Awesome Ham Pasta Salad

WOW!!!! What a really good recipe!! I always thought I made a mean pasta salad, but this recipe makes me want to chuck mine out the window! While I wouldn't recommend changing a thing, I did try adding a couple of things that might be worth your time trying: cubed cucumbers, sliced black olives, and different colored sweet peppers. Something to note as well: when you first make this salad, it almost appears as if there might be too much dressing. If you chill it overnight, or even for a few hours, the dressing homogenizes itself and you have just the right amount. Thank you, Karena, for this great recipe!

This recipe is the best salad recipe on this site...trust me! I usually double the recipe and use two green peppers, one red pepper and one orange pepper to make it more colorful. I prefer to use cavatappi pasta though as I think it does a great job at holding the sauce, more so than ziti would. Everyone who tries this is left guessing what exactly makes it so good. I think its the pickle juice. If anyone wonders how much a double recipe of this gives you, well it fits perfectly in the large Tupperware "Thatsa Bowl" which makes an ideal amount for picnics and gatherings. This salad still tastes great 3-4 days after you make it, so make a lot as leftovers will be appreciated by many. One recommendation I have for this recipe is the addition of grated parmesan cheese. Just sprinkle about 1/4 cup over the completed dish and stir it in. I also add a sprinkling of oregano. This dish is a great recipe and minor alterations and additions can easily be made to suite various palates. Thanks for adding such a great recipe Karena. It may take awhile to cut up all the veggies but it is definitely worth the effort!

An extremely good recipe, receiving raves from everyone I've served it to. I followed the recipe exactly the first time out but certain ingredients are easiliy substituted if not available, as other reviewers have suggested, such as relish for pickles, Miracle Whip (my preference) for mayonaise, all green peppers, however, it does require 24 hours for the flavours to meld properly. Definitely a keeper and a repeater in my home.

This is the best of the best... I may have reviewed this a few years ago but I'm not sure... I have been making this for a few years now for a hot weather meal, and no one seems to tire of it... I always use sweet pickle relish in the dressing along with the picle juce.. I have made it with dill and dill relish also as I have a friend who prefers dill rather than sweet... Eather way it is a wonderful hot weather main dish... This is my favoreite recipe form this site and I have tried a lot of them.... LANIEBABE

My husband LOVED this. For a mayonnaise based pasta salad, I thought it was excellent, it's just that I prefer oil/vinegar pasta salads myself. I thought it needed a whole 16 0z box of pasta, there certainly was more than enough dressing. Also, I used a bunch of chopped green onions instead of a red onion. I think it would also be good with shrimp instead of the ham.

I found this recipes on this site over a year ago and its been a family favorite. Every since the first time I made it, they look forward to me bringing this salad. I omitted the garlic,were're not garlic lovers and I added a tablespoon of sugar because even with the sweet pickle juice I find the vinegar a bit tart. Overall, this is a great salad; even my picky kids and husband love it.

Awsome is right! I made this up and have been eating it for lunch and it just gets better. My family doesn't like sweet pickles, so I used sweet pickle relish instead. But I have to wonder, what am I missing by not having that 1/2 cup pickle juice to put in the salad. The next time I make this salad (and there WILL be a next time!), I'm going to buy a jar of sweet pickles specifically to put in here. If its this good when NOT following the recipe exactly, how good will it be when I do? Thanks for the recipe.

Wonderful Pasta Salad. Everytime I go home, my sister requests that I make it for her. I add brocoli and cauliflower and sometimes fry up some bacon and add crumbled bacon bits to it. Tastes wonderful. Sure to be a hit.

Have used cubed ham and cubed turkey! Great either way! I used dill pickles instead of sweet and it reminds me somewhat of a sub sandwhich. In future attempts, I may add some shredded or cubed cheese. Guests really enjoyed and we all agree its a keeper.

This had a nice taste. I will make it again. Great way to use left over ham.

I used two very large red bell peppers (instead of one red, one green) and I used equal amounts garlic dill pickles instead of sweet pickles. To the dressing, I added a few spices (onion powder, garlic powder, dried dill weed, fresh ground pepper, a little hot sauce). I did not add the full amount of dill pickle juice, I just kept adding until it was the consistancy I was looking for. This makes an excellent quick lunch--I mixed it up the night before and portioned it out into small Tupperware containers (my husband took two!)--with a homemade yeast roll. Very filling. Adding additional spices really made this salad great. I did miss the addition of hard boiled eggs, I will make this again but add in a couple chopped hard boiled eggs.

Great recipe. Will make again. Thanks

My husband and I really like this recipe. We both kept eating after we were full. I had leftover Ham from Easter and it was a great way to use it up. I followed the recipe exactly. I was a little nervous about the pickle juice, but I am glad I did. It gave it a very unique but yummy flavor. It seems like a great pot luck to and so colorful. I plan on making this again, especially when I have leftover ham.

Not bad, but I don't think I'd make it again. I could see it being a hit at a party, but definitely isn't a dinner salad. I liked it, but the leftovers in the fridge were tell-tale signs that the family had enough. The sweetness of the pickles with the fresh garlic was the problem. If I did make it again I'd leave out the garlic. It was very pretty, though!

YUM! This is awesome! Loved it! Only changes I made were to omit the peppers and the onion b/c I don't eat them, and substitute dill pickles for the sweet ones. I also added a bit more garlic (garlic fiends here!), mixed in about 1/4 cup of Ranch, used 16oz of egg noodles b/c I don't know what ziti ones look like (LOL), and added some shredded cheddar! All in all, a super recipe to tweak and play with whenever you have some time on your hands!

LOVED this!! I used miracle whip in leiu of the mayo, and dill instead of sweet pickles. MAKE SURE you let the flavors meld otherwise the red onion will overwhelm the taste. Thanks Karena for another great salad recipe!

Wow! I just made this, and I don't think I'll be able to let it sit overnight! It's delicious! I used leftover Easter ham, small shell pasta, and 1/2 red onion. Also, I used 2 Tablespoons sweet pickle relish and 2 Tablespoons dill relish (since sweet pickles are not our favorite.) This is a winner, and can be easily adapted....may add shredded carrots, etc. next time.

I added some cubed old cheddard cheese to the salad and it was very good. I will serve this again.

Awesome is the exact word for this salad. Loved it. Used hamburger dills instead of sweet. It got better every day..but didn't last too long because everyone loved it too. I will definitely make this one a bunch of times.

I made this for a party and it was a big hit. I made it exactly as directions say.

What a great recipe. I made it for a graduation party. The only change I made was to use 16 oz. of ziti & relish instead of pickles. There was enough sauce for the extra ziti. It tastes better the longer it stands. Can't wait to make it again.

This is the best pasta salad! We made a few changes to suit our taste - omitted the tomatoes altogether, substituted green onions for red and ditalini pasta for ziti, used only red peppers, and used sweet pickle relish instead of pickles. I thought the dressing sounded weird with the bouillon but it's fabulous! I agree with another reviewer that it looks like too much dressing at first but the next day it's got a great texture. Thanks so much for this recipe!

This pasta salad is the best I have had yet. I made a few small changes. The only decent peppers I could find were yellow and orange. They gave it a fantastic flavor. I also added chicken instead of ham. The only negative is waiting until it chills well because it smells incredibled!!

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!

I am still looking for a pasta salad my husband and I can agree on. He gave this a 5 star plus, but for me it was really just way too sweet. I probably should have opted for dill pickles instead. My husband loved it though, and ate the entire bowl in three days.

Very strange combination. However you won't believe how tasty it is unless you make it. Go on ...try it...you'll be happy you did.

great salad!! I am not a pasta salad person, but we all love this recipe. I recently made it for a neighborhood get-together and it went over great!!! Thanks for sharing your recipe!!!

Took this to a bbq and it was well-received, but I really wasn't very thrilled with it, myself. I cut down on the pickles but it still tasted like pickles and mayo to me, even two days later.

this was a good salad with a sweet dressing. It stayed very creamy even the next day. It may be too sweet for some people. My kids thought it was just ok.

I adapted this recipe and it was great! I only used half a green pepper, a handful of pickles, no onions. Also I added some shredded carrots, broccoli, and cucumber, and tomatoes. I used light mayo and sour cream for the dressing and tricolor rotini pasta. My mom and I think it's terrific!! Thanks for a winning recipe

This was very good BUT loaded with fat. I made a few modifications which really did not make a difference. I used 1/2 cup of mayo, 1/2 cup of no-fat yogurt and 1/2 cup of lite sour cream. No one could tell the difference. Thanks for sharing, I will make this one again!!

I have been visiting All Recipes for quite a while but never joined. I fixed this salad and had to write a review. This is the best pasta salad I have ever had. I cannot believe the combination of ingredients that all come together with the dressing. Delicious.

DELICIOUS...super simple. A real crowd pleaser everyone time. Makes a huge amount too. I used relish instead of the pickles.

I made this for our Brownie gathering and the girls liked it. I did use only half of the dressing though since personally I don't like too creamy salads.

I would rename this salad "Pretty good Ham pasta salad". I personally really liked it however there was quite a bit leftover after my luncheon was done. My husband found it quite sweet and didn't really care for it - and per other reviewers suggestions, I had reduced the pickle juice. I'm keeping this recipe, however what I may do in the future is add more salty ingredients to balance out the sweetness, like crispy bacon or olives.

Fantastic recipe. I had to omit the ham since I was taking it to a group that included those who are not permitted to eat ham. I used green onions and relish in lieu of pickles. Couldn't find ziti so used Penne instead. Many thanks for an incredible recipe.

I've made this a few times and have received MANY compliments! I don't do the garlic, and I sub dill pickles for the sweet. But, this is a great basic pasta salad, even WITHOUT the ham!

Have used cubed ham and cubed turkey! Great either way! I used dill pickles instead of sweet and it reminds me somewhat of a sub sandwhich. In future attempts, I may add some shredded or cubed cheese. Guests really enjoyed and we all agree its a keeper.

This salad was good for my husband to take to work. A little sweet, so I'd leave most of the sweet pickles and juice out next time, but surprisingly a good mixture of ingredients. Thanks for an easy lunch recipe.

This is a great recipe. Even my fussy asian friend who doesn't eat much pasta likes it. However, he recommends a dash of lemon or soy sauce (just kidding!). I might try some lemon next time and less onion.

Everyone who has tried this salad has LOVED it; it's my new favorite dish to take to get-togethers.

I first made this salad for a family reunion and made a huge roasting pan full. All of it was gone! I have had requests since then to make it for any family/office get together and there is usually none left. GREAT RECIPE!

This was a great way to use left over ham. Next time I think I'll use less mayo though. Thanks for a great recipe.

I probably won't make this pasta salad again. It was good, but nothing spectacular. I'll keep looking for THE pasta salad recipe.

ive made alot of pasta salads thru the years but this one is the best! the beef bouilion makes it!

That ham and pasta salad was so good. My mother asked ME for the recipe. I subbed relish for pickles...too lazy to chop up pickles. Thanks a bunch!

Really good recipe but if you are like my husband and I and prefer more tangy than sweet, use baby dills instead of sweet pickles and add some sliced pepperoncini...perfect.

Wonderful salad dressing! Thanks!

This is the best pasta salad I have ever made! I usually do not care for sweet pickles, but they are awesome in this. I use medium shell pasta because it seems to hold the dressing better. Just to let you know how good it is, I made this on a Saturday (for a family of three) and had to make a double batch on that next Thursday! My husband wants to eat it with every meal.

I loved this recipe! Everyone went back for seconds. I used dill pickles because I prefer them to sweet and it probably could have used more pasta, but it tasted great. Very different from the same old pasta salad. Thanks Karena!

A nice alternative to the usual "bottle of italian dressing or mayo poured over pasta" pasta salad. The pickles added a nice twist. Best served cold.

I was skeptical of this because of the beef bullion. I didn't have the granules, I used Better than Bullion. This is SOOO good! I made it because the reviews were so good, and I'm glad I did! This will go in my regular recipe list for sure!

Too me this was good but not awesome sorry. I brought to 2 parties and it was hardly touched.

WOW!!! I was just looking for something to do with left over ham when I found this little gem! This pasta salad turned out to be better than ANY I've ever made! Definitely going into my collection of "keepers"! Thank you, Karena!!!

BEST BEST BEST pasta salad ever. enough said

Good salad, nice flavors.

I made this for my family reunion and everybody wanted the recipe! Only thing I did different was chop the veggies smaller, I don't care for big chunks. Needless to say I will be making this again!

REALLY GOOD EVERY ONE LOVED IT

One of my favorite recipes.

I love a sweet, creamy pasta salad and this recipe fits the bill. I made this for 4th of July Weekend and it was a huge hit! We had several picnics planned and I had 2 lbs of ham to use so I doubled the recipe, it doubles nicely and filled a plastic 5 qt icecream tub. To satisfy picky eaters, I subsituted elbow macaroni and used onion powder instead of red onion. I took the advice of another reviewer and used pickle relish; for fear of the salad getting too 'pickle-y' I only used about 12 oz of relish in the doubled recipe... you can always add more but you can't take it out! :)

Wonderful! Took it to a church 'covered dish', and had many ask for the recipe. Some snuck some home for the next day's lunch!

Wonderful recipe for a novice cook like myself (Male & 66) Could not wait overnight to cool and had some that night. Still eating it three day later.

Just didn't care too much for the mix of flavors in this.

I've made this for several friends and family members and they all think it's great. It makes a large batch and is colorful too.

My kids and I loved this pasta salad. I made a few changes. I used Barilla Piccolini Mini Farfalle with Tomatoes and Carrots pasta. I substituted a few items since I was using what I had on hand. I used a sweet onion, sweet pickle relish and chicken bouillon granules in place of a few items. I omitted the tomatoes, salt, and garlic. Definitely a keeper recipe.

My family thought this pasta salad was pretty good but not spectacular. I made this salad using medium shells which were a good choice. Next time I will use the entire box of shells and double the sauce. I did not use the sweet pickles and substituted sweet relish instead, next time I will follow the recipe on that one. For my tastes there was way to much ham, I will cut back on that too.

I just served this salad at our July 4th picnic. Everyone loved it! My husband isn't a pasta salad lover but he actually had two helpings. Will definitely make this again.

I made this without ham & served it as a side dish - it's Great!! My husband thught it the best mac salad he's ever had.It will feed more than 6 for sure.

Yummy! I added about 5 drops of Tabasco Sauce to give a little kick (I made a double receipe) and the entire bowl disappeared quickly. My family loved it.

This was ok. I followed the directions exactly and there was entirely too much red onion for my taste. It was not a hit at our employee lunch.

WOW...so simple and so good. Can't wait to try it with shrimp!

Thank you Karena for a great recipe! You're right about its popularity! This recipe makes a ton! The only things i might change are: Less red onion or use a sweeter variety like a peruvian red or vadalia or even to switch it up, green onion in place of it. I used bread and butter pickles, and 3/4 of the mayo called for. If anyone doesnt like the acrid taste of the onion, but still wants to include it, just chop it coarsly like the recipe but before adding to all the ingredients put in a bowl with a fat pinch of salt, stir and let it sit for 15-30mins, then rinse and taste then add to the salad.

i TOOK THIS ( EXACTLY AS RECIPE SAID ) TO A BIRTHDAY PARTY (COVERED DISH ) I DOUBLED IT AND MY BOWL WAS THE ONLY EMPTY ONE THERE LOL .. THEY LOVED IT !! EVERYONE WANTED THE RECIPE......THANKS !!

This salad is really good! The sweet pickles and the sour cream are the ingredients that make it! I'm going to use this combination from now on.

This salad is pretty good. I used reduced fat mayo with olive oil and low-fat sour cream in my recipe.. I about fell over when I saw the fat and calorie content of the original recipe. I served it over a bed of greens. Note that the recipe makes a LOT. For our family, it's well beyond six servings. A lot of people said it tastes better the next day, but to me it tasted exactly the same. This is a great way to use up leftover ham, and it would be great for a bar-b-que.

What a good way to use up left over ham! This is a pasta salad you can add what ever you want (I added peas, cheese, cucumber, olives) or take out what you don't want. I probably didn't put in a pound of ham but you really don't need that much. I will be making this again & again.

I made this for a party and people said it was delicious! I only got to try a little bit, but it really had a good flavor. I can't wait to make it again.

I enjoyed it but my kids all said there was too much garlic in it and I didn't even put onions in. I thought it had lots of flavors. You really have to let it sit overnight or there is way too much dressing.

I used leftover Easter ham. this was sinfully delicious...i think I ate it every day for lunch for a week straight...it's just that good.

Very good, I added some frozen sweet peas, sharp cheese,boiled eggs and real bacon bit. Will make this again Thanks Rosezy

I use this site for recipes all the time, and never rate any of them... but I HAD to rate this ham pasta salad. I made it EXACTLY as the recipe states, and is is FANTASTIC! I will never make another type!! Thanks so much for the great recipe!

I made 2 batches of this pasta for a BBQ with 40+ people, and everyone loved it. No less than 10 people asked for the recipe. The best pasta salad I've ever had!

I didn't have the pickles on hand so I used relish instead and a little bit of vinegar and water for the pickle juice. It had a strong vinegar-y taste to it but my husband and I liked it, it wasn't so bland like many other pasta salads! I'm looking forward to trying it again with the pickles and pickle juice instead!

This is scrumptious! It's the combination but the beef granules are the secret ingredient and adds so much. Personally we like it just the way it is, doesn't need to be altered. Thank you for adding it.

Everyone in my family really liked this recipe. I didn't have sweet pickles so I used bread and butter pickles and they worked out fine. I'll make this again when I have leftover ham!!

I don't know why every review I read on this recipe raved about it. I followed the recipe exactly. I don't think it was anything special at all. I won't be making this again, and I am disappointed that I was mislead by all the 5 star reviews this received.

This was very well received by the entire family - guys, too. I used whole wheat pasta - tho not ziti specifically. And I used sweet realish to taste. This will be a great summer dinner dish.

I needed a quick, easy recipe which didn't require a trip to the store for a last minute Thanksgiving side- it's delicious!

One word- AMAZING!! I've shared this with friends and they all agree its delicious!

This was very good. I could not find ZITI so instead I used the shell macaronis. They came out still great! If you like a little sweet taste of pickles you would love it. My husband thoguht this was the best macaroni salad he ever had. Thanks.

This is my NEW FAVORITE POTLUCK DISH! Any recipe that you make the day before an event is PERFECT in my opinion. The flavors take about 12 hours to really get "happy", but it remained crisp and fresh tasting. I followed the recipe 100% according to directions except for using a sweet onion instead of the red one. The WallaWalla sweet onion was what I had on hand. I doubled the recipe...and I had enough to feed an army...lololol Not one drop was left over!

I used the recipe as a base for ham pasta salad. So I ommited the pickle relish and added a small piece of celery, app.1 teaspoon of beef base and 3 boiled eggs. It's a good recipe to play around with. Thanks.

It is pretty good. I didn't have sweet pickles so I used dill spears

I just made this recipe and think it is very good, but I find it to be a bit too salty, even after setting overnight. Ham, beef bouillon, and mayonnaise all are salty to begin with. I don't see a reason to add an additional half teaspoon of salt. I am wondering whether using equal amounts of sour cream with the mayo also would help curtail the salt. I made it with mini farfalle instead of ziti, and that worked just fine. I like garlic, but I tried the option without. I also added some green peas to one serving and liked them, so I might add a bag to the mix the next time I make this. If the original recipe is supposed to make six servings, they must be huge servings, because this made a LOT of salad! I made this as a trial run for serving a crowd, and I'm glad I did, because I probably will prepare for fewer servings. I scooped out at least 10 8-ounce measuring cups of salad from this single recipe.

This one really lived up to the reviews! I will say that my husband only thought it was ok, because he is not a big pickle fan. However, I loved it and brought the rest into work and it was a really big hit -- great for hot weather meals. I did not use peppers, only because I don't like them -- I substituted celery instead. And it really does make a TON. Thanks!

I followed this recipe as written (which I rarely do) and actually found that the pasta salad made too much dressing!! By the next day, it was too "juicy". My DH did love the flavor, though, so I will probably make again & omit the pickle juice altogether.

I made this recipe recently when I had a lot of leftover ham. I guess I should try it with dill pickles instead. I found the sweetness of the sweet pickles and pickle juice to be a bit overwhelming. It did taste better the second day, but overall not my favorite flavors.

Delicious! I used reduced fat sour cream and mayo and this turned out well. This is a great summer salad that is pretty to the eye as well. Thanks!

My husband and my dad both REALLY liked this recipe. I cut down on the sweet pickles since I'm not a huge fan.It had great flavor and I'll definitely make this again. Would be a great potluck dish.