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!
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).
It’s still not 100% dead on, but this is pretty gosh darn close.
You only need 8 ingredients, most of which you probably have hanging around the house anyway. The hardest part about this recipe is waiting for it to chill before digging in.
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.
Let me know in the comments if you find a way to tweak the ingredients to get the recipe juuuuust right. I’ll owe you!
Update in April 2019: You guys 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 😉
More pasta, please!
- Shrimp Pasta Salad from Stress Baking
- Easy Greek Pasta Salad from As Easy As Apple Pie
- Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad from Chelsea’s Messy Apron
- BBQ Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad from Taste and See
- Late Summer Veggie Pesto Pasta from Hunger Thirst Play
- Spicy Buffalo Macaroni Salad from Whitney Bond
Copycat Ruby Tuesday Pasta Salad
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Print Recipe
Pin Recipe
Description
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!
Ingredients
- 1 lb 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!
- Category: Appetizer, Side Dish
- Method: Stovetop
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 too crave Ruby Tuesday’s pasta salad at times. Thank you for sharing the recipe. I’m going to give it a try!
★★★★★
Let me know what you think when you do!
I’m pretty sure theirs doesn’t have green pepper in it. (But I think their potato salad does) A lot of “authentic” recipes I’ve seen for this pasta salad included small cubes of cheese (which I don’t believe is in it either.) I make mine by making ranch dressing using the hidden valley dry mix that uses mayo and milk., and using the package directions, and the whole recipe. Then add more mayo or milk to get consistency you like; but if you add more mayo, add more garlic powder…that is really what makes Ranch Dressing taste so good. The rest of your recipe looks very good!
★★★★
The one I used to go to always included green pepper, but it certainly could have changed since I was there last. Thanks for stopping by!
They do use bell peppers. I worked the salad bar, and had to make the ham & pea pasta. They also used a seasoning mix called Ruby seasoning.
I found another recipe and I’ll tell you what’s missing: it’s Lawrys Seasoning Salt! I was just searching for that recipe and came across yours, I believe it’s a tablespoon you’ll add. If I find that recipe I’ll come back and tell you what it is!
Whoops make that HALF A TEASPOON lol, here’s the recipe:http://m.chronicle.augusta.com/life/food/karin-calloway/2010-10-12/simple-recipe-produces-flavorful-pasta-salad#gsc.tab=0
FYI: Ruby Tuesday actually uses Turkey Ham to make it less salty and they use the seasoning that is used on seasoned fries. The key also is to use CHEAP ranch. (nothing thick) I went into Ruby Tuesdays every Friday when I was pregnant because I craved soooo much. I make the salad all the time. Except I have added Red bell pepper to it for color.
★★★★★
Thanks for the tips!
It still has the green pepper ,had it 2 days ago ???? I love it ,I always pay extra so I can get that salad with my Chicken Bella my other crave from there. Just finished making it for tomorrow !Thank ~You!
What brand of mayo do you use
I think at the time I made this post, I had been using Hellmans, but you can use any kind you like!
I just tried this, it tasted really ranch-ie when I tested it, I’m chilling it to hope it mellows out some. They definitely use turkey ham instead of regular ham and my RT always puts green pepper in theirs (I pick it out because of texture issues ????). I also substituted salt/pepper for Johnny’s seasoning (it like lawreys seasoning but with a pepper blend in it).
★★★★
What am I supposed to do with the frozen peas? Do I cook them first or add them frozen?
You just add them frozen. They thaw quickly and by the time you’ve let the salad chill in the fridge they’re be the perfect consistency!
I always pick out the peas
I served and managed at RTs for over 6 years. I made more batches of the ham and pea pasta than I care to remember. I can tell you they absolutely use green peppers and the seasoning is their fry seasoning(like a seasoning salt with pepper).
Thank you for the confirmation about the green peppers, Mary! 🙂
Leslie, you nailed it! I always order the salad bar just so that I can get this pasta salad. I made it tonight, following your recipe and added Lawreys seasoning and it was great! Thanks!
I’m so glad you liked it! It’s such a good staple for BBQs 🙂
Thanks for the info, my sister and I absolutely love Ruby Tuesday pasta. I was trying to figure the ingredients out to make it for a party.
You’re so welcome!
My pleasure!
Very good! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for enjoying! 🙂
I too often crave this pasta salad and can never help myself but to go back for seconds! Thank you so much for posting this; I will be making it this weekend for a BBQ!
I’m so glad you like it!!
Haha, you could always leave them out if you wanted!
Have you ever tried add bread crumbs and cheese toss it in the oven until golden brown? I think I might try it thought I would ask if anyone have tried it
This is a cold pasta salad, so I personally wouldn’t recommend that.
I worked at Ruby Tuesday for a few years. The ham is actually turkey ham. Might be the flavor profile your missing
I actually love the flavor as is, but that’s great to know for people who want to be true to the restaurant version!
I swear I had no clue this had ranch in it!!! Just blew me away when I saw the ingredients list!! Can’t wait to make this!! Thanks for the recipe!!!
I worked there for 4 years, 2 on the salad bar. The only thing you’re missing is a tablespoon of Tabasco.
I call it Crack Salad because I am thoroughly addicted. I will be making this soon. Very soon. The ranch and Lawry’s are surprises. Are there low-sodium options that could give the same craveable flavor? I know salt make everything taste amazing but in order to eat as much I want I got to watch the salt.
I was craving this today but not enough to get the entire salad bar. I’m going to make it this week. I never looked up the recipe before but it came right up without a problem! I can’t wait to give it a try!
Yay! I hope you love it!
Someone recommended Lawrys season salt. NO! Lawrys contains way too much sugar and it ruined my salad. Stick to the recipe as it’s written here.
Hey y’all, I used to manage at an RT and this was one of my favorites, here is the recipe. I wish I could find or remember what all made up the “Ruby Seasoning” as it (at least used to be) put on EVERYTHING, the burgers, steaks, chicken breasts, EVERYTHING. I know it was garlic, onion and paprika, but I can’t recall what else:
Yeilds 2 Gallons
Pasta:
2 3/4 lbs of raw rotini pasta
(tossed in 3 TBL of Vegetable oil after cooking)
Salad:
2 1/2 cups of 3/8″ diced Green Peppers
4 cups of thawed green peas
4 cups of turkey ham
Dressing:
2 TBL Ruby Seasoning
3 cups mayonnaise
3 1/2 cups ranch dressing
1/4 cup water