If you’re looking for a mayonnaise-based pasta salad that everyone will love, then this classic macaroni salad recipe is just what you need. The pasta is tender, the vegetables are crisp, and the sauce is creamy and flavorful. It’s the perfect side dish for almost any occasion and without a doubt will most likely become your new go-to macaroni salad recipe.
When you think of the perfect macaroni salad, what comes to mind? For me, it’s a pasta salad with perfectly cooked pasta, that isn’t too large or small in size. It has a few vegetables to make it stretch further, add crunch, and give the illusion of possibly being a somewhat healthy side dish. Also, the perfect macaroni salad isn’t completely drenched in dressing, however, it isn’t too dry either. It needs to have just the right amount of seasoned dressing to make it flavorful, creamy, and the perfect companion to any summer grilled main meat dish. Because we all know that when it comes to a great cookout or picnic, the sides are what we really look forward to.
Below, you’ll find the recipe for what I think is the best mayonnaise-based macaroni salad. It’s also a recipe that is easy to customize to your own personal taste. If you don’t like carrots, celery, or cucumbers, leave them out or swap in other crunchy vegetables that you do like. If you’re not a fan of hard-boiled eggs, leave the egg whites out. However, you’ll still need the egg yolks for the dressing because they are responsible for making the dressing for this macaroni salad so creamy. Heck, you can even swap dill pickle relish for sweet pickle relish if that’s your thing. Honestly, this recipe is just so dang forgiving. Feel free to make it your own. You really can’t go wrong.
Ingredients:
- Cold Water
- 1 Teaspoon Coarse Sea Salt
- 1 1/2 Cups Small Elbow Macaroni
- 3 Extra-Large Hard-Boiled Eggs
- 2 Teaspoons Granulated Sugar
- 1/2 Teaspoon Finely Ground Sea Salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon Finely Ground Black Pepper
- 1/2 Teaspoon Paprika
- 1/4 Teaspoon Celery Seed
- 1/4 Teaspoon Ground Chipotle
- 1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon Sweet Pickle Relish
- 1/2 Cup of Mayonnaise
- 1/3 Cup Celery, Diced
- 1/3 Cup Carrot, Peeled & Diced
- 1/3 Cup Seedless Cucumber, Diced
Directions:
- Fill a large pot 3/4 full with cold water. Add the coarse sea salt and bring the water to a boil over high heat.
- Add the macaroni to the boiling water and boil until tender. This should take approximately 10 to 12 minutes.
- Drain the pasta in a strainer and run it under cold water until cool, stirring occasionally. Set aside and allow to drain.
- Slice each hard-boiled egg in half. Place the egg yolks into a small bowl. Add the sugar, salt, pepper, paprika, celery seed, and chipotle to the yolks and use the tines of a fork to mash them all together. Add the apple cider vinegar, relish, and mayonnaise; stir well to combine.
- Dice the remaining hard-boiled egg whites. Add them to a large bowl with the diced celery, carrot, and cucumber. Add the drained macaroni and mayonnaise mixture. Stir well to combine.
- Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.
Suggestions:
- The size of the elbow macaroni will determine how long it needs to boil. Make sure that the pasta is tender, otherwise, the pasta will be chewy.
- CLICK HERE for all of our tips and tricks for getting the perfect hard-boiled eggs.
- If you don’t like hard-boiled eggs in your macaroni salad, feel free to leave the egg whites out, however, you will need the egg yolks to make the dressing for this pasta salad creamy.
- Dice the egg whites, celery, carrots, and cucumbers into roughly the same size.
- Refrigerate the macaroni salad for at least 4 hours so that all of the ingredients have time to meld and the macaroni salad has enough time to fully chill before serving.
Improvements:
- Add diced onion or sliced green or black olives to the pasta salad.
- Try using different varieties of pasta to make this creamy pasta salad.
- Fold crumbled bacon or cubed cheddar cheese into the pasta salad right before serving.
Ingredients:
- Cold Water
- 1 Teaspoon Coarse Sea Salt
- 1 1/2 Cups Small Elbow Macaroni
- 3 Extra-Large Hard-Boiled Eggs
- 2 Teaspoons Granulated Sugar
- 1/2 Teaspoon Finely Ground Sea Salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon Finely Ground Black Pepper
- 1/2 Teaspoon Paprika
- 1/4 Teaspoon Celery Seed
- 1/4 Teaspoon Ground Chipotle
- 1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon Sweet Pickle Relish
- 1/2 Cup of Mayonnaise
- 1/3 Cup Celery, Diced
- 1/3 Cup Carrot, Peeled & Diced
- 1/3 Cup Seedless Cucumber, Diced
Directions:
- Fill a large pot 3/4 full with cold water. Add the coarse sea salt and bring the water to a boil over high heat.
- Add the macaroni to the boiling water and boil until tender. This should take approximately 10 to 12 minutes.
- Drain the pasta in a strainer and run it under cold water until cool, stirring occasionally. Set aside and allow to drain.
- Slice each hard-boiled egg in half. Place the egg yolks into a small bowl. Add the sugar, salt, pepper, paprika, celery seed, and chipotle to the yolks and use the tines of a fork to mash them all together. Add the apple cider vinegar, relish, and mayonnaise; stir well to combine.
- Dice the remaining hard-boiled egg whites. Add them to a large bowl with the diced celery, carrot, and cucumber. Add the drained macaroni and mayonnaise mixture. Stir well to combine.
- Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.
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Green Pea & Herb Macaroni Salad
