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
Have you ever made this using the buttermilk ranch seasoning mix?
This is wonderful. I just tweeted with shells and green onions. Off to my church picnic. I’m sure it’s going to be a big hit!
I really love this! But I guess I was a little confused. It says to cool the pasta for a couple of minutes, so I assumed that that’s what makes it creamy with the pasta still hot. But it just melted the mayo sauce. So I ended up adding another 2-3 cups mayo. My bad! Thank you for sharing. My mom was always the macaroni salad person in my family but she’s gone now.
Now that I think of it, it could also be do to me using shells
Any time you add mayo to a dish it’s best if it’s cooled completely since warm mayo isn’t safe.
Great receipe however next time I’m going to add sliced black olive and diced red bell pepper.
Yes I did say next time!
I have been making this exactly as written for years now and had to come rate it. Everyone, even kiddos loves this salad. Thank you for an outstanding recipe. I have a batch coming together in the fridge now 🙂
Thank you for the kind comment Melissa. I saw your comment about the rating and fixed it 🙂 I am so happy you love the recipe! It’s one of our favorites too!