A quick and easy homemade pineapple dressing is tossed with pasta, ham, and bell peppers for a uniquely delicious side dish! It’s potluck perfect and makes a great side dish or light meal.
A Fresh and Flavorful Pasta Salad
If you are looking for a pasta salad that’s a little bit different, this ham pasta salad is it!
Pasta – Use any medium shaped pasta, farfalle, shells, and rotini are favorites. Add Ins: In this easy recipe, ham and pineapple are the stars, inspired by flavors on a Hawaiian pizza. Red peppers add crunch and color while green onions add flavor. The dressing is a quick creamy pineapple dressing and it’s so good that I always double it for salads (it’s excellent over strawberry spinach salad too).
This recipe is not a Hawaiian dish, and it is not Hawaiian pasta salad like a Macaroni Salad found on a typical Hawaiian Plate Lunch. In a Hawaiian plate lunch, generally, macaroni salad is a tangy combination of mayo & macaroni, sometimes with a few other ingredients. You can find a great Hawaiian macaroni salad here.
The Pineapple Dressing
You can use almost any dressing on pasta salad. This recipe includes a fresh and zesty pineapple dressing. Making homemade dressing is very quick and easy, and the flavor is much better than store-bought dressing.
Mayonnaise and sour cream are the creamy base Pineapple (and a bit of cider vinegar) add tang and freshness Dijon and garlic powder add flavor while honey balances out the dressing.
Tips for Pasta Salads
Don’t overcook the pasta, it will soften as it soaks up the dressing. Add extra dressing, as some will be absorbed by the pasta. Pasta salad is best made at least a couple of hours ahead of time so the flavors have a chance to blend. Season the salad generously.
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