It seems like I can never have enough of this salad. When people see the recipe, they give me a funny expression, but once they start eating it, they can’t stop! Both youngsters and adults will enjoy this recipe. Garlic is not required. Additionally, use light sour cream, light mayonnaise, and turkey ham to lighten the salad.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 12 mins |
| Total Time: | 27 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 8 ounces ziti pasta
- 1 pound cooked ham, cubed
- 1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 large green bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 large red onion, coarsely chopped
- 15 small sweet pickles, chopped, juice reserved
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 ½ teaspoons beef bouillon granules
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
- In a large bowl, mix together the drained pasta, ham, peppers, onion, pickles and tomatoes.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, beef bouillon granules, vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic and 1/2 cup of reserved pickle juice. Fold into the salad and toss gently until evenly coated. Chill overnight to allow the flavors to blend. Serve near room temperature.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 697 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 45 g |
| Cholesterol | 65 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Protein | 21 g |
| Saturated Fat | 12 g |
| Sodium | 1747 mg |
| Sugars | 11 g |
| Fat | 48 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Easy & tasty
I love this salad!!! I made it exactly as specified in the recipe and, WOW! This is going to be a summer favorite for sure♥️♥️♥️
I have made this recipe many times and it is truly awesome and so flexible and forgiving with substitutions. I’ve made it exactly as written and it’s great but you can add in lots of other stuff based on your family’s preference. We like to add broccoli, cheddar cubes, fresh or canned pineapple, cherry tomatoes. I also use sweet green pickle relish instead of sweet pickles because that’s what I always have on hand. I’ve also subbed bouillion powder with liquid beef bouillon and it turns out just fine. I always plan on extra ham just so I can make this salad. Thanks Karena for a great recipe!
It IS awesome! Couldn’t wait till it chilled overnight. It is delicious right now, and I can’t wait to try it tomorrow. I didn’t add cherry tomatoes because their cost was totally prohibitive in our grocery store this week. I would love to try this in the summer with chunks of grilled chicken instead of the ham. This will be a regular. Thanks for the recipe!
Awesome recipe that’s just a little different than the standard boring pasta salads. Definitely a keeper recipe
My husband and I loved it and he wanted to eat it for breakfast the next morning. This recipe will definitely become part of my summer meals rotation.
Delicious! Made it vegetarian by using fake plant based “bacon” and vegan Mayo. At first it was swimming in dressing. The next morning all the dressing had absorbed. If I’d make it again I’d probably do 1.5 times dressing so it’s a bit creamier. Even the meat lovers loved it. Just didn’t tell them it wasn’t real ham!!!
Tried it last night, and I love it. I left out pickles because I didn’t have any and subbed low-fat plain Greek yogurt for the sour cream. The beef bouillon makes the dressing! I will make this again.
Loved this. Even my husband who generally dislikes pasta salad enjoyed it. (I admit I picked it hoping he would.) What really excites me is that my family usually doesn’t like sweet pickles, and also won’t eat tomatoes. I made it the 2nd time using greek yogurt instead of sour cream and light mayo. I put half the sweet pickle juice because light mayo always seems sweeter? I should add that I don’t have beef bouillion granules, I mixed in the equivalent amount of beef better than bouillion right after the pasta was strained.
We really enjoyed this. I used regular macaroni, green onions, better than bouillon because that is what I had on hand. I think this would be good using sea shell macaroni. Just chop your vegetables to go with the size of the macaroni you’re using. Definitely will be making this one again. Thank you for the great recipe.
I made it with rotini pasta and only 1 pepper, 1/2 lb. ham, and 1/2 c. chopped sweet pickles in juice. It made over 3.5 pounds! Would cut back a little on the mayo/sour cream sauce.
I did not use the Peppers. It is an awesome salad. It is great!
This is great! It takes ingredients I may not put in a pasta salad and blends them superbly. I find myself eating it faster and faster. It makes enough to take to a potluck without having to increase the amounts. Bingo!
Tasted great but I should have gone lighter on the mayo and sour cream (I subbed plain greek yogurt). I also only used 4 sweet pickles and a tablespoon of the juice. I much prefer dill. Next time I’ll try dill pickles.
This is an awesome salad! We have an abundance of cherry tomatoes from our garden and this is a perfect way to use some up. I only had bread and butter pickles but they worked well. I was eating it before I even had it in the fridge to set overnight. I will definitely be making this again and again. I also used a rotini to hold the sauce better. Thanks for the recipe! Fantastic!
I made this exactly as the recipe states. Absolutely the best pasta salad I have ever had!! Creamy texture packed full of flavor. I think next time I have left over chicken I will make it with the chicken instead of ham to see how that is!
Used sweet relish instead of pickles because I didn’t have any, still delicious!
excellent
I will definitely make it again it is so tasty it’s so good for a sunny day lunch or dinner
Made it exactly to the recipe. My husband, my three year old and my 1 year old gobble it all up same day! I’m gonna need to make double batches so I can eat my fill too!
This pasta salad is awesome, just like it’s name!! Definitely will make again!