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
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Jen Chapin
I come back to this macaroni salad recipe again and again! My family loves it.
pat
I use this recipe often and get fantastic results. I don’t use egg’s but I use cheese chunk’s and sweet relish also cayenne is a must don’t delete it. Great recipe tweaks are easy with this. 10 stars
Jude
This recipe is a keeper. I prepped everything day before and tossed together morning of luncheon. Delicious and guests enjoyed. I did not add eggs or red pepper flakes per my preference.
Carrie
this is a great macaroni salad. It is great as is but is also a good jumping off point to change up ingredients depending on what you have on hand. I like to add fried spam & peas to mine!
Jena
we absolutely love this recipe. Best thing I found on internet. I was nervous as my grandmother was the one who did macaroni salad (I don’t have the recipe) and was worried how it would compare. The only thing that I alter is that we prefer to have it have more sauce to soak into noodles so I do 1.5 of the dressing ingredients.
CHRIS
Delicious and easy. I only had pomegranate vinegar,
but it tasted delicious. Added orange bell pepper for more color.
Thank you for the recipe, will put it to good use.
Carlos
I made it before and found it too sweet
I cut sugar in half and used pickled eggs. Chopped whites and added blended yokes to dressing
Amazing worked out well
Ashley
this recipe is delicious! the only things I did differently were added extra veggies & eggs and omit the sugar since the pickles & juice already had sugar. this came out sooo good! I will definitely be making this again.
Amy Ray
It was very good I did 2 cups of macaroni and did not did egg thank you for the recipe!
Gumpy Shoes
I would have never ever mixed these things together, but I followed the recipe. I didn’t have sweet pickles, but I had my own sweet relish and used a couple of tablespoons of that. I was SHOCKED at how good this is!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
So glad you were pleasantly surprised! Thanks for the five star review ❤️
Tammie
Excellent! Followed the recipe, except no eggs (just didn’t want any) & used monk fruit sweetener. This will be my go-to for macaroni salad from now on! REALLY GOOD! Only bad thing is, I ate too much, lol.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you enjoyed it so much , Tammie 😂 Thanks for the review!
Lisa Reader
Will this taste ok without any vinegar? I don’t have any and don’t have time to get any before the event I’m attending. Is there another alternative for the vinegar?
Sam
Hi Lisa! You can probably get away with omitting it. It will change the flavor a bit though. 🙂
catherine daughett
too sweet.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re sorry to hear that, Catherine! You can always reduce the sugar or swap the sweet pickles with a different variety.
Karin Janotka
Easy peel boiled eggs. Boil water, tap fatter end of egg on counter to crack slightly. Slowly lower into boiling water with slotted spoon. Return to boil. Cover with lid, shut off burner. Let sit for 15 min MAX! Scoop out into ice bath. Tadaaaa! Easiest peel ever!
Denali
This is a huge hit with my family. Everyone was fighting over it!
Rebecca
I absolutely love this recipe as is, however I now have to be dairy free—any suggestions for replacing sour cream? Maybe I could try increasing mayo? Thank you!!
Sam
Hi Rebecca! I haven’t tried it. You could use more mayo, but you do lose some tang from the sour cream. Maybe someone else can chime in with some ideas. 🙂
Lorriane
I omitted the extra salt and sugar and only used 1/2 egg yolk and one boiled egg white. Used onion powder instead of onion. Red wine vinegar seemed to add enough tanginess. It was spectacular. A good recipe to tweak as needed.
Mira
I’ve omitted athr sour cream in the recipe as we have dairy allergy.
It still tasted amazing!
I did addd more vinegar and pickle juice to compensate the “sour” flavour of sour cream.
Hope this helps! 😊
Suzette
I’ve made this a few times and everyone loves it. I do include green olives as I like that bit of saltiness. Will definitely be serving for Thanksgiving. 🙂
Linda
I’ve been searching for a good homemade macaroni salad forever. So many of the recipes I’ve tried are just pretty blah or too wet. This one is perfect!