Creamy Ranch Pasta Salad
Great ready for the best pasta salad recipe!
Have you been on the search, for the creamiest, most flavorful pasta salad? I know I have….for quite some time now. Well, seeing as I’m a bit obsessed with ranch flavored recipes, I just HAD to put a ranch spin on a pasta salad.
Here is my rendition of the best, most creamy pasta salad out there. Meet my Creamy Ranch Pasta Salad. Don’t you just want to dive in with a spoon right now?! I sure did. Over, and over and over again 🙂
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Creamy Ranch Pasta Salad
- Prepare pasta according to package. While waiting for the pasta to boil, gather your carrots, celery, red onion, frozen peas, ham and cheddar cheese. Set aside
- To make the dressing, whisk together ranch mix, mayo and milk. Mix until all lumps are gone.
- Once pasta is done, drain and let cool for a couple minutes. Once cooled, mix in carrots, celery, red onion, frozen peas, ham and cheddar cheese.
- Next pour dressing over the pasta salad, and stir gently until well combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours before serving.
- Right before serving, give your Creamy Ranch Pasta Salad a couple more stirs to mix in any of the dressing that had settled at the bottom.
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Creamy Ranch Pasta Salad
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Ingredients
- 1 pound elbow macaroni pasta
- 1 cup medium diced or shredded carrots
- 1/2 cup celery finely chopped
- ¼ red onion diced
- 2/3 cup frozen peas
- 1 cup ham cubed
- 1 cup cheddar cheese cubed
- 1 packets ranch seasoning mix
- 1 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup milk
Instructions
- Prepare pasta according to package. While waiting for the pasta to boil, gather your carrots, celery, red onion, frozen peas, ham and cheddar cheese. Set aside
- To make the dressing, whisk together ranch mix, mayo and milk. Mix until all lumps are gone.
- Once pasta is done, drain and let cool for a couple minutes. Once cooled, mix in carrots, celery, red onion, frozen peas, ham and cheddar cheese.
- Next pour dressing over the pasta salad, and stir gently until well combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours before serving.
- Right before serving, give your Creamy Ranch Pasta Salad a couple more stirs to mix in any of the dressing that had settled at the bottom.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer: Family Fresh Meals is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
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Post updated September 2020
Anyone tried this with greek yogurt instead of the mayo?
Delicious! I made this to take for lunches to work for the week. It made a TON. Haha.
Here’s what mine turned out like: http://s29.postimg.org/4hkwneh2v/012_A051_BBB600000_EF500002_attachment_1_PART951411.jpg
It’s definitely one of my favorites. Thanks a lot!
Why do the peas have to be frozen?
I just like the taste of frozen peas. You can use canned if you would like 🙂
Canned are a mushy consistency and frozen peas hold up better in salads.
What kind of ham do you use without baking a whole ham and using leftovers? Thanks.
Try a small ham steak. It works wonders
I just made this for a pot luck and it made a huge bowl!! The dressing on it is amazing, I substituted chopped pepperoni for the ham, added more cheese, omitted the celery and used shredded carrots and fusilli pasta (because it’s prettier). Rave reviews for the dressing
Thanks Carrie! I love the idea of using pepperoni!!