This Creamy Bow Tie Pasta Salad recipe is everything you want in a summer side dish! Tender pasta is tossed with a creamy homemade dressing, then mixed with ham, cheese, peas, onions, and bell peppers. The pops of color – and flavor – are hard to resist! Perfect for potlucks, BBQs and family picnics.
Looking for more potluck ideas? Try loaded broccoli salad, white cheddar mac and cheese, or dill pickle pasta salad.
Pasta salad is always on the menu for any summer gathering. It’s such a perfect side dish to add to a meal of grilled chicken, burgers, brats, fried chicken, and more. This bow tie pasta salad recipe is so good, though, that you’ll be finding every reason to make it all year long! The bow ties look so pretty and hold up well with the dressing and other ingredients. This is one of those recipes everyone will be asking you to send to them.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Super creamy. This bow tie pasta salad is covered in a rich, mayo-based dressing made with tangy mustard and relish. Every bite is packed with flavor!
- Perfect for any occasion. I love making this salad in the summer for barbecues, potlucks, and more. That being said, you could also whip up a big bowl for simple, light lunches during the week.
- Customizable. Bow tie pasta salad is easily adapted. You can switch up the pasta type, the veggies, etc. Check out the variations section below for more ideas.
What You’ll Need
Here’s what you’ll need to make this bow tie pasta salad recipe. The exact measurements and full recipe instructions are below in the printable recipe card.
For the Pasta:
- Bow tie pasta – Cook the pasta according to package directions before you make the salad.
- Cheddar cheese – I used a block of cheddar and cut it into small cubes.
- Ham – Leftover ham would work very well, or you can use thick sliced deli ham. I used ham steaks from the meat section of the grocery store and they were great for this recipe.
- Onion – You can use a white onion or a sweet onion, whichever you prefer.
- Frozen peas
- Red bell pepper
For the Dressing:
- Mayonnaise
- Relish – You can choose to use either sweet relish or dill pickle relish, depending on your taste and what you have on hand.
- Granulated sugar
- Mustard – I recommend sticking with yellow mustard over dijon or other kinds.
- Vinegar – Either white vinegar or apple cider will be perfect.
- Salt and pepper
What Is Bow Tie Pasta Really Called?
Bow tie pasta is really called “farfalle” pasta, which means “butterflies” in Italian. In the U.S., it is called “bow tie” pasta because it also looks like a bow tie! This pasta is made by cutting fresh pasta into rectangles with ruffle edges, then pinching the centers together.
How to Make Bow Tie Pasta Salad
- First, boil the pasta according to the package directions, just until al dente. Be sure you don’t overcook the pasta or it will fall apart in the salad.
- Rinse the pasta. When the pasta is cooked, drain it in the colander and then rinse it well with cold water. This stops the cooking, chills the pasta fast, and prevents it from sticking together.
- Make the dressing. While the pasta is cooking, you can whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing. Cover the bowl and refrigerate it until you’re ready to add it to the salad.
- Mix everything together. In a large mixing bowl, toss together all of the ingredients for the salad with the dressing.
- Chill. Cover the bowl and chill the salad in the refrigerator for 1 hour before serving.
Watch the Recipe Video
Check out the video below for a step-by-step guide on how to put this pasta salad together:
Tips for Success
-
- Mix-ins should be about the same size. When you are cutting up the ham, cheese, peppers, or whatever else you are adding to the salad, try to cut them to about the same size. I prefer smaller sized mix-ins because then it’s easier to get a bite of everything together in one go!
- Don’t skip rinsing the pasta. The noodles need to cool a bit before being tossed with the dressing and other mix-ins. If you wait around for it to cool on its own the pasta can stick together, so running it under cold water after it has finished cooking is a good workaround.
- Let it chill. Let the pasta salad rest for at least 30 minutes in the fridge before serving it. This gives the flavors time to really mesh together and allows the noodles to absorb some of the flavors from the dressing.
- Don’t make the salad too far ahead of time. If this pasta salad is made more than a day in advance, it can become soggy. If you want to prepare the dressing ahead of time, though, and store it separately in the fridge, that can work.
Variation Ideas
- Purple onion – Purple onion would be delicious in this salad.
- Bacon – Instead of ham, use crumbled crisp bacon.
- Different pasta shapes – There are other types of pasta that would work well in this salad if you don’t have bow tie pasta on hand. Farfalle, rotini, and penne would all be good options.
Also, many of the ingredients in the salad can be left out or changed to suit your tastes. Don’t like peas? Just leave them out. Prefer sweet relish over dill pickle relish? That’s fine! Use what you like.
How to Store Leftovers
Keep the leftover pasta salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. Be sure to give it a good stir before serving as the dressing tends to settle at the bottom of the bowl.
More Recipes to Try
Bow Tie Pasta Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Dressing
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons relish (sweet or dill)
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Salad
- 1 pound bow tie pasta
- 8 ounces cheddar cheese diced
- 1 cup fully-cooked ham diced
- 1/2 small white or sweet onion peeled and finely diced
- 1/2 cup frozen peas thawed
- 1/2 cup red bell pepper seeded and finely diced
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients. Cover and refrigerate while you move on to the next steps.
- Boil the pasta according to the package directions, just until al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water.
- In a large mixing bowl, toss together all of the ingredients with the dressing. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.
Last Step:
Please leave a rating and comment letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business to thrive and continue providing free, high-quality recipes for you.Notes
- To store. Keep the leftover pasta salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. Be sure to give it a good stir before serving as the dressing tends to settle at the bottom of the bowl.
Nutrition
Leave a Review!
We LOVE hearing from you! Submit your question or comment here.
Your email address will not be published.
41 comments on “Creamy Bow Tie Pasta Salad”
There was too much pasta for the dressing. I had to make another batch of dressing and cut up more vegetables and cheese. Recipe should call for 8 ounces of dry pasta.
I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out great with the exception of needed additional mayonnaise. I added a bit of heavy cream!
Bow tie pasta salad is the bomb!!! What a delicious salad! Everyone loved it!
Thanks Stacy!
Haven’t tried it yet but can you make it the night before to use for a luncheon?
Hi Nancy. Yes, this will do well making the night before. It also stores well in the fridge for up to four days.
so good! we added Dijon mustard instead of yellow
Thanks Brenda!
We loved this. I swapped out diced chicken for the ham was amazing. Took it to my grandson’s birthday party. It was all gone quickly.
Glad it was a hit. Thanks Patricia!
Pasta salads like this are my entrees in hot weather, when I don’t want to cook! I make the salad in the morning, and it’s ready for lunch and/or dinner that afternoon/evening.
I did tweak this by using rice vinegar and stone-ground mustard. I also followed the author’s suggestion of using purple onion, because I love purple onion, and added some chopped, hard boiled egg, because I had some in the fridge.
Sounds delicious. Thank you Leesa!
Make double the dressing. The noodles will soak up all the dressing, if left over night. Use half of the dressing right away, and save half for the next day.
Delicious. I use half Mayo, half Miracle whip..everything else the same, we like the tang of MW..for those who don’t “get” the vinegar/sugar..i have worked in restaurants for years..any creamy dressings for salads, from pasta, to broccoli and slaw, include both. You will notice a difference in taste, try a half batch with, and one without ..it’ll taste better with..
VERY tasty! We have made this many times, made it today for our family xmas get together. Always a big hit. We did find that there was just a touch to many noodles which made it slightly dry so depending on how many people I’m making it for I either slightly increase the sauce ingredients or just use 75-80% of the noodles than is called for. I will add about 2 or 3 tablespoons of Olive Garden Italian dressing and mix in for a slight tang, puts this over the top delicious!
Thanks Spidey!
Toddler and kid friendly. Thank you!
Everyone loves this. I would love to make this for a big 4th party. What is the best way to double this recipe and keep the great flavor
Thanks Shirley. If you click on the “2x” in the recipe card it will give you the correct amounts to double the recipe. You should have no trouble maintaining the flavor.
I am so glad you clarified that, Jill. I have seen those 2x, 3x, etc. in recipe cards before and for some dumb reason thought that referred to the size of the print! Now I know!! Thanks
Glad that helped. Thanks Barbara!
This was great!!! Love me a creamy pasta salad! I made it twice in two weeks for dinner because it was nice and cold in this hot weather we are having in Norway. My husband loved it.
The second time I made it I added about 3 Tbs Sriracha mayo (for a double recipe) just to give it a kick since I was using chunks of jalapano chicken instead of ham. I recommend doing this too!
Always a winner at potlucks & BBQ’s. I added some diced Roma tomato (seed part removed) just because I had them lying around.
Recipes are great, I just wish measurements were included!!!!!
The measurements are in the recipe card near the bottom of the pages.
The measurements are included. Scroll to the recipe at the bottom.
I’ve been looking at recipes all day for macaroni salad. I just don’t get adding sugar and vinegar. I sometimes make mine with tuna, green onion, celery, mayo and mustard. Sometimes I add ham and cheese and other things, depending on what the main course will be. Grilled burgers or steaks and ribs. I don’t ever add sugar to anything! I save the sweets at desert time.
I agree
It’s amazing what that little bit of sugar adds to the dressing.
Why can’t I print out this recipe?
Hi Linda, You will see a Print button inside the recipe box.
Very nice
Loaded pasta salad. A video clip would do
Love it
Love what you’re doing.its great work, anyway I’ll love it if you’ll teach me this very delicacy.