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Our Macaroni Salad recipe is quick and simple to prepare. A versatile and fool-proof pasta salad with an incredible creamy dressing!
A great summer recipe, our Macaroni Salad is perfect to take to gatherings, parties, BBQ’s, lunches, dinners, or simply to serve as a side dish. Absorbing all of the flavours from the fresh herbs and vegetables, the thick, creamy sauce will be an instant hit with friends and family!
MACARONI SALAD
An absolute classic, macaroni salad is always a favourite at BBQ’s and other get togethers. While store bought macaroni salads aren’t bad, we prefer our salads made with love.
Our easy macaroni salad recipe is made with cooked macaroni pasta, red bell peppers (or capsicum), shredded carrot, red onions, dill pickles, crisp celery and chives. Our heavenly dressing is made with mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar, Dijon mustard, minced garlic, salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar to balance out the acidity.
Much like our Caprese Pasta Salad, our Avocado, Feta and Cucumber Salad and our Perfect Egg Salad, this is a summertime must-make. Like any good dish, we like to make enough for left overs which can be stored in your refrigerator and used as a quick base for proteins like tuna, our honey garlic salmon, or as a side.
While it might be easier and more convenient to opt for store-bought macaroni salad, making your own salad with fresh, crisp ingredients is much more satisfying!
MACARONI SALAD DRESSING
When making a macaroni salad, it’s best to toss it through plenty of dressing to prevent it from drying out and getting pasty. No one likes a macaroni salad comprised entirely of mayonnaise. So, instead of using only mayo, we add in a bit of sour cream to cut through the fat, making it less oily. You can also use yoghurt or Mexican crema.
WHAT TYPE OF MAYONNAISE? I suggest using whole egg mayo as it tends to be less sweet and is usually creamier than regular mayo.
VINEGAR: cuts through the fat! You can use white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or white wine vinegar. Substitute with lemon juice for a citrusy kick.
DIJON MUSTARD: adds a slight tangy flavour and helps to thicken the dressing.
MINCED GARLIC: completes the flavour profile. You can use garlic powder, onion powder or minced shallots if you prefer.
Like Gordon Ramsay always says: “WHERE’S THE SAUCE?!” Well, we listened and as you can probably tell from our other recipes (Creamy Dijon Chicken and our Creamy Spinach Artichoke Chicken Thighs), you know we love drowning our food in sauce. That includes all of our salads. No pasta salad recipe of ours will ever be lacking in dressing!
MACARONI SALAD ADD-IN OPTIONS
Our Macaroni Salad is loaded with flavour and simple veggies. Having said that, there are endless additions that could make your salad even better!
- curry powder
- crispy bacon
- hard-boiled eggs
- ham
- rotisserie chicken
- grape or cherry tomatoes
- sliced olives
- salami
- kielbasa or any smoked sausage
HOW LONG IS MACARONI SALAD GOOD FOR?
Store covered in the refrigerator for up to four days. Take it out of the fridge for at least 20 minutes before serving to get the chill out. It’s best when closer to room temperature or just slightly chilled.
CAN YOU FREEZE MACARONI SALAD?
Absolutely! The day you need to serve it, thaw naturally for a few hours, then toss well.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH MACARONI SALAD
There are plenty of delicious mains that would pair perfectly with our creamy macaroni salad! Here are just a few dishes you can try:
- Garlic Herb Butter Roast Chicken
- Juicy Beef Brisket
- Sticky Oven Barbecue Ribs
- Butter Basted Steakhouse Steak
MORE PASTA SALAD RECIPES
Lemon Herb Mediterranean Pasta Salad
Caprese Pasta Salad
Bruschetta Chicken Pasta Salad
MORE SIDE DISHES
Potato Salad with Bacon & Dill Pickles
Greek Chickpea Salad
Easy Tomato Salad
Avocado Corn Salad
Cucumber Feta Salad
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Macaroni Salad
Ingredients
SALAD
- 8 ounces dry macaroni pasta
- 1/2 medium red bell pepper seeded and finely chopped
- 1/2 medium red onion finely diced
- 1 small carrot peeled and shredded
- 2 dill pickles finely chopped
- 1/4 cup celery chopped
DRESSING
- 1 cup mayonnaise S&W, Best Foods, Hellmann's, Japanese or any whole egg mayo
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar adjust to taste
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons parsley fresh, chopped
- 1 tablespoon chives fresh, chopped
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
- 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Bring large pot of salted water to the boil over high heat. Add the pasta and boil until al dente (just fork-tender), or follow packet directions.
- While pasta is boiling, prepare/chop SALAD ingredients and add them to a large serving bowl.
- Mix DRESSING ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Once pasta is cooked, drain and rinse under cool running water. Drain well and add to the rest of the SALAD ingredients in the large serving bowl.
- Pour over DRESSING and toss well to evenly combine. Adjust salt, pepper and vinegar to taste.
- Set aside for at least 15 minutes to let the ingredients warm close to room temperature and settle into each other before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Great recipe! Bookmarked and my go-to for plain or with added chicken/tuna!
These additions sound great! Thank you for sharing your own spin not he recipe.
This mac salad is sooo good! Making it for the third time tonight. I’ve brought it to a BBQ and everyone loved it. It’s perfectly tangy and creamy, it’s my go to recipe 🙂
I just made it, can’t stop taste testing it. Thank you for sharing this super easy, super tasty, made with stuff I had on hand recipe!
I don’t believe I’ve left a comment, my bad as we love it so much we eat it on all our salads, I make it once a week unless I’m marinating meat. I drool thinking about the fact I’m getting ready to head to the kitchen to make it. Thanks for sharing.
Best macaroni salad recipe I’ve ever tried. I added extra chopped pickles (chunkier, rather than finely chopped), ham and small cheddar cubes.
This is the absolute best macaroni salad I have ever made. Love it!!!
My go to macaroni salad from now on!!
Really a great recipe! I used a full box of whole wheat macaroni so adjusted accordingly and added chicken. I also added Jalapeno pepper seeded with some pulp left. It was great.
Thank you for this recipe.
Dear Karina & Cafe Delites . YOU have a fan for life as I will be creating & enjoying this AMAZING salad for LIFE Thank you. I followed the recipe as instructed & and it was absolutely PERFECT and I can’t wait to enjoy the many options outlined.
So Good! Before reading this recipe I never put sour cream or dill pickles in my mac salad, but trying it now it tasted really good. Thank You