Allison's Pasta Salad
This salad has it all: cooked ham, fresh grapes, Cheddar cheese, and a rich dill dressing. Use your favorite pasta shape to make this salad your own.
This salad has it all: cooked ham, fresh grapes, Cheddar cheese, and a rich dill dressing. Use your favorite pasta shape to make this salad your own.
I loved this salad, as did my hubby. I didnt change a thing and it was fabulous! The grapes are a nice addition...will make again!
Read MoreThis was different. I followed everyone elses advice and doubled the dressing ingredients, otherwise it would have been way too dry. I also cut the cheese down to 1 cup, omitted the grapes and added a diced red bell pepper. The dressing has a stong dill taste. I thought it tasted better the second day. It was a nice change but I won't make this again.
Read MoreI loved this salad, as did my hubby. I didnt change a thing and it was fabulous! The grapes are a nice addition...will make again!
I'm having a ladies luncheon on Saturday. The problem I have is they are all great cooks and have all tried every new recipe. I found this recipe to be something totally different. I know they'll just love it. I never serve anything new until I've tried it first. I have to say that this is wonderful! I increased the amount of dressing as others suggested; and anyone who knows me, knows I just have to add a cup of celery. I also left out the cheese and increased the grapes adding red as well as green. Oh my, how wonderful! I'm excited to have found a recipe that none of my friends have yet! Thanks Allison!PS I used seashell pasta. The shape seems to hold onto the dressing better than other shapes.
FABULOUS RECIPE! I checked out everyone's recommendations first and then: doubled the sauce, also added halved grape tomatoes, julienned swiss cheese. Whatever you do, definitely double the sauce. YUM!
This was different. I followed everyone elses advice and doubled the dressing ingredients, otherwise it would have been way too dry. I also cut the cheese down to 1 cup, omitted the grapes and added a diced red bell pepper. The dressing has a stong dill taste. I thought it tasted better the second day. It was a nice change but I won't make this again.
This salad was awesome! By far the tastiest pasta salad I have ever attempted. I noticed that in many of the other reviews, people said they omitted the grapes. I would highly recommend trying them, because they add a nice sweetness to the mix and really set this salad apart from others. The pasta shape I used is called Cellentani (I had never noticed it before. It's hollow like elbow macaroni, but has a long, spiral shape to it). The one thing I didn't like was the diced cheese - I thought the pieces were too big. Next time, I'll try using shredded or grated cheese. Thanks, Allison!
Very good salad. However, I don't understand why everyone wants to double the sauce. The recipe calls for 1 3/4 C. of pasta, which is hardly anything at all. After making the sauce, I realized I would need more pasta and cooked another batch. It was still plenty moist and I ended up cooking about 12 oz. of pasta.
This recipe is fabulous! I was skeptical of the grapes, but I'm glad I put them in---they really are tasty. I made this according to the recipe with the exception of using lemon juice instead of the vinegar (just because I didn't have any cider vinegar) and my guests and family loved it! I used deli sliced ham that I cut into small bites and I diced the cheddar very small. I also added carrots and cucumbers for some extra veggies. This is so good and easy, this is THE pasta salad I'll make from now on. Thanks for sharing!
Made it four times now, we love it. Vinegar is key, I tried it once with lemon juice instead and it wasn't as good. Measured generous portions with the dressing, used light mayo and sour cream. Substituted chicken for ham (Perdue Shortcuts- precooked!) and red for green grapes. Cut back on green onions, added more dill. Bought pre-diced cheddar cheese and I'm done in 20 minutes.
I made this for my family reunion and it was a big hit. Make sure you make it a day in advance.
Wow after making hundreds of recipes from this website this is my first review. I was not too sure of the combination of this salad, but I was very very surprised that it turned out much better than I had hoped!!!!! I was looking for something to use up some grapes. I never seem to eat grapes after the first time and they always to to waste. So I tried this recipes and I will definately make again. I made it almost as written. My only changes were white vinegar, because I didn't have cidar, and med. cheddar...because of preference. I really think the sauce is what makes it great but also really love the great combination of ingrediance!!! YUM
Wonderful flavor combination! Thanks a million - will use frequently! I would like to add that since this was for a large group of people, I made a 1lb box of farfalle, doubled the dressing, and used 1/3 more ham. I personally don't like for any salad to be dripping with dressing and doubling the amount (for me) was perfect for 1 lb of pasta. Also, if you let it sit in fridge overnight, it will absorb a lot of the dressing, so make sure to keep some in reserve to add before serving. Fantastic Allison - everyone loved it!
Very tasty! I used red grapes for color contrast. And in my error I used shredded cheese instead of diced cheese. I think the diced cheese would flow nicer and I will do that next time. The mustard in the dish is really differennt...I liked that surprise very much.
This is sooo YUMMY!! I did use lemon juice instead of vinegar and added a little extra sugar. I added more ham and cheese and used sea shell pasta. I also doubled the dressing. I loved it and will use it every chance i get. Thanks!!
This recipe is absolutely delicious! Creamy yet has a little kick fromt he dijon mustard. So easy, I made it with my baby on my hip!!! ;D I substituted the grapes for raisins, and it worked well, giving the dish a chewy surprise here and there. Yum Yum Yum!!
This stuff is great! I have made it for several BBQ's and there is never any left!
This is my "go to" recipe for entertaining. Instead of bowtie pasta, I use fresh cheese filled tortellini....It's just fabulous. Everyone always asks for the recipe!
This is awesome exactly as it is. I never have used the dill but everthing else is exact and it is soooooo addicting. I have also changed it up a bit with subbing the grapes for apples and the ham for smoked turkey and adding a little bacon and that is my daughters new favorite salad. This is a total keeper that I will make time and time again. I do like to use small shells instead of the farfalle, but that is just personal prefrence. Try this salad! Made exactly to the recipe you will not be dissapointed!
wonderful recipe-the only change I made was that I used Chicken instead of the ham
I cannot stress how much I enjoy this salad. By far one of the best salad I've done. I make this for parties and people go crazy over it to the point that they ask for the recipe. Thank you so much for sharing this delicious recipe!
I love this salad! My husband and I don't usually like cold pasta salads, but this one is delicious. I did omit the onions. I made it for a lunch and everyone loved it.
Great recipe! My husband even ate some, and he isn't a fan of mayo-based salads.
We have made this salad now probably 10 times since we first tried it. We make it for ourselves occasionally, but most of the time, family requests it for parties, etc. We are not allowed to bring any other kind of salad now! We make it exactly as called for, although we have noted that there is always extra ham and cheddar left over when the salad is gone. I think you'd be fine halving the ham/cheddar and it would still have plenty. Just a personal preference though. It does have a very unique flavor combination, but we love it! Thanks for a great recipe!
I have never wrote a review for a recipe before, but this pasta salad deserves it. This salad is fabulous, just the way it is. This will be a classic in our house for years to come.
The first time I made this recipe was for a summer get together, and every single person at that party asked for a copy of the recipe! Since then I have made it for every single potluck gathering, and it is a HUGE hit every time. One thing I do differently is substitute lemon juice instead of the vinegar. It takes a little of the "bite" off, but still tastes wonderful!
Perfect! The grapes really were a neat twist on pasta salad! I was skeptical, but they ended up being delicious. This recipe would lend it self to the more 'traditional' pasta salad ingredients as well. I did double the sauce, but I also used an entire box of small shells too, and it was perfect.
Have made this for several picnics & potlucks and it's always a hit!
I made this salad because I had some grapes I wanted to use up. I didn't have quite enough Cheddar, so I put some Swiss in too. I thought it was a really good salad and it was a nice mix of flavors and textures. My only complaint was that even in the relatively short time I chilled it, the dressing pretty much got sucked up by the pasta.
I like to add some spicy mustard and extra sharp cheddar cheese to this recipe for a little tang! One of the best pasta salad recipes I've made so far! Thanks Allison!
Really unique flavor. I used 1 T. cider vinegar and 1 T. lemon juice. I left the sugar in. The dressing was delicious. I love the grapes....so fresh! I used shredded cheese because that's all I had. I liked it...it was subtle. I did add green onions, but only about 1/4 cup. I waited to add the green onion until right before serving. I find that green onion left to sit in a salad overnight can be overpowering.
great recipe! i followed the recipe to a T, except using miracle whip instead of real mayonnaise. it turned out really good. though only downside is that it takes a really, really long time to cut everything up (esp. cheese). i would suggest using shredded cheese instead. oh, and this probably has millions of calories as well...but it's sooo good!! :)
I doubled this salad, and left out the grapes and ham (I didn't have any) and added cut up cucumber, and red pepper. I also shredded my cheese instead of cubing it. It was delicious, although I don't think I will ever add grapes to it, doesn't seem like it would fit with the salad. I think that salmon or tuna would compliment the dill, though. It was very good, stayed relatively moist. I will definately make this again!
This was a really good pasta salad! As suggested, I doubled the dressing ingredients except for the dill (only because we're not dill fans). I made a little extra pasta so we'd have leftovers and reserved 1/2 of the dressing to pour over the pasta salad the next day to suit each person's taste. Since I didn't have ham, grapes or green onions, I used what we had on hand: 1 can red kidney beans, 1 small can sliced black olives and some chopped hard boiled eggs. I also added some chopped green pepper but hubby said it didn't fit with the dressing so I won't do that again. The dressing is really what this recipe is about. You can play around with the ingredients for the salad but the dressing is great as is. I'll be making this again.
This was absolutely delicious. I have made it several times and each time have had a request for the recipe. I did not change a thing except to double the dressing. After chilling the salad overnight, I add the "extra" dressing to bring it to a nice moistness before serving.
This salad was the hit of my party! I did make a couple of adjustments, I reduced the cheese to 1 cup, and I used 3/4 cup of sour cream, and 3/4 of Miracle Whip (which I substituted for the mayo). I also did not add the sugar. Very novel approach to pasta salad for me, and I loved it! Thanks for sharing!
I enjoyed making this. It tasted great, though I found it to be very rich. I will make it again, though I may thin out the dressing a little. thanks.
I ate this at every meal it was sooo good! I used Swiss instead of Cheddar and it tasted great. Definitely a keeper!
I made this for my weekly mah jongg group and they LOVED it everyone wanted the recipe. I did double the dressing as was suggested in other reviews and was glad that I did, it would have been very dry otherwise.
This salad was good, but a little on the bland side for me. Next time, I'll double the spices/herbs and also double the grapes. I thought they were the tastiest part!
I think that the salad would have tasted better if not left to sit over night, the salad became very dry and tasted a lot like Dill Weed.
This was a very tasty, yet different, pasta salad. My two year-old even liked it. I thought that the grapes added an unexpected flavor, that was really good. I doubled the amount of dressing, and did not add the sugar. I will make this salad again.
This is a great summer salad. It is refreshing and yummy. I used less mayo than the recipe calld for, and it was still moist and creamy.
It was okay, but I probably would not make it again.
Five stars, just do not say 'pasta is MATED with chunks of ham' cuz that doesn't sound appetizing.
I know I have already submitted a review, but just had to say that I made just the sauce and used it to baste boneless, skinless chicken breasts. It was great, and used the leftovers to dunk the chicken in. YUMMY!
Absolutely 5 stars. I left out the cider vinegar & the grapes due to personal preference (I added lemon juice instead of the cider vinegar). This recipe is great for work, BBQ's, as a side dish - It is the nicest pasta salad I have ever eaten. Thank you :o)
My fourteen year-old daughter makes this for all of our summer parties. Everyone loves it!!
This is a family favorite. My daughter askes for it often and even my husband likes it (and he doesn't like anything) Extra dressing is necessary or it drys out.
This salad was really very interesting, but good...the sauce was mt favorite part. My husband liked it and rated it "fit to bring to the in-laws." I think the next time I make it I will try shredded cheese and maybe finely diced red onion... just for fun! :) Thanks for a great new salad!
Not bad stuff. I improvised on the ingredients. I didn't use the grapes(sounded weird, not the brave yet). Also, only had deli ham, so i cut that up, and it worked just fine. Used shredded mozzerella instead of cheddar. I didn't have much cheddar left,and needed it for the Ultimate Twice Baked Potatoes(found on this site). The dressing was good stuff!!! I will be making this again.
Wonderful salad! I made it for a wedding shower and several asked for the recipe. I used medium shell pasta, feta cheese instead of cheddar (per previous review), and skipped the onions. I also doubled the dressing as suggested because I like creamier salads. Husband, kids, shower guests all loved it. Thank you Allison, I will certainly make this again!
Made the pasta salad this morning, the cheese and ham and grapes taste great. Been chilling for a couple hours now. Used the recommended amount of sauce though may have used more pasta, ham, cheese, and grapes than the recipe. It tastes so awesome!!!! Wow!!!!
I made this with fresh dill, chicken chunks and celery, red onion instead of the grapes and ham...it was really good.
I like to try new things and this was good but nothing to rave about. The grapes were a little weird for me I didn't think they went well with the other ingredients in salad....maybe grape tomatoes would have bee a better choice?
Awesome! I've made this for a number of different occasions and now everyone demands it! A real crowd pleaser from kids to adults.
This was very tasty. I used lots of fresh dill and apple instead of grapes. However, there isn't enough pasta in the recipe for my taste so next time will use more pasta and decrease the amount of cheese maybe.
I would never have made this if it weren't for the positive reviews... it sounds so wierd! But it WAS really good. Based on the reviews, I did the following: I doubled the sauce, but then did not end up using it all. I reserved about 1 cup of the sauce. I chilled the salad overnight, and added about 1/2 cup of the reserved sauce a couple hours before serving, which really helped with keeping the pasta moist. I also used 2 cups of pasta, left over Easter ham, 1 T of cidar vinegar and 1 T of lemon juice, and I waited to add the onions and grapes until a few hours before serving. (I quartered my grapes so that my toddler could eat the saiad, and I thought they might dry out otherwise). All said, it was really good, and the flavors worked suprisingly well together. My husband loved it. Thanks for all the suggestions!
Great recipe! was a little concerned about the grapes. My husband loved it. I made it for Easter.The grapes make the salad. Will make it again. Great flavor in the dressing. Thanks for the great recipe!!
I omitted the grapes and ham and just added my own ingredients. I used rotini pasta instead of farfalle. However, it did turn out to be a very dry pasta salad after chilling. But I used the dressing for potato salad and it worked out great!! Thanks Allison!!
I was sceptical in trying this one but it turned out great. And for all you chickens out there the grapes are what make the salad. You won't be sorry. Great recipe !!
I didn't care for this much. I disliked the green onion and the dill the most. the best thing about the salad were the green grapes. I will not make this again.
Excellent.. great with Chicken. Made it twice in one week. Thanks for a keeper
Very Good Salad! What a nice change from ordinary macaroni salad. The sauce makes this salad. Don't be skeptical of the grapes as I was. It makes the salad. Also made this a second time and used chunk pineapple. Very good! Thanks for the wonderful new addition to our family's recipe rotation.
I loved the dressing for this salad! I didn't make any changes to the dressing, and I wouldn't to make it again. I did make some changes to the salad itself though. I used whole wheat bow tie pasta and I found that 1 3/4 cups of pasta was not nearly enough for the amount of dressing. I made probably 2 1/2 to 3 cups and still could have used more. Next time, I'll just use a whole package. I also left out the cheese, ham and grapes and used: 1 stalk celery, 1/4 of a red and yellow pepper, 1/4 of a cucumber, 1/2 of a carrot shredded and only a couple of green onions. For a more complete lunch, I added some chicken. It turned out great - I'll definitely make this one again!
By far my favorite pasta salad recipe. Whenever I have leftover ham, I always make this salad. Delicious.
Great recipe! Has been the hit at most or all BBQ parties. Simple, quick and GOOOOOOD!
I really liked this recipe. I did add celery for the crunch. I used red wine vinegar because thats what I had abd ditto for red grapes. I think this recipe could be played with to make almost anyone happy. I will make it again. Thanks a bunch!
I dont know what I did wrong!? The reviews were great! It had too much mayo for me, and not enough taste, but my husband ate it right out of the bowl while watching tv! Mayo made me too greasy tasting.
I made the recipe exactly minus the cheese. I usually won't rate recipes if I don't make them exactly because I feel like you aren't actually tasting the real recipe. However, since the only problem I had with this recipe is that it was too rich and I don't think the cheese would have made it less rich I decided to put my two cents in. I made it the night before and only used half the sauce as it makes alot of sauce. I added the rest right before I served it. My guests loved the first ten or so bites, but quickly got sick of the taste. I was able to eat seconds later in the evening but by the next day I couldn't even look at it. Don't leave out the grapes, it is a refreshing part of the taste.
This salad is amazing. I copied it down and took forever to try it, but am so glad I did. I substitute cooked chicken, pork, or beef for ham. And last night I substituted drained pineapple chunks for the grapes, and it was marvelous! I add a little more mustard, and use coarse ground mustard. This recipe is so versatile and delicious!!!
Based on the other reviewers suggestions, I too used lemon juice, added celery, and because I'm veg omitted the ham. It was pretty good at the time, but I got sick of the flavor pretty quickly - there was something odd about it. I added a can of tuna to the leftovers the next day, and I enjoyed that combination. I probably won't make this again, however. It was unique but not thrilling.
This salad was weird. There were too many different flavours going on. I didn't like it at all, my husband thought it was interesting. I ground some up and the baby loved it. I will not make again.
This is a light salad with lots of flavor that is great for a summer lunch or dinner.
I just made the dressing of this recipe for a pasta salad I was making so I'm just rating the dressing not the whole recipe. I found that it didn't have quite enough flavor. I added about 1 tsp more dillweed and sqeezed in some lemon juice to brighten the flavor. I liked cutting the mayo with the sour cream it sure lightened it up! Not bad with the tweaking I made!
Very yummy! I got rave reviews on it when I made it for our block party. I used shredded Chedder instead of diced.
Even my Japanese mother-in-law was impressed, she took it to a pot luck with RAVE reviews!
Next time I would cut the grapes smaller, reduce the amount of cheese a little, add more pasta and some celery.
used grilled chicken, not ham, and shredded the cheddar. also used a bit more dill. turned out great.
I have to say, I am REALLY surprised at all the positive reviews. I had to throw this away, and it was a big bummer because you have to buy and use a lot of stuff in it. The vinegar was overwhelming, it just tasted BAD. I tried to make sure I got a bite with everything and it still was just...bad. I followed the recipe exactly...definetly not for me.
This has gotten rave reviews everywhere I've taken it. We love it!!!
This was a hit at my senior citizen's luncheon.
I have used this recipe several times and it gets rave reviews ever time. Thanks for sharing
This salad was easy and delicious.
Made this for my daughter's first birthday and one of the guests requested it for a gathering at his house. I use small bowties and about 1/2 cup less than the recipe calls for. I also add a little extra mustard for added kick.
Really good recipe. A hit at our family dinner. The grapes really add a good flavor.
I made this for a 4th of July BBQ and it was a huge hit with the kids (4 and younger). The chunks of ham, cheese and grapes made great finger food. I even missed the part about mixing the dressing separately and just threw it all in together and it turned out great. All of the guests asked me for the recipe!
I loved the dressing, and will try using it with other recipes as well. I like grapes in pasta salad, but my husband doesn't, so they may not be for everyone. I used a little extra pasta, and substituted chicken for the ham because my husband doesn't like ham. Tasty and easy. We liked this one.
This is what I always bring when assigned to a salad. People are always suprised at how well everything goes together!!
I hate to say it, but I was very disappointed with this. It was dry and bland. Sorry! :(
I didn't care for this salad much. I didn't think the different tastes complemented each other well. Also, too much onion for me. Will try somethig else next time.
Are you sure? Removing from Saved Items will permanently delete it from all collections. View My Collections