My homemade, copycat version of Ruby Tuesday’s pasta salad – rotini pasta, diced ham, peas and green pepper make for the perfect side dish for a summer party! Don’t forget to bring a pitcher of raspberry rosé sangria and the ingredients for some grilled peaches, too.
Generally speaking, I’m not a “chain restaurant” kind of girl. I live for finding little hole in the wall cafes, family-run diners and restaurants that only use locally-grown ingredients.
But I do have a couple exceptions, and the Ruby Tuesday salad bar is one of them. Sweet mother, do I love their salad bar.
On my first pass, I pile my plate high with olives, egg, peas, peppers, carrots and a smidgen of lettuce underneath it all. But on my second pass I load it up with the fruit salad and the pasta salad.
I can’t get enough of the pasta salad – I really don’t even know what it is about it that’s so addictive to me.
The Ruby Tuesday closest to me is… well, not close at all. I got a horrible craving for the pasta salad recently and my only mission was to come up with a copycat recipe (I know, you’re shocked).
And it might not 100% dead on, but this is pretty freaking close.
Tips for making copycat Ruby Tuesday pasta salad
You only need 8 ingredients, most of which you probably have hanging around the house anyway:
Rotini pasta
Ranch dressing
Mayonnaise
Green bell pepper
Ham
Frozen peas
Salt
Pepper
Make sure you’re salting the water you’re cooking the pasta in. For 1 pound of pasta (like we’re using in this recipe), add at least 1/2 Tablespoon kosher salt.
Cook the pasta to just a little past al dente. You don’t want it to be mushy from being cooked too long, nor do you want it to be too tough because you didn’t cook it long enough.
Make sure you rinse the pasta in cold water after it’s done cooking. Once you rinse it in cold water, it’s going to stop it from cooking further – so make sure to taste it before you pull it from the heat.
Speaking of the cold water rinse, you don’t need to chill the pasta before dressing it. In fact, that would be doing yourself a disservice! You want to compile the salad with all the ingredients as soon as you can while it can still best absorb the flavors.
Does it matter what brands I use?
Overall, not really. Use whatever brands of ranch dressing and mayonnaise you prefer or have on hand.
For what it’s worth, I usually use Hellmans Real Mayonnaise and Hidden Valley Ranch.
What kind of ham should I use?
I always buy packages of Boar’s Head Boneless Ham Steaks and then dice them. An 8 ounce package is about 2 cups of diced ham.
But if you happened to have a freshly baked ham, you can absolutely use that!
Do I have to use rotini pasta?
To get as close to the real recipe, yes!
But outside of that, definitely not. You could always try it with another “short” pasta shape like fusilli, penne, cavatappi, or elbow macaroni. Nooks and crannies are your friends! Just make sure you’re using dried pasta instead of fresh – it holds up better to pasta salads.
Chilling is essential for the flavor
The hardest part about this recipe is waiting for it to chill before digging in. AND I HATE WAITING.
I’ve had many people comment that it didn’t taste quite right when they taste tested it before chilling it in the fridge – and you’re all completely right.
The flavors don’t meld together to get it just right until after it’s been in the fridge for at least an hour. The good news is that it’s totally worth the wait!
Plus, it’s so easy to make a giant batch to serve at a summer party and it can be prepared ahead of time so that you can worry about more important things the day of the party, like decorations, music and inflating pretzel-shaped pool floats.
… what? That’s just me? Fine.
After you’ve made this recipe, please leave a comment below with a rating – and if you came from Pinterest, add a photo to the Pin of what you make to the pin to share your experience!
My homemade, copycat version of Ruby Tuesday’s pasta salad – rotini pasta, diced ham, peas and green pepper make for the perfect side dish for a summer party! Don’t forget to bring a pitcher of raspberry rosé sangria and the ingredients for some grilled peaches, too.
Ingredients
Scale
1 pound rotini pasta
1 cup ranch dressing
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 green bell pepper, diced (about 1 cup)
2 cups ham, cooked and diced (about 1–8 ounce ham steak)
1/2 cup frozen peas
Instructions
Cook pasta according to package directions, drain, and rinse with cold water. Set aside until completely cooled.
In a very large bowl, combine ranch dressing, mayonnaise, salt and pepper.
Add green pepper, ham, peas and stir to combine. Add pasta and stir again to combine.
Cover bowl and place in refrigerator to chill completely.
Serve cold and enjoy!
Notes
Make sure you rinse the pasta in cold water after it’s done cooking – this will stop the cooking process completely, and it will help it cool more quickly.
People have given some AWESOME recommendations in the comments – some from real life former Ruby Tuesday employees. Check them out if you want to make this more authentic – I’m not including them in my recipe card since it wasn’t my idea and I actually love my version as is, and I don’t want to give away their secrets without credit 🙂
Category:Appetizer, Side Dish
Method:Stovetop
Cuisine:American
Keywords: ham and pea pasta, Copycat Ruby Tuesday Pasta Salad, summer salad, easy pasta salad, ham and pasta recipes, macaroni salad with ham, copycat recipes, restaurant recipes, copycat restaurant recipes, cold pasta salad recipes, rotini pasta salad
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The recipe was originally published in June 2015 and republished in April 2019 with some shiny new pictures.
I’m so excited for this!! My main craving during this pregnancy was ruby tuesdays pasta salad. And now I have have it without leaving my house (which is nice due to covid). It’s SPOT ON. I can’t believe it. Thank you!
Leslie Kiszka
Monday 11th of January 2021
So glad you liked it! Best of luck with your pregnancy <3
Heather
Sunday 3rd of January 2021
Surprisingly close to correct! Rather than salt and pepper, we used gsp or fry seasoning. Add dried garlic powder lol
Mary Ann Baker
Saturday 31st of October 2020
When you say you use Hidden Valley Ranch are you saying that:
A. You use the Hidden Valley Ranch from a bottle?
OR
B. You make your own? If you make your own please be specific as to how you make it like which packet, which milk and which mayo.
Thanks
Leslie Kiszka
Sunday 1st of November 2020
Hi Mary Ann, thanks for asking - no one ever has before, and it never occurred to me that I was being unclear! I'm talking about the bottles of creamy dressing (and not dry mix).
Mary
Sunday 18th of October 2020
I just need some clarification, in one spot you mention a 1/2 lb pasta & in the ingredient list you say 1 lb pasta. Which is correct?
Leslie Kiszka
Sunday 18th of October 2020
Thank you for catching that, I just corrected it! The recipe is for 1 full pound.
Glenna
Wednesday 26th of August 2020
What can you use in place of the green peppers? I don't like them raw but I eat them cooked. Also I was wondering if Miracle whip would work instead of mayo. Has anyone tried it?
Minnie
Friday 22nd of January 2021
@Leslie Kiszka, I don’t like bell peppers either. I’m going to make this with celery for the crunch.
Leslie Kiszka
Thursday 27th of August 2020
If you're not a fan of green peppers, you can just leave it out! And I don't personally use Miracle Whip, but I would say that due to the sugar content in it you'd end up with a slightly different flavor that would be sweeter than the recipe as written. But if you give it a try, I'd love to know how it turns out!
Hi there! I’m Leslie and I use baking as an outlet for relieving stress and anxiety to provide you with easy to follow homemade recipes and a little humor. About Leslie >>
Emily
Thursday 7th of January 2021
I’m so excited for this!! My main craving during this pregnancy was ruby tuesdays pasta salad. And now I have have it without leaving my house (which is nice due to covid). It’s SPOT ON. I can’t believe it. Thank you!
Leslie Kiszka
Monday 11th of January 2021
So glad you liked it! Best of luck with your pregnancy <3
Heather
Sunday 3rd of January 2021
Surprisingly close to correct! Rather than salt and pepper, we used gsp or fry seasoning. Add dried garlic powder lol
Mary Ann Baker
Saturday 31st of October 2020
When you say you use Hidden Valley Ranch are you saying that: A. You use the Hidden Valley Ranch from a bottle? OR B. You make your own? If you make your own please be specific as to how you make it like which packet, which milk and which mayo.
Thanks
Leslie Kiszka
Sunday 1st of November 2020
Hi Mary Ann, thanks for asking - no one ever has before, and it never occurred to me that I was being unclear! I'm talking about the bottles of creamy dressing (and not dry mix).
Mary
Sunday 18th of October 2020
I just need some clarification, in one spot you mention a 1/2 lb pasta & in the ingredient list you say 1 lb pasta. Which is correct?
Leslie Kiszka
Sunday 18th of October 2020
Thank you for catching that, I just corrected it! The recipe is for 1 full pound.
Glenna
Wednesday 26th of August 2020
What can you use in place of the green peppers? I don't like them raw but I eat them cooked. Also I was wondering if Miracle whip would work instead of mayo. Has anyone tried it?
Minnie
Friday 22nd of January 2021
@Leslie Kiszka, I don’t like bell peppers either. I’m going to make this with celery for the crunch.
Leslie Kiszka
Thursday 27th of August 2020
If you're not a fan of green peppers, you can just leave it out! And I don't personally use Miracle Whip, but I would say that due to the sugar content in it you'd end up with a slightly different flavor that would be sweeter than the recipe as written. But if you give it a try, I'd love to know how it turns out!