Bowtie Pasta Salad

5 from 2 votes

Packed with plenty of colorful veggies, tender pasta, and tangy dressing, this bowtie pasta salad will be a delicious addition to your summer menu.

Prep Time20

Total Time20

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Bowtie Pasta Salad Recipe

Servings:

Calories: 280kcal

To make the dressing, whisk together the mayonnaise, whole milk, white vinegar, ranch seasoning, granulated sugar, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Transfer ½ cup of the dressing to a separate bowl to reserve. Set aside the dressing to thicken up while you make the rest of the recipe.
In a large mixing bowl, add the cooked and drained bowtie pasta and allow it to cool for 10 minutes while you dice all your other ingredients.
Add the remaining 1 cup of dressing to the cooled bowtie pasta and toss it to coat all the pasta with the dressing.
Add the diced ham, diced cheddar-Monterey jack cheese, diced cucumber, diced red onion, and grape tomato halves to the bowl of pasta and dressing.
Toss all the diced vegetables, diced ham, and diced cheese with the dressing-coated bowtie pasta until everything is evenly distributed.
Transfer to a large serving bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Make sure you don’t overcook the pasta, or it will fall apart in your salad if it is too soft.
Make sure you dice all your vegetables, block cheese, and ham steak in the same size (approximately ¼ to ½-inch-sized cubes). Your grape tomatoes only need to be cut in half.
Rinsing hot pasta in cold water helps cool it down quicker and prevents it from sticking together
If your ham steak has been packaged in a liquid, you will want to pat it dry before dicing it. You can also trim off the tough edges before dicing it if you’d like, although this is optional.