This is the Macaroni Salad recipe I’ve made for years!! It’s perfectly creamy, even after chilling and has the perfect balance of tangy, sweet, and crunchy. The dressing is super simple and this can be made with ingredients you likely have on hand.
It’s perfect to prepare ahead of time for BBQs, potlucks, or even for weeknight dinners.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Holly’s Recipe Highlights: Macaroni Salad
Why Make It: I like this recipe because the dressing is mixed right in the serving bowl, so I end up with one less dish to wash.
Flavor: Creamy, tangy-sweet dressing with relish and mustard for classic deli-style vibes.
Tools: Use a veggie chopper to speed up prep.
Serving Suggestions: A classic side dish that pairs perfectly with burgers, ribs, grilled chicken, pulled pork, and sandwiches.
Total Time: 1.5 hours (including 1 hour chill time) Serves: 6
Ingredient Notes
- Elbow Macaroni: Classic elbow macaroni holds the creamy dressing well, but any short pasta such as ditalini, small shells, or wagon wheels work nicely.
- Carrot: Shredded carrot adds color and a touch of sweetness. Pre-shredded bagged carrots are a great time-saving option.
- Red Bell Pepper: Adds crunch, color, and mild sweetness. Green or yellow bell peppers can be used as well.
- Red Onion: Red onion has a sharper bite, while green onion is milder. To mellow red onion’s flavor, soak the diced pieces in cold water for a few minutes.
- Dressing: Swap up to half of the mayonnaise for sour cream or Greek yogurt for a little extra tang or to lighten up the recipe a bit. Replace the homemade dressing with prepared coleslaw dressing.
- Optional Add-Ins: Pickles, olives, ham, sweet peas, cheddar cheese, or chopped hard-boiled eggs can all be added for extra flavor and texture. The salad works well with up to 2½ cups of total add-ins.
How To Make Macaroni Salad
- Cook the macaroni to al dente. Whisk the dressing together in a large bowl (as per recipe below).
- Add the cooled pasta and chopped vegetables to the dressing.
- Toss well, season to taste, and chill.
Macaroni Salad Secrets
- Cook Al Dente: Cook the pasta just until tender so it does not turn mushy after chilling. Rinse under cold water to stop the cooking and cool it quickly. Drain it really well so extra water does not thin the dressing.
- Perfect Bites: Cut the vegetables small, about half of the size of the macaroni, to help it mix well and get a little crunch in every bite. Dice the vegetables about the same size for even bites.
- Only One Bowl: Mix the dressing in the salad bowl first to save dishes and coat everything evenly.
- Chill Time: Chill for at least 1 hour so the flavors blend. Stir and add a spoonful of mayonnaise if the pasta has absorbed too much dressing.
Make-Ahead and Chill Time Tips
This macaroni salad recipe is best when chilled for an hour or two before serving. This allows the flavors to blend, and the dressing thickens and soaks into the pasta. It can be made up to 24 hours before serving.
Chill, Store, Enjoy
Refrigerate: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. This salad is best served cold, so keep it chilled until ready to serve.
Freeze: Do not freeze.
Tips: Stir before serving, since the dressing can settle or absorb into the pasta as it sits. For BBQs, picnics, and potlucks set the bowl over ice outdoors to keep it cool, and discard the salad if it has been sitting out for more than 2 hours, or 1 hour in hot weather.
More Creamy Potluck Salads
Did you enjoy this Macaroni Salad Recipe? Leave a comment and rating below.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 ounces elbow macaroni approx. 2 cups dry, or any short pasta
Add-Ins (see notes)
- 1 cup diced celery
- ½ cup shredded carrot
- ½ cup diced red bell pepper
- ¼ cup diced red onion or thinly sliced green onion
Dressing
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons sweet relish
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard or Dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- In a large pot, cook the elbow macaroni in salted water according to the instructions on the package. Drain well and rinse it under cold water to stop cooking.
- To make the dressing, in a large bowl, combine mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, relish, mustard, salt, and pepper. Mix well.
- Add the drained macaroni, celery, carrots, red pepper, and onion to the dressing. Toss well to coat. Taste and add additional salt and pepper if desired.
- Refrigerate the macaroni salad for at least 1 hour before serving.
Notes
- Elbows can be swapped for ditalini, small shells, or wagon wheels.
- Dice the add-ins about half the size of the macaroni.
- Rinse the pasta after draining to stop it from cooking.
- Mix the dressing directly in the salad bowl and then add the other ingredients, one less dish to wash.
- Store leftovers in the fridge in a covered container for up to 4 days.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Pasta, Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Sadly, it does not freeze well.
Macaroni salad is best made beforehand, making it party-perfect. Leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
I love to serve macaroni salad as a side for anything off the grill! u003ca href=u0022https://www.spendwithpennies.com/grilled-bbq-chicken/u0022 type=u0022postu0022 id=u0022152749u0022u003eGrilled BBQ chickenu003c/au003e, hot dogs, or u003ca href=u0022https://www.spendwithpennies.com/classic-hamburger-recipe/u0022 type=u0022postu0022 id=u0022152536u0022u003ehamburgersu003c/au003e are great options. It’s also a great dish to serve with u003ca href=u0022https://www.spendwithpennies.com/dr-pepper-pulled-pork-slow-cooker-recipe/u0022 type=u0022postu0022 id=u002271330u0022u003epulled porku003c/au003e.
Very good and all loved it . My favorite now !
Very good and easy mac salad! Left out the red peppers because I didn;t have any. It will be my go to mac salad recipe from now on
switched relish out for gherkin pickles. But great and requested again!
Ade this today for memorial day cook out , made it just as the recipe , it is so good, everyone really enjoyed it and wanted the recipe so I sent them your website.
we have enjoyed so many meals from you!
thank you so much.
Thanks, Jeff! I am glad you enjoyed it.
I made a triple batch for a Catholic Daughters meeting. I had several people request the recipe
Hi Holly,
This looks delish, and I want to try it for sure.
Is there any way of adding a metric conversion button to your recipe format for all of us non-imperial people from around the world? Also is there an easier way of saving a recipe without having to log in first, i.e. by being redirected to the login page, and then having to refind the recipe to save it? Sorry, not meant to be a criticism, just perhaps a way of navigating around your site more easily, unless I have missed something :-).
Cheers,
John
Thank you so much for your suggestions John, it’s much appreciated! At this time I don’t have the ability to add metric conversions on the site but will keep it in mind for future updates (my cookbook does contain metric for all recipes and variations).
Your feedback on the recipe save is very helpful and I am going to send it to the development team.
Thank you for following along and enjoy the recipe!
Hi Holly,
Thanks for your reply, and thanks for not taking my suggestions as any form of criticism, as that was not my intention.
For me, and I’m sure thousands of your readers around the world, we need to metricate your recipes first, before knowing what quantities to purchase, and then metricate again for the actual recipe cooking.
Cheers,
John
Nice, easy & delicious recipe. I like it!
We didn’t care for it. Made Italian pasta out of it.
Thanks for trying our recipe, Diane!
Easy, and super delicious!
I have not made this yet, but I wanted to tell you that when I am recipe hunting I use yours most of the time and they always turn out a 5. So thank you.
Thank you so much Sandra, I’m glad you’ve loved the recipes!
The most delicious macaroni salad. It must be the addition of the apple cider vinegar. It must sit before enjoying. I make this all the time.
Perfect recipe but I found it better for my taste by reducing the vinegar by half and adding 1/4 cup of sour cream. Will make again! Tysm for the recipe
I’m glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for trying our recipe, Ash!
Oh course this is good! again and agains Holly’s Speed with Pennies recipes always impress my family and myself! thank you. I just added pepper onion relish instead of sweet pickles! excellent!
just made this Mac salad. husband did prep and mixing components. of course, he had to sample, he loved it. no need for any alteration. thanks !
It is creamy, however it’s got a tang to it. If it’s possible to say a type of sweet and sour. overall it’s a good recipe and I’ll use it again but I will add half the vinegar.
just made it and already taste great, I left out the vinegar and added a little more of the relish and mayo. Great base recipe you can play with. thank you
love this recipe
Great recipe !
We did not have sweet pickle relish, so I left it out . We added sliced green olives , about half a jar . We made one and a half times the dressing and added more mustard and only 1 tablespoon sugar , as the macaroni salad I had as a child was more mustardy . Delicious !
Thank you !
I made this for a potluck cookout for my daughter’s tennis team. The triple batch was almost gone. Highly recommend this recipe! I used honey in place of cane sugar to the level of sweetness we like which turned out great. It’s best made the night before and let the noodles marinate in the dressing.
This recipe is delicious! I left out the sugar in the dressing and didn’t miss it. It was a hit at my potluck, and I will be making this again.