Supreme Garden Pasta Salad with Bacon & Ham

Our test kitchen staff was hungry for a great easy pasta salad recipe. We all realized how truly easy these are to make, but what makes it great are the tasty ingredients.

Easy Pasta Salad Recipe

So many ideas of what ingredients we should use popped up and then we just realized why not add all our favorite ingredients in and call it the Supreme recipe?! And with so many fresh and great ingredients, we finally dubbed this recipe as the best. It was all right in front of us and we were thrilled to make it, film it, test it and eat it all in one quick swoop.

Video: Easy Pasta Salad Recipe:

What to Add to This Pasta Salad?

Seriously, these type of dishes should ‘t be boring and the possibilities are endless.

• We added so many veggies like broccoli, celery and carrots. These crunchy bites of veggies are awesome.
• You can add cauliflower and zucchini if you like. They’re not traditional pasta ingredients but the flavor and texture are wonderful. It’s fun to mix up the veggies.
• The addition of fresh herbs really makes this recipe is  truly supreme with bright flavors. Just right here you have a great vegetarian option. Fresh herbs are the best, but dried herbs will work too.
• But we all know that bacon is a popular favorite ingredient. So to add to the supremacy of this dish, we added crunchy bacon and salty ham.
• The fresh vinaigrette is outstanding and give it a taste, share it at your next picnic party and you’ll all adore this awesome potluck dish to share. It’s so easy to make the day ahead of time too. If you love extra flavor, just make an extra batch of the dressing and add before serving. Enjoy more salad recipes here and pasta recipes here.

Supreme Garden Pasta Salad

Yield: 10 Servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 10 minutes mins

Total Time: 30 minutes mins

Make sure to add enough salt/seasoning for maximum flavor. For this much pasta, you must add enough salt to bring out the tasty flavors. Best part about this salad is that you can totally customize it the way you want. Add more of less of any ingredient to make it perfect to your personal taste! Want to make it vegetarian? leave out the ham and bacon. If you like extra flavor, make an extra batch of the dressing and then toss it over the salad right before serving. We prefer to use smaller pasta. 

5 from 4 votes

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Ingredients

For the salad

• 1 pound (454 g) dried pasta , cooked to package instructions
• 2 cups (180 g) chopped broccoli florets
• 1 medium bell pepper , chopped
• 1/2 cup (50 g) chopped celery
• 1/2 cup (64 g) chopped carrots
• 2 medium tomatoes , cut into bite sized pieces
• 3 green onion , chopped
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) chopped red onion
• 3/4 cup (105 g) chopped ham
• 4 strips cooked bacon , chopped
• 4 ounces (113 g) cheddar cheese , or your cheese of choice - cubed

FOR THE DRESSING:

• 3/4 cup (180 ml) olive oil
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) apple cider vinegar (or balsamic vinegar)
• 1/2 cup (112 g) mayo
• lemon zest , from 1 medium lemon
• 3 Tablespoons (45 ml) lemon juice , fresh if possible
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) sugar
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 2 teaspoons (2.5 ml) kosher salt or sea salt, to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) black pepper , fresh cracked if possible
• 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) fresh chopped oregano
• 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) fresh chopped basil

Instructions 

• Prepare the Pasta: Fill a large bowl (big enough to hold cooked pasta) halfway with ice water. Boil pasta to package instructions. Drain pasta, rinse with cold water and shock the pasta by adding it to the cold water to get it cold fast. Once cold, drain the pasta, transfer to a large bowl and set aside. 
• Make the Dressing: In large bowl whisk together all the dressing ingredients (olive oil, vinegar, mayo, lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano and basil). Taste the dressing and adjust salt, pepper or additional seasonings to your preference.
• Add all salad ingredients into the same bowl as the dressing (pasta, broccoli, bell pepper, celery, carrots, tomatoes, green onion, red onion, ham, bacon, and cheese). Gently stir everything together to coat with the dressing.

  Add additional fresh lemon zest or juice (optional) to taste. Serve chilled.

Video

Nutrition Information per Serving

Calories: 471kcal, Carbohydrates: 39g, Protein: 13g, Fat: 29g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Cholesterol: 28mg, Sodium: 460mg, Potassium: 325mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 1825IU, Vitamin C: 35.5mg, Calcium: 124mg, Iron: 1.5mg

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American, Party, Salads, Vegetarian

Calories: 471

Easy Pasta Salad Recipes

• Chicken blue cheese with spinach
• Classic Easy Macaroni Salad Recipe with Ham
• Italian Version – Easy & Amazing!
• Favorite Greek Pasta Salad
• Here’s more great pasta salad recipe ideas. If you make our awesome Supreme recipe, please share it with us on social media! We love seeing your creations. Thanks so much friends! This recipe was originally published in 2017 and re-published in 2021 with updated article.