With traditional ingredients and a little bit of sweetness this Macaroni Salad Recipe will be a picnic staple this summer. Easy, tasty and quick!
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 mad 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 sweet salad fan recipe when it comes to any kind of salads like this, I just like how the flavors themselves play off your tongue and mesh well together.
I know that we all have our own preferences for sure, but I couldn’t not share my favorite Macaroni Salad 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:
- 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.
See how simple this Macaroni Salad Recipe is?! You really cannot go wrong with this one, super simple and not time consuming at all which is what I love.
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.
HOW TO STORE:
This salad can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 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.
This can also be frozen! Say what?! Yes you can freeze macaroni salad. We like to portion ours out in smaller freezer bags or containers and place in the freezer where it will last for up to 4 months.
To thaw, remove the amount that you would like and place in the refrigerator until defrosted.
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.
- This can be frozen, see my tips above.
- You can use any kind of smaller pasta you like, we frequently use rings for this salad.
- Swap out the cheese for others too give it a different flavor.
- Double this recipe to serve more people at larger gatherings.
If you want 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:
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
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
- 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.
- This can be frozen, see my tips above.
- You can use any kind of smaller pasta you like, we frequently use rings for this salad.
- Swap out the cheese for others too give it a different flavor.
- Double this recipe to serve more people at larger gatherings.
Larry
Sounds like a good macaroni salad and I will be trying it