Easy Macaroni Salad

by Sabrina Snyder

Last Update:

110 Comments

4.83 from 41 votes
8 servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Refrigerate 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
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Easy Macaroni Salad is a classic side dish you can make the night before your next picnic or potluck with a creamy and tangy dressing.

Macaroni Salad is a popular summer Side that many people grew up eating. You will love serving this at BBQs and picnics along with Cole Slaw, Baked Beans, and other favorites for the ultimate spread.

Sabrina’s Easy Macaroni Salad Recipe

This easy pasta salad that is a mix of elbow pasta, a tangy mayonnaise-based dressing, and pimento peppers. Macaroni Salad may seem like a silly recipe since most people tend to go to the grocery store deli and load up on sides (like Pea Salad and Crab Salad too!) in preparation for big parties. However, this homemade version is so easy it won’t even be worth the grocery store trip.

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Dinner, then Dessert

Macaroni Salad Recipe

Easy Macaroni Salad is a classic side dish you can make the night before your next picnic or potluck with a creamy and tangy dressing.
Yield 8 servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
Dressed pasta in a bowl with garnish
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup white vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
  • 1 stalk celery , finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons sweet relish
  • 2 tablespoons chopped pimento peppers
  • 1 pound elbow macaroni , cooked and drained

Instructions

  • Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl and mix until pasta is well coated.
  • Refrigerate at least 1 hour, and preferably overnight.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 423kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 13g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 548mg | Potassium: 161mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 189IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1mg

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Recipe Video

Portion Sizes

Because the pasta is so filling and tastes great at room temperature, it makes the perfect side dish to serve all summer long. Macaroni Salad is often made for large parties. A good rule of thumb is about ½ a cup or about 5 ounces per person. Feel free to double up the recipe if you need more.

Can This be Made Ahead of Time?

This recipe is so crazy easy, the longest part is waiting for the water to boil. By the time the pasta is done cooking you’ll have the entire mixture ready to go. Then you drain the pasta, toss it in the mixture and refrigerate overnight or up to a couple days if you want to make it further in advance.

How to Store

  • Serve: Don’t leave this pasta salad at room temperature for longer than 2 hours.
  • Store: Cover the large bowl or put the salad into another airtight container to store it in the fridge. It will keep well for up to 3 days.
  • Freeze: Unfortunately the creamy dressing in this salad recipe won’t stay good in the freezer. It’s better just to make the recipe fresh.

Variations

  • Peas: People LOVE peas in their pasta salads. You can just toss in frozen peas, they’ll thaw out overnight without any issues.
  • Ham: Diced ham is also really popular especially in a Hawaiian version which also has pineapple in it.
  • Red Onions: They’re slightly sweeter than yellow onions and add a fun color.
  • Bell Peppers: Don’t worry, they will have a slight crunch but soften somewhat during the chill time.
  • Tuna: Tuna Macaroni Salad is hugely popular and a perfect easy picnic main dish option since you’re adding a protein.
  • Eggs: Chopped eggs are also an easy and very popular mix-in. Use 3-4 large eggs that have been hard boiled.
  • Pickle Juice: If vinegar is too harsh a flavor for you, try substituting pickle juice!
  • Cheese: Cubed bits of cheddar cheese added to your salad is an easy protein addition.
  • Noodles: Feel free to swap out the pasta shapes. You can use fusilli, bowtie, rotini, ziti or even broken spaghetti!

More Amazing Macaroni Salad Recipes

Prepared salad with elbow macaroni in a bowl

the following photos were used in previous versions of this post

side-by-side image of finished salad
creamy salad in a white dish
vertical photo of pasta dish from two angles
finished side dish in a white bowl
Pasta in creamy dressing
elbow pasta in creamy dressing

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. Made again. Used 1/2 pound macaroni. This time, I doubled the amount of sauce and it was more to hubby’s liking. Also, lasts a couple days and the sauce gets absorbed by the pasta and causes it to be a little dry. Makes a large bowl. Very good.

    Reply

    1. Good to know Judy! Our Salad doesn’t last very long around here! Appreciate the five star review 🙂

      Reply

  2. 4/16/24. Made this evening as a side to go with turkey club. Very light and creamy. Made as written except used light mayo with couple tablespoons of regular mayo. Was easy and enjoyable. Will make again
    7/4/24. Made again. Used 1 cup dry macaroni and 1/2 of sauce. Added 2T chopped olives with pimentos. Was a good addition as I didn’t have the jar of pimentos.
    Thank you, Sabrina.
    Love your recipes. Makes eating at home enjoyable.

    Reply

    1. You’re welcome. Enjoyed reading your feedback and truly appreciate your five star review.

      Reply

  5. Not sure why but the mayo separated and looked curdled by the time it came out of the fridge. Not as good.

    Reply

  6. At first I thought it had way too much vinegar and mustard, although, after 24 hrs in the fridge, it wasn’t nearly as strong. In fact, the dish is perfect in my opinion! I added a can of peas. It’s delish. Thank you.

    Reply

  8. Hello Sabrina, I love your macaroni salad recipe, i I’ve been making for years now delicious and it’s the only go to macaroni salad I make.

    Thank you,

    Reply