My homemade, copycat version of Ruby Tuesday’s pasta salad, ready in 30 minutes – 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 gosh darn close.
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
- Use whatever brands of ranch dressing and mayonnaise you prefer – it’s dealer’s choice.
- 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. Which means you’ll be eating it more quickly!
The hardest part about this recipe is waiting for it to chill before digging in. AND I HATE WAITING.
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 of what you make to the pin to share your experience!
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Copycat Ruby Tuesday Pasta Salad
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
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Pin RecipeDescription
My homemade, copycat version of Ruby Tuesday’s pasta salad, ready in 30 minutes – 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
- 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
- 2 cups ham, cooked and diced
- 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
The recipe was originally published in June 2015 and republished in April 2019 with some shiny new pictures.
I have tried soooo many Ruby Tuesday copy cat pasta salad recipes, I am ready to give up. But, my son loves it, so I am trying yours next. The common problem is the Mayo makes the recipe taste weird. So I am excited to try your recipe, because your mayo to ranch ratio seems good. Is there any specific mayo brand you recommend? Dukes has no sugar and lite can change a recipe. Also, what ranch do you use a buttermilk? Please advise!
I tend to use Hellmans Real Mayonnaise, and Hidden Valley Ranch. I hope you like it!
I love this recipe, it’s always a big hit at parties. It tastes just like Ruby’s. Thanks so much!
★★★★★
Thank you so much for your kind words, I’m so glad you love it!
Totes love
What kind of ham do you use?
Hi, Amber – thanks for stopping by! I usually use boneless ham steaks (just make sure they don’t have any extra flavors added in), and grab 2 packages when I make a batch. Hope this helps!
Hi Beth, Thanks so much for the info on the seasoning. It’s so sad that you’re old neighbors store closed, but at least something good came from it. I’ve been missing the old queso and Sonora Pasta (the same sauce was used for both), but I can’t find any recipes that even come close. I know it included spinach and sundried tomatoes because I worked for RT from 2000-05, but I was a server so I never found out the actual recipe. Is there anyway you’d be able to help me out? Thanks again and have a great night.
★★★★★