Macaroni Salad
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This is a classic, tasty, and oh-so easy macaroni salad recipe! Made with classic ingredient staples including celery, red pepper, and onion and dressed up in a simple creamy mayo-based dressing, this is guaranteed to be a hit at every cookout and potluck this year!
Be sure to check out the easy video that shows step-by-step how to make this recipe!
We have had a non-stop week of rain here.
Zach’s first two softball games of the season have been rained out and I’m beginning to forget what the sun looks like (I’m only slightly dramatic I promise 😉). I am completely over it. I’m ready for summertime sunshine and cookout weather, and with Memorial Day weekend just around the corner I’m taking the opportunity to prepare and share my all-time favorite macaroni salad recipe, even if it is grey and gloomy outside.
I’ve shared a few of my summertime salads, including my favorite broccoli salad and ramen noodle salad, but this one may just be my favorite.
Macaroni salad is a party/potluck/cookout staple, no get-together is complete without a giant chilled bowl, and today I’ll show you how I make my favorite recipe and the perfectly creamy, slightly sweet dressing that goes along with it.
What Ingredients are in Macaroni Salad?
Different macaroni salads contain different ingredients, but my staples include:
- Elbow macaroni (obviously 😉)
- Sweet pickles
- Red pepper
- Celery
- Red onion
- Hard boiled eggs or shredded or diced cheddar cheese
- A homemade mayo-based macaroni salad dressing
You can obviously add your favorite additional add-ins or make substitutions (I know some people prefer sliced green onions to red onion and some people like to add paprika to their dressing), but this if my favorite combination and I really recommend you try it out exactly this way at least once for yourself.
The dressing I just mentioned is what really sets it apart from other potluck recipes you might have tried. It provides just the right amount of creaminess — the noodles are coated in just enough sauce and are neither dry nor are they drenched in the dressing. It’s also just slightly sweetened thanks to the addition of some sweet pickle juice and a pinch of sugar.
How long can you keep Macaroni Salad?
Macaroni salad will keep for up to five days when stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. This is a great salad for making in advance (I actually recommend chilling for at least an hour before serving) and serving at picnics and potlucks, but try not to leave it out at room temperature (or worse, in the heat!) for very long as the salad dressing base will not keep well in the heat.
This macaroni salad recipe is a favorite to serve alongside my favorite BBQ pulled chicken and a plate full of deviled eggs (you’re already going to be boiling eggs anyway, might as well make enough for deviled eggs while you’re at it!).
When I shared my deviled egg recipe, so many of you shared your favorite methods for cleanly peeling fresh eggs, and I appreciated those tips so much and have tried many of them. I’d love to keep the conversation going here if you would share your favorite egg-peeling methods in the comments!
How Do You Make Homemade Macaroni Salad?
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Macaroni Salad
Ingredients
- 8 oz dry macaroni noodles, (227g)
- ½ cup finely diced sweet gherkins, usually 4-6 sweet gherkins for me (80g)
- ¾ cup finely diced red bell pepper, about ½ pepper (100g)
- ⅓ cup thinly sliced celery, about 1-2 stalks (55g)
- ⅓ cup finely diced red onion, (45g)
- 2 large hard boiled eggs, finely diced
Macaroni Salad Dressing
- ¾ cup mayonnaise , I use olive oil mayo (175g)
- ¼ cup sour cream, (70g)
- 2 Tablespoons sweet pickle juice
- 1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar*
- 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper, optional
Instructions
- Prepare macaroni noodles according to package instructions. Drain and rinse immediately with cold water, then drizzle with a teaspoon of olive oil and gently stir so the noodles don't stick together as they sit.
- In a large bowl, combine macaroni noodles, sweet pickles, red pepper, celery, red onion, and eggs. Stir until well-combined. Set aside and prepare your dressing.
For the dressing
- To prepare your macaroni salad dressing, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, red wine vinegar, sweet pickle juice, sugar, dijon mustard, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and crushed red pepper (if using) in a medium-sized bowl. Whisk until ingredients are well-combined.
- Pour dressing over your macaroni salad ingredients and toss until well-combined.
- For best flavor, cover bowl and allow macaroni salad to chill for at least one hour. Stir once more before serving and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
I was skeptical but I love this so much! I didn’t use sugar, and eyeballed all the amounts but it was so good. I do recommend cutting the crunchy bits (celery onion bellpepper) very very small. I did mine pretty small and still wished they were smaller.
This is how I make it & I don’t use recipes & it’s been a while so I thought I’d see how other people make it. You can’t mess this up, you can add or leave out anything & it’s still delicious. Thx
Awesome salad, didn’t change anything!!
We made this today……………AWESOME!!! Thank you Jack & Polly
So glad everyone enjoyed! Thank you for trying my recipe! 🙂
The best way I’ve found to easily peel eggs is in the instant pot 10 minutes with a cup of water. Peels every egg 🥚 perfectly, every time. Thanks for sharing this recipe! I’ll be making it tomorrow.
Thanks for the tip, Heidi! We hope you love the macaroni salad 🙂
The absolute best macaroni salad I have ever had!!
Thank you so much!!
My husband said this was the best macaroni salad he’d ever had!
Made it and OMG its amazing
Peeling eggs – I like to blow them out. It always impresses the grandkids. They think Grandma is very cool!
By Far the BEST macaroni salad ever!!
My husband just raved about it and could not get enough of it!!
Today I’m going to make the potato salad and I’m sure it will be just as delicious as the macaroni salad.
We’re so happy you enjoyed the macaroni salad, Jody! We hope you love the potato salad too 😊
I’ve been making this macaroni salad for a couple years now and it is so yummy! It is a keeper and my go to recipe after searching and trying different ones over the years. PS Her potato salad recipe is a keeper as well. Thank you for posting. Now to try the chili recipe. 🙂
We’re so happy you are enjoying our recipes, Christy! Hope you love the chili too 😊
Delicious!
We’re so happy you liked it, Kim! Enjoy 😊
Wow! Delicious! Thanks so much!
Thanks so much for your review, Daffydil! We’re so happy you liked it 😊
Yum. I didn’t do the eggs but the rest is so good.
So I’ve been working in a restaurant for the past 13 yrs. and I’ve been trying to find a way to make hard boiled eggs without the shell sticking for the past 20 yrs. It wasn’t until this past year that I found the solution. The trick is to steam the eggs. That way the water temperature never drops. Steam for 13 min with lid on then ice bath 15 min.
We’ll have to try that out! Thanks, Scott 😊
Wow!!! This is the best macaroni salad i have made. I used regular pickles instead of the sweet pickels. But everything else was the same. It was amazing!!!! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe. My search is over. And for those who are going to try and make it I’d suggest to double recipe because she will want to keep on trying it. Out of 15 recipes I’ve tried this one is it. Thank you n
I am so honored to hear this, Olivia! Thank you so much for trying my recipe, and for letting me know how it turned out for you! I really appreciate it 🙂
You can also pressure cook the eggs either in a reg pressure cooker or in an Nita pot for 5 min, depressurization immediately and put in cold water. They will peel easily.
Egg machine made by dash , it’s the best
I have an egg steamer that I have used for several years now, and although it does help with the shells, it doesn’t always work. The fresher the eggs, the more the shell sticks. I saw someone crack the shells after cooking and place back in water briefly and it was supposed to help release the shells better. I’m not sure if that works all the time or not. I think perfect egg peeling will always be one of life’s best kept secrets lol!
Best macaroni salad I ever ate.
Or use an $10 egg steamer like I do. Dash makes one. With auto cutoff.
Or use a $10 egg steamer like I have been doing for 15 years with auto cutoff or a rice cooker. The auto off means set and leave. It’s great. Especially when doing devil eggs for holidays.
I am going to make this but have a dumb question. For the sweet pickle juice, do I just use the juice from the jar of pickles or is this something special I buy?
Just from a jar of sweet pickles, nothing fancy! I hope you love the macaroni salad, Heidi! 🙂
I did not have sweet pickles and thought i did.. So i was far into the recipe and used sweet relish which worked well.. We enjoyed.. Also use a little paprika
Everyone loved it!!