Our Favorite Macaroni Salad
This macaroni salad is not just our favorite, it’s also the most requested by family and friends! There is never an event where I NOT have this macaroni salad. It’s a staple at every BBQ, every potluck, every summer picnic, or a day at the park. But it’s not just us, my readers have fallen in love with this recipe as well. It brings me nothing but joy to read wonderful comments here and on social media of people who try this macaroni salad and love it year after year!
Featured Comment
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Best macaroni salad ever…. when potlucks I always get asked to bring this macaroni salad….. I also add extra ingredients to the dressing..not change them just increase amounts…. ~Judy”
How To Make This Macaroni Salad
This is a really easy recipe that you can make in 30 minutes. All you have to do is cook the pasta, prep the veggies white it’s cooking, make the dressing, cool, and mix.
- First: set pasta to cook according to the box instructions and remember to salt the water.
- While pasta is cooking: whisk all of the ingredients for the dressing together and dice the vegetables and herbs.
- Cool: When pasta is ready, drain it and let it cool so it’s not scalding hot.
- Mix: combine pasta with vegetables and herbs in a large mixing bowl and then, pour in the dressing. Give it a good mix to make sure that all the ingredients are evenly coated with dressing.
- Refrigerate: Cool mixed salad in the refrigerator for at least two hours before serving.
Variations and Additions To Try
Ingredients in macaroni salad could truly be endless. I’ve seen some recipe that have everything but the kitchen sink in it, or maybe I just didn’t notice the kitchen sink. In my family, we like to keep it pretty simple to let pasta shine and get some help from fresh, crunchy vegetables and smooth, creamy dressing.
- Pasta – Choose a smaller pasta like elbow macaroni or ditalini. (I don’t recommend orichette in a macaroni salad because they tend to stick together and don’t mix evenly with the dressing.)
- Vegetables – let’s start with the classics, throw in some red onion, bell pepper, and celery. All three will give the salad a pleasant crunch and a burst of sweetness. If you want more, try adding diced broccoli, peas, or cucumbers.
- Herbs – I like to add some fresh parsley and fresh dill weed as well. You can omit either if that’s the preference but I recommend you try it. You can try adding some basil as well. (If you love herbs, make sure to try my green goddess macaroni salad.)
- Cheese – you can always add some diced cheese like cheddar, or mozzarella. Slice and dice the cheese off the block and make sure the block is cold. Cold cheese is easier to slice.
- Pickles – While I personally feel that pickles overpower the macaroni salad and the dressing flavor, some people do like to add pickles. It comes down to a personal preference whether you want to add sweet pickles or not. If you do, add 1/2 cup of finely diced sweet pickles. (You can also try adding kosher pickles instead of sweet.)
Make Ahead and Storing Recommendation
- Pasta salad and macaroni salads are wonderful recipes to make ahead. I actually prefer to make macaroni salad the night before because all the ingredients have a chance to mix and mingle and marinate with each other. Pasta soaks up all those tasty flavors and tastes so much better a few hours after you make it.
- Just make sure to keep it refrigerated until you’re ready to serve it. You don’t want to leave a creamy salad out at room temperature for a long time.
- You will also want to either make extra dressing or set some aside to mix in before serving.
- Storing: Store all the leftovers in the refrigerator too. When properly stored in an air-tight container, in the refrigerator, macaroni salad should last 3 to 4 days.
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Macaroni Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb uncooked macaroni pasta
- 1/2 cup diced red onion
- 1 medium red bell pepper
- 3 short celery ribs
- 1/4 cup diced green onion
- 2 tbsp minced fresh parsley
- 1 tbsp minced fresh dill weed
Dressing:
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp salt more or less to taste
Instructions
- Cook pasta in salted water according to box instructions.
- Drain cooked pasta and let it cook until no longer scalding hot.
- Dice all vegetables and herbs while pasta is cooking and whisk all ingredients for the dressing in a separate bowl.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine pasta vegetables, and herbs and mix.
- Pour dressing into the bowl with the pasta and mix everything together until dressing is evenly incorporated throughout.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or transfer the salad into a food storage container with a lid. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.
Video
Notes
- Storing: Store all the leftovers in the refrigerator. When properly stored in an air-tight container, in the refrigerator, macaroni salad should last 3 to 4 days.
- Making Ahead: You can prepare the whole salad a day ahead of time and store it in a refrigerator, in an air-tight food storage container.
- Can I Add Pickles? While I personally feel that pickles overpower the macaroni salad and the dressing flavor, some people do like to add pickles. It comes down to a personal preference whether you want to add sweet pickles or not. If you do, add 1/2 cup of finely diced sweet pickles.
Nutrition
More Sides For BBQs To Try
All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
Hii 🙂 I’d love to make this for a weekend party tomorrow. Can I sub the white wine vinegar for the seasoned rice vinegar I have on hand? I know it’s seasoned but will there be a huge difference?
Hi Amy! Sorry I didn’t see this sooner. The vinegar itself won’t have too much of difference unless your pallet is quite sensitive but the seasoned part I’m not sure about. I don’t know what kind of flavor it will add. Did you try it? Let me know!
Wonderful dressing! This is delicious and
is a real keeper.
Bonjour c’est la première fois que je vais essayé ta recette de macaroni pour Noêl est vraiment plus complète que celle que je fais, je me demande s’y je rajoute des crevettes, j’aimerais avoir ton opinion
This is a really good macaroni salad, will use again.
Thank you, Beth!
I love this pasta salad. I can be picky with dressing but this is delicious.
The only thing I did different was to use a green bell pepper instead of celery (cause I can never find it in small bundles). And I love the flavor of peppers better anyway so win win.
I’ve already made it twice and even my particular sisters like it.
I am glad you liked it, Alicia!
After trying this recipe, I ditched all of my other Macaroni Salad recipes I don’t use the green onions, but that’s because my hubs is not a fan and feels that green onions take over every dish that its present in… We love this salad. If you’re on the fence about trying it, please go for it. This is delicious! I make it all the time now, and we’re having it with brisket tonight. Thanks for a fantastic recipe!
Thank you, Cathy! I am so glad you like it so much! Thanks for taking the time to stop by and tell me! 🙂
Like everyone, we all have our own recipe. But, I love to experiment with new. I wanted something different to take to a party tonight. This recipe is fabulous! Oh my goodness!!!!! I had my son try it and his response was, “oh yeah!’ Thank you for sharing. Love it
I am so glad you love it! Thanks for stopping by to let me know! 🙂
I’ve been making potato salad and pasta salad for so long that I don’t even use a recipe, but with so many rave reviews…I thought I’d branch out and try this. I’m so glad I did because it’s just fantastic. I had white balsamic vinegar and so cut back the brown sugar to just over a Tbl, left out the fresh dill and parsley and used a sprinkle of dried dill because it’s what I had. Also had a green pepper not a red one, but those are minor changes. I am having this for lunch and will have it for dinner with fresh Sockeye salmon and corn on the cob. I made enough to share with the neighbors, but I’m not so sure of their chances right now! LOL
Thank you for a wonderful recipe. Mary
Aw thank you mary, I am so glad you liked it! Thanks for taking the time to come tell me 🙂
The neighbors actually DID get some of this salad, and they like it too! Looks like a hit all the way around. Thanks again and try to stay cool. Mary
Super Fantastic! A go- 2 salad for them family Bar-Bee-Ques
I did add in some finely diced ham along with grated carrot and a couple of hard boiled egg, finely chopped; decorated the top with sliced cherry tomatoes.
Such a Great recipe for these Texas ; triple digit temperatures
So glad you liked the recipe!
Made a couple switches based on preferences and what we had on hand, but macaroni and potato salad are really all about the dressing, and this dressing is excellent! Added a couple pinches of cayenne because we like a little kick but great recipe!
I am so glad you liked it, Paula!
Just made this. We chopped the veggies and put them together in a bag 2 days ago. Wow! They melded and are wonderful. I’m getting ready to put it in the fridge for later. Can’t wait to dig in!
Good idea! I am so happy you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
This is the BEST recipe for macaroni salad! We all love it! I was looking for a recipe with dill in it, and happened upon this one. It has become my go-to. Since trying this recipe, I’ve become a picky macaroni salad connoisseur, and only want this macaroni as opposed to any others…lol! I love keeping it on hand throughout the summer months, and since it makes a good size batch, it makes plenty to share! Thank you SO much! 🙂
Thank you for the kind comment, Julie! I am so glad you like it!