Ham and Pineapple Pasta Salad

This easy ham and pineapple pasta salad is perfect for lunches, as an appetizer, or a side for parties and events! Try this delicious pasta salad today!

Making pasta salad is a great way to meal prep! This awesome ham and pineapple pasta salad can be used as a side dish, served up for lunches, or made as a dinner recipe that doesn’t require reheating.

I’ve shared a bunch of my favorite pasta salad recipes in the past and hopefully they’ll also make a great addition to your meal plans this week! A few standouts are this Ruby Tuesday pasta salad, bacon ranch pasta salad, and tortellini pasta salad!

This post contains links to products I like and think will be useful to you. If you click through and make a purchase I make a small commission at no cost to you!

Can I use gluten free pasta for this recipe?

You can definitely substitute any type of pasta that you like! If you need to make this recipe gluten free be sure to add just a bit more liquid since the pasta is likely to soak up a bit more than regular pasta.

I sometimes make this ham and pineapple pasta salad with rotini as well. It’s a fun addition but you can use whatever pasta shape you like or have on hand!

When you are making your swaps just make sure to keep an eye on the moisture level. Sometimes you will have to add more dressing in order to balance everything out with gluten free pasta. It tends to be “thirstier” as I like to say and it will suck up a lot more dressing, sauce, etc.

Here’s what you’ll need to make ham and pineapple pasta salad:

This recipe uses simple ingredients to create a delicious meal that everyone will love. The balance of pineapple and ham is a great sweet and salty combo!

We’ll be using pineapple tidbits, cooked ham, bell pepper, frozen peas, celery, elbow pasta, mayonnaise, vinegar, onion powder, black pepper, and dill.

You can add some other veggies if you like or you can leave others out if you don’t like them. If you have a picky eater you can skip the peppers and dill and anything else that might get a turned up nose! This is a pretty flexible recipe so you can easily substitute other veggies or seasonings.

As always you can find the full amounts of all the ingredients in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post. It also contains all the information you need to make this recipe, shopping links for useful products, and it has some nutritional estimates as well! A very handy resource.

Kitchen essentials for tasty recipes like this one:

When you head into the kitchen to make some of these great recipes you’ll want to have the best tools on hand.

I like half sheet baking pans that are quality (hello no noisy pops or sloshed cookie dough from twisting), I line my cookie sheets with silicone baking mats. These are great for all kinds of baking and not just cookies! My husband loves them for making biscuits, pizzas, and more!

Of course mixing bowls, a mixer, spatula, and some whisks should be on your list if you don’t have ones that you love. I also like to have a set of cooling racks so that my recipes can properly cool before they’re scarfed down by my family!

How to make this quick and easy pasta salad:

The first thing we’ll need to do is drain the pineapples. Then, get a large bowl and combine the pineapple, ham, pepper, peas, celery, and macaroni and stir to combine.

Next, add in the dressing which is made with the mayonnaise, vinegar, onion powder, black pepper, and dill weed. Pour it over the pasta and veggies and stir until everything is well combined.

Place the ham and pineapple pasta salad in the refrigerator for about 3 hours before serving. You can make this ahead of time and allow it to sit overnight as well!

Other delicious pasta salad recipes to try:

In addition to the ones mentioned above I have to point out a few more awesome pasta salad recipes that I think you’ll enjoy. I’ve made TONS over the years and there is always at least one in our meal plan for the week. Some family favorites are the orzo pasta salad and the bow tie pasta salad.

If I’ll be making the salads for meals on their own I always make a batch of the chicken pasta salad, tuna pasta salad, or the shrimp pasta salad since they are packed with a little extra protein and are a bit more hearty!

Printable Ham and Pineapple Salad Recipe: