Macaroni Salad Recipe

With traditional ingredients and a little bit of sweetness, this Macaroni Salad Recipe will be a picnic staple this summer. 

Who doesn’t love a good macaroni salad? I know that I do! That was one thing that I grew up on (which I’m sure everyone does) and how my mother makes it.

We love to add a little bit of sweetness to our Macaroni Salad to offset some of the more savory ingredients which really makes it my favorite of all time.

I’m more of a hint of sweet salad fan when it comes to any kind of salads like this, I just like how the flavors themselves play off your tongue and just mesh well together.

I know that we all have our own preferences for sure, but I couldn’t not share my favorite Macaroni Salad Recipe because we all need a good salad on our menu.

This really is a base recipe that you can build off of. I’m not a huge fan of my salad to be loaded with things. I like basic and flavorful and that is all that should matter.

Some of our other favorite pasta salad recipes we have on our site include Greek Pasta Salad, Tuna Pasta Salad and Italian Pasta Salad!

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:

• This is a great base recipe that you can build off of.
• Double this to have some for later or to serve more people at gatherings.
• You can use your favorite smaller pasta in this recipe.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULLL RECIPE AT BOTTOM):

Elbow macaroni
Ham
Cheddar cheese
Peas
Hard-boiled eggs
Mayonnaise
White vinegar
Granulated sugar
Sweet pickle relish
Onion powder
Mustard
Garlic powder
Celery salt
Pepper

HOW TO MAKE A MACARONI SALAD RECIPE, STEP BY STEP:

1. Prepare the main salad ingredients and set aside. In a very large bowl add the mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, pickle relish, onion powder, mustard, garlic powder, celery salt, and black pepper.
2. Whisk this mixture until combined, set aside.
3. Add the noodles, ham, cheese, peas, and eggs to the bowl. 
4. Toss to combine until everything is fully coated in the sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. 
5. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Give it a good stir before serving. 

WHAT CAN I ADD TO THIS SALAD?

So like I said this is a base recipe and I don’t love a ton of things in my Macaroni Salad but some other ideas that a lot of people add to theirs include:

• Onion
• Celery
• Bell pepper
• Carrots
• Green onions

These are just some of the additions that you can add. You can add whatever you like to this salad recipe to make it your own, although we love it as is.

DO I HAVE TO USE MAYONNAISE?

If you are not a huge mayonnaise fan you can absolutely use Miracle Whip. We use both, depending on what we have on hand and we like it either way.

I DON’T LIKE SWEET, WHAT CAN I DO?

If you don’t like the sweetness of a Macaroni Salad recipe you can simply leave out the sugar and sweet pickle relish. We really love the flavor.

It tones down any acidity and overly powerful savory spices that are in the dressing itself, so we use it and it is minimal but you can still taste the sweetness on the tip of your tongue.

CAN I USE ANOTHER TYPE OF PASTA?

Yes. If you don’t want to use elbow macaroni you can use any smaller pasta that you like  

We sometimes use rings, shells, bow ties, etc. Just make sure you are using the same amount of pasta called for in the recipe  

HOW TO STORE:

This salad can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days. It may be a little dry so you might want to stir in a little bit more mayo about 1/4-1/2 cup.

TIPS AND TRICKS:

• This is a base recipe, you can add or omit ingredients to your liking. I have given some ideas above.
• You can swap out mayonnaise for miracle whip if you are not a mayonnaise fan.
• We do not recommend freezing. 
• You can use any kind of smaller pasta you like, see some ideas above. 
• Swap out the cheese for others too give it a different flavor.
• Double this recipe to serve more people at larger gatherings.

Looking for that perfectly flavored Macaroni Salad Recipe then you have to try my tried and true version that we have loved for many years.

If you like this recipe you might also like:

• Taco Pasta Salad
• Easy Cashew Chicken Pasta Salad
• Summer Tortellini Salad

If you’ve tried this MACARONI SALAD RECIPE or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and what shenanigans I’m getting into!

Macaroni Salad Recipe

With traditional ingredients and a little bit of sweetness this Macaroni Salad Recipe will be a picnic staple this summer. Easy, tasty and quick!

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Course: Pasta, Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 0 minutes minutes

Chill: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 12

Calories: 493kcal

Author: Tornadough Alli

Ingredients

• ▢ 16 oz elbow macaroni cooked, drained, and cooled
• ▢ 8 oz ham steak small diced
• ▢ 8 oz sharp cheddar cheese small diced
• ▢ 2 cups frozen peas
• ▢ 4 hard-boiled eggs roughly chopped

For the dressing:

• ▢ 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
• ▢ 2 Tbs distilled white vinegar
• ▢ 3 Tbs granulated sugar
• ▢ 2 Tbs sweet pickle relish
• ▢ 2 tsp onion powder
• ▢ 1 tsp yellow mustard
• ▢ 1 tsp garlic powder
• ▢ 1 tsp celery salt
• ▢ 1/2 tsp black pepper

Instructions

• Prepare the main salad ingredients and set aside. In a very large bowl add the mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, pickle relish, onion powder, mustard, garlic powder, celery salt, and black pepper.
• Whisk this mixture until combined, set aside.
• Add the noodles, ham, cheese, peas, and eggs to the bowl.
• Toss to combine until everything is fully coated in the sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
• Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Give it a good stir before serving.

Notes

1. This is a base recipe, you can add or omit ingredients to your liking. I have given some ideas above.
2. You can swap out mayonnaise for miracle whip if you are not a mayonnaise fan.
3. We do not recommend freezing this recipe. 
4. You can use any kind of smaller pasta you like, we frequently use rings for this salad.
5. Swap out the cheese for others too give it a different flavor.
6. Double this recipe to serve more people at larger gatherings.

Nutrition

Calories: 493kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 102mg | Sodium: 778mg | Potassium: 259mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 510IU | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 164mg | Iron: 1mg

Tornadough Alli is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value is important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and values can vary depending on which brands were used.

Tried this recipe?Mention @TornadoughAlli or tag #TornadoughAlli!

Nutrition Disclaimer

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED MAY, 2021