagus and mozzarella.
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Easy Ranch Pasta Salad
A super tasty summer pasta salad
Ingredients
- 6 tbs ranch dressing
- 300g rigatoni pasta
- 250g baby plum tomatoes
- 1/2 cucumber
- 150g black olives
- 300g sweetcorn
- 300g shredded ham
- 150g grated cheese
- 4-5 spring onions
- 2 dill pickles
- handful of flat leaf parsley
Instructions
- Cook the pasta as per the packet instructions then drain and cool under cold running water.
- Tip the drained pasta into a mixing bowl and add 3tbs ranch dressing - stir well.
- Chop the tomatoes, cucumbers and olives.
- Tip the tomatoes, cucumbers, olives and sweetcorn into the pasta - stir well.
- Add the shredded ham and grated cheese and stir well.
- Chop the spring onions, dill pickle and flat leaf parsely - tip them into the pasta salad and stir well.
- Add another 3 tbs of ranch dressing and mix everything together.
- Either eat straight away or keep in an air tight container in the fridge until ready to eat.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 442Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 61mgSodium: 1076mgCarbohydrates: 40gFiber: 5gSugar: 6gProtein: 24g
Nutritional content will vary depending on the exact ingredients you use and how careful you are with measuring - this nutritional information is given as a general guide only and may not be accurate - you should always calculate your own nutritional information especially if you have specific dietary requirements.
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Disclosure – the green mixing bowl used in this recipe was gifted for review from Joseph Joseph in November 2017