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Our delicious Creamy Pasta Salad with Ham and Peas is loaded with elbow pasta, chunks of ham and cheese, tender peas, and hard-boiled eggs – all tossed with a luscious, creamy dressing.
Easy, Creamy, and Delicious Pasta Salad
This Creamy Pasta Salad with Ham and Peas is the ultimate in delicious comfort food – and it’s the perfect addition to the menu at summer cookouts, backyard barbecues, picnics at the beach, or game day gatherings.
To make it, you’ll combine cooked elbow pasta, chunks of Black Forest ham, bite-sized pieces of white cheddar cheese, hard-boiled eggs, and peas in a creamy dressing that is thick and luscious thanks to the addition of soft-boiled eggs mixed with the mayonnaise, sour cream, Dijon mustard and other ingredients.
This is an easy and delicious pasta salad that is a real crowd favorite!
Why you’ll love Creamy Pasta Salad with Ham & Peas
- Every bite of this salad is loaded with a wonderful combination of textures and flavors.
- This pasta salad is filling – in fact, it can be enjoyed as a light meal all on its own.
- This is a great menu option for summer potlucks or game day parties.
Key Ingredients & Substitutions
- Pasta – We chose elbow macaroni, but any pasta shape will work such as farfalle (bow ties), penne, fusilli, etc.
- Hard- and Soft-Boiled Eggs – You will soft-boil some of the eggs that get added to the dressing, while the rest of the eggs will be hard-boiled, chopped, then added to the salad.
- Celery
- Ham – Use any cooked ham. We bought a pre-wrapped mini Black Forest ham. If your ham has a skin on it, remove that before cutting the ham into bite-sized chunks.
- Peas – Frozen green peas are the simplest to use and taste great. But, if you have fresh peas available, blanch them before adding to the salad.
- Cheddar Cheese – Aged white cheddar cheese is best. Buy a block, not shredded, and cut into cubes. Cabot makes a few good aged cheddars, as well as Old Croc.
- Dressing – The creamy dressing has one surprise ingredient in it – those soft-boiled eggs mentioned above – that get pureed along with mayonnaise, sour cream, cider vinegar, Dijon and dry mustard, granulated sugar, celery salt, garlic powder, white pepper, hot sauce, and finely minced yellow onion. The soft-boiled eggs add a rich thick creamy texture to the dressing and help the salad ingredients cling to each other.
Special Tools Needed
- Large Saucepan – To cook the eggs.
- Large Pot – To cook the pasta.
- Medium Bowl – To mix the dressing.
- Immersion Blender or regular Blender – To puree some of the dressing ingredients.
- Large Bowl – To mix the salad.
- Cutting Board and Sharp Knife
- Various Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Large Slotted Spoon or Spider Strainer – To place the eggs in the boiling water without splashing.
- Wooden Spoon – To Stir the pasta.
- Rubber Spatula
- Colander
How do I make Creamy Pasta Salad with Ham & Peas?
- Boil the eggs following this method. You will soft-boil some of the eggs (let the eggs sit in the hot water for only 5 minutes) while the rest of the eggs will be hard-boiled (let sit in hot water for 15 minutes.)
- Cook the pasta, drain, rinse, and cool.
- Peel the eggs, then add the soft-boiled eggs to a medium bowl or a blender. Chop the hard-boiled eggs for later.
- Finely chop the soft boiled eggs with a blender or immersion blender, then add all of the other dressing ingredients (except the onions) and puree to a smooth consistency. Add onions to the dressing after pureeing.
- Place cooked elbows, chopped hard boiled eggs, chopped celery, chopped ham, thawed green peas, and cubed cheddar cheese into a large bowl.
- Stir in dressing and serve.
Tips & Tricks
- Make sure your pasta is fully drained, rinsed and cooled before mixing with the other ingredients.
- Cooled pasta won’t absorb the dressing (still-warm pasta will) so the salad will stay the creamiest when the dressing is mixed with fully cooled pasta.
- Elbow noodles can hold excess water even after draining. To avoid a soggy salad, we blotted the pasta in the colander with paper towels just to make sure there was no water left on the noodles.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I make Pasta Salad with Ham & Peas ahead of time? Yes, we think this salad tastes even better as it sits and the flavors meld together.
- How do I store leftovers? Store covered and refrigerated for up to four days. Bring back to room temperature before serving for the creamiest consistency.
- Can I freeze the leftovers? No, we don’t recommend freezing this pasta salad.
You might like these other Pasta Salad Recipes:
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Creamy Pasta Salad with Ham & Peas
Our delicious Creamy Pasta Salad with Ham and Peas is loaded with elbow pasta, chunks of ham and cheese, tender peas, and hard-boiled eggs – all tossed with a luscious, creamy dressing.
Ingredients
5 uncooked, room temperature eggs left in the shell (3 will be hard-boiled and 2 soft-boiled)
2 tablespoons white vinegar
12 ounces dry elbow macaroni
1/2 cup celery, chopped, about one stalk
2 cups cubed cooked ham, about 12 ounces (we used Black Forest mini pre-wrapped ham and cut off the skin)
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 cup aged cheddar cheese, cubed (look for a good brand of aged cheddar cheese such as Cabot or Old Croc)
Dressing
2 soft boiled eggs from above
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons celery salt
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
Few shakes of your favorite hot sauce
1/4 cup finely minced yellow onion
Instructions
- Bring a saucepan of water to a boil with two tablespoons of white vinegar and with a slotted spoon, gently set in the five eggs, one at a time. Boil for five minutes then remove from heat. Time five minutes and remove two eggs. Let the other three eggs sit in the hot water for ten more minutes.
- Peel and cool the two soft boiled eggs and place in a medium bowl or a blender.
- Peel and cool the hard-boiled eggs and chop them into pieces and add to a large bowl.
- While the eggs are cooking, place a large pot of water on to boil and once boiling, salt the water then add the pasta and cook to al dente. Drain well and cool. Then add to the bowl with the chopped hard-boiled eggs. (Make sure the pasta is fully drained and cooled. Since cooked elbow pasta can hold water, we blotted the pasta in the colander with paper towels just to make sure there was no water left.)
- Add the celery, ham, peas, and cheddar to the pasta in the large bowl, then toss.
- Use an immersion blender or a standard blender and coarsely chop the soft-boiled eggs. Add the mayonnaise, sour cream, Dijon, sugar, celery salt, dry mustard, garlic powder, white pepper and hot sauce and puree until completely smooth and creamy. Stir in the onions then pour the dressing over the bowl with the pasta.
- Stir to combine and serve.
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