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Cooking adventures in a small, closet sized, kitchen. - I came to realize that my meals were boring and that I had been eating the same few dishes over and over again for years. It was time for a change! I now spend my free time searching for, creating and trying tasty new recipes in my closet sized kitchen.

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Macaroni Salad

[heart_this] · Jun 30, 2022 · 4 Comments

Macaroni Salad

The classic macaroni salad; cool pasta and veggies tossed in a creamy dressing!

Macaroni salad is a summer staple; it’s cool and creamy and perfect for hot summer days! The basic idea here is cooked and cooled pasta is combined with vegetables and ingredients of choice before being tossed in a creamy mayonnaise based dressing. This salad uses macaroni pasta, hard boiled eggs, celery, bell pepper, carrots, pickles, red and green onions, but you can use pretty much any ingredients that you want. The pickles are optional and you can use either use sweet or savoury and you can also use pickle relish. The dressing is a combination of mayo, sour cream, vinegar, mustard and an optional splash of pickle juice. This salad can be made ahead of time and it only gets better after chilling in the fridge overnight! It’s an amazing side for pretty much any summer meal including picnics, barbecues and tailgating !

Macaroni Salad

Macaroni Salad
Macaroni Salad

Macaroni Salad

Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes Cool Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 30 minutes Servings: 12

The classic macaroni salad; cool pasta and veggies tossed in a creamy dressing!

ingredients
  • 1 pound pasta (gluten-free for gluten-free)
  • 3 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped (optional)
  • 1 cup celery, diced
  • 1 cup red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 cup carrot, diced or shredded
  • 1/2 cup pickle (sweet or savoury), diced (optional)
  • 1/4 cup red onion, diced
  • 1/4 cup green onion, sliced
  • 1/3 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/3 cup sour cream (or greek yogurt)
  • 2 tablespoons white vinegar or lemon juice (~1/2 lemon)
  • 1 tablespoon pickle juice (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
directions
  1. Cook the pasta as directed on the package, drain and rinse in cold water until the pasta has cooled.
  2. Mix the pasta, hard boiled eggs, celery, bell pepper, carrot, pickle, red onion, and green onion.
  3. Mix the mayo, sour cream, vinegar, pickle juice, mustard, salt and pepper.
  4. Toss the salad in the dressing and enjoy!
Option: Use any combination of mayonnaise, sour cream and/or plain yogurt.
Option: Add 1 tablespoon sugar for a hint of sweetness.
Option: Add hot sauce or sriracha to taste for some heat.
Option: Add 1/2 teaspoon paprika to the dressing.
Option: Add 1/2 teaspoon worcestershire sauce to the dressing
Option: Replace the pickles with relish.
Option: Add 1/4 cup cooked and crumbled bacon.
Option: Add 1/2 cup shredded or cubed cheese.
Option: Add 1/2 cup fresh or thawed peas.
Nutrition Facts: Calories 225, Fat 7g (Saturated 1g, Trans 0), Cholesterol 43mg, Sodium 180mg, Carbs 31g (Fiber 2g, Sugars 2g), Protein 6g

Nutrition by: Nutritional facts powered by Edamam
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American, Food, Gluten-free, Meal Prep, Pasta, Recipe, Salad

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Vicki says

    July 2, 2022 at 6:17 am

    This looks like the perfect macaroni salad…..gotta try it!

    Reply
  2. Maria Velniceriu says

    July 4, 2022 at 3:39 pm

    This is literally my favorite recipe for the summer. I never failed when I prepared this macaroni salad.

    Reply
  3. Karin says

    July 4, 2022 at 5:21 pm

    This macaroni salad is great!!! I added a bit of bacon and cheese and used all mayo as I was out of sour cream. Very good!! Thanks!

    Reply
  4. Judes says

    August 6, 2022 at 7:31 pm

    I prepared this recipe with all mayo (no sour cream), followed the recipe and made certain the celery and red onion were cut into very small dices. I will place this recipe into my personal archives. It is chilling in refrigerator now. Small pieces of bacon and grated cheese would take this recipe to the next level. FYI, thank you — I do approve~!

    Reply

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About Me

Kevin: I came to realize that my meals were boring and that I had been eating the same few dishes over and over again for years. It was time for a change! I now spend my free time searching for, creating and trying tasty new recipes in my closet sized kitchen.
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