Best Macaroni Salad - Gonna Want Seconds (2024)

Like many Americans, I’ve had my fair share of macaroni salads — so trust me when I say that this is the best macaroni salad! Memorable pasta salads that leave all picnic-goers demanding the recipe are the ones that perfectly balance creaminess, sweetness, and tanginess.

They must have fabulous fillings, from crunchy chunks like peppers to creamy cubes like cheese. Even better, they should have fresh herbs to brighten up each bite. This pasta salad has all of that, and more. This macaroni salad just may be the pasta salad recipe you’ve been waiting for!

Can a person ever have too many delicious macaroni salads? I think not! I hope you’ll try our authentic Hawaiian macaroni salad, classic macaroni salad, and southern macaroni salad next!

What I Love About This Recipe

Let’s be honest — when you go to a picnic, sure, the burgers are great. The chicken is tasty. But what do you really load up your plate with? What side dish do you save containers of at home because you know there won’t be any leftovers? Yep. MACARONI SALAD.

• It hits all your taste buds — creamy, tart, sweet, savory.
• Prep + Cook time = 30 minutes!
• Make-ahead magic
• Crowdpleaser!

Macaroni Salad Ingredients

• Macaroni Pasta: I use a good quality pasta like Barilla

Dressing:

• Mayonnaise: I like Best Foods.
• Sour Cream: Adds creamy, slightly tang to the dressing.
• Apple Cider Vinegar: Adds a nice balance of sweet and tart flavors to the dressing.
• Mustard: I use yellow mustard.
• Sugar: Gently balances the acidity in the dressing.
• Salt + Pepper: Table saltand fresh cracked black pepper.

Salad:

• Cheese: I generally use mild cheddar, but feel free to use your favorite type of cheese.
• Herbs: The recipe calls for fresh parsley and fresh dill. These add great herbaceous flavor and nice color to the salad.
• Onion: I like red onion in this salad.
• Petite Peas: I use frozen.
• Celery: Adds nice crunch and texture to the salad.
• Bell Pepper: Any color will work. I like the flavor of red bell pepper.
• Bread and Butter Spears: I love the flavor these pickles add to the salad. A nice tang with sweet undertones.
• Eggs: Hard-boiled.

Creamy Macaroni Salad Recipe Notes

• Pasta: Believe it or not, there is actually an ideal pasta shape for macaroni salad — well, an ideal pasta category. If you can’t find elbow macaroni, opt for another short noodle type. Fusilli, rotini, or penne are excellent substitutes! Their small size allows for more even dressing dispersion, and they blend well with the small chopped sizes of the other ingredients.
• Too much dairy: While I, personally, can never get enough of dairy products, I know they aren’t everyone’s cup of tea. If you want to swap out the sour cream to make this dish a bit lighter, Greek yogurt is an excellent substitute.
• Can’t cook eggs: Boiling eggs may seem like the easiest type of cooking out there, but for many, it’s intimidating. The shells crack. How do you know if they’re hard-boiled or soft-boiled or blanched or why are there so many terms?!!
  • If you find yourself overwhelmed (or should I say “over-easy-whelmed.), most grocery stores now sell hard-boiled eggs. I’ve found them in the produce section, but it may vary from store to store.

Storing + Freezing + Make-Ahead

• How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge?Even though hard-boiled eggs will be fine in the fridge for up to a week, once they’re peeled and mixed with the other creamy ingredients in the best macaroni salad, all of it should only stay in the fridge for up to four days.
• Can You Freeze This Pasta Salad? Nope. Unfortunately, you can’t freeze this salad but there’s never enough left to freeze anyway. You can make it ahead of time, but your macaroni salad should just rest in the fridge until you’re ready to serve it.
  • The cream-based dressing and fresh veggies are no match for freezing temperatures. They are just never quite the same after they thaw.
• Make-Ahead Tips: The beautiful thing about the best macaroni salad is that really should be called easymacaroni salad — the whole thing is make-ahead friendly! For the best flavor, you should actually make it the day ahead, let it sit, and then serve it once all the ingredients have had time to marry.
  • But if you want to make ahead this recipe, you can whip up the dressing and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days, and also pre-chop all the necessary ingredients — those will last in the fridge for up to a week.
• Food Safety:If you’d like more info on food safety check out thislink.

More Pasta Salad Recipes

Best macaroni salad may be the best —but what are some winning pasta salad recipes?

• Tortellini Salad
• Pasta Salad with Italian Dressing
• Pesto Pasta Salad
• Shrimp Pasta Salad
• Tuna Pasta Salad
• Chicken Pasta Salad
• Spaghetti Salad

Tried This Recipe?

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