Nothing says summertime eating like a serving of classic macaroni salad with eggs and crisp vegetables dressed in a simple and creamy — but still light — mayonnaise dressing for any picnic, potluck, or barbecue.
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“Thank you so much for sharing this awesome recipe! I have made it probably 20 times & receive the best compliments each time!” -Brandi, FoodieCrush reader
Traditional Mayo-Based Salads Like This Are Timeless Favorites
Sometimes you just don’t mess around with the classics. Much like my Grandma’s Potato Salad (THE BEST) and my Creamy Coleslaw, there are no bells and whistles to this traditional macaroni salad recipe.
I’m not reinventing the wheel here, and that’s exactly why it’s a timeless favorite. This macaroni salad was born after years of suffering through versions that were too dry, too plain, or too heavily loaded with a goopy, flavorless mayo dressing that coated the macaroni like oil on a dipstick and likely came from a pre-packaged box from the deli counter.
This easy recipe is everything those others were not. First off, it’s homemade and dressed just right with a tangy but light mayo mixture. The pasta is neither clumpy nor starchy, but smooth and satisfying with every bite.
It’s simple but well-seasoned — everything you want in your favorite macaroni salad.
Enjoy!
Heidi’s Tips for Recipe Success
Cook the macaroni al denté as you would your favorite Italian pasta. Overcook it and you’ll end up with mushy bites that won’t stand up to the mixing with the vegetables.
After cooking, rinse the macaroni so it doesn’t stick. The macaroni salad trick I learned from my mom is to rinse the pasta after cooking and drain it really well so there’s no residual water lurking in the pasta nook and crannies. As the pasta cools, toss it a bit with your hands or a spoon so it stays loose and doesn’t clump together.
Pickle juice is my big secret! The dressing for this salad is a mayonnaise base that’s been thinned out with pickle juice reserved from the sweet pickles added to the salad.
The Key Macaroni Salad Ingredients
The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.
For the macaroni salad:
- Short macaroni of your choice — I use ditalini (these extra short tubes) but classic shells or elbow macaroni works great too.
- Hard-boiled eggs — In my humble opinion, mayo-based salads always taste better with a touch of a hard-boiled egg.
- Veggies — A blend of finely chopped celery, bell pepper, and red onion add flavor and lots of crunch.
- Sweet pickles (sweet gherkins) — I always use sweet pickles, so if you use another style, taste test it to your liking.
For the dressing:
- Mayonnaise — Choose a quality bottle for a rich and creamy salad.
- Dijon mustard — Deepens the flavor of the dressing without making it taste like mustard.
- Sugar — When mixed with the mayo and pickle juice, it gives it an almost Miracle Wihp-esque flavor.
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper — Season the salad again before serving.
How to Make Macaroni Salad (+ More Tips!)
- Cook the noodles so they have some bite to them. Watching your cooking time and cooking to the package directions should ensure the perfect al dente bite. And to be sure, taste test every minute or so when coming to the end of your cooking time.
- Add the pickles, peppers, eggs, and celery. Transfer the drained and rinsed pasta to a large bowl. Add the eggs, celery, red bell pepper, red onion, and sweet pickles.
- Whisk together the mayo dressing. I like to combine the macaroni salad dressing in a separate bowl to ensure it’s mixed fully before tossing with the pasta.
- Stir it all together. Add the dressing to the macaroni and fixings, and toss until everything is evenly coated. Sprinkle with fresh parsley to add a little color if desired.
- Refrigerate for the flavors to meld. This salad tastes best when it’s had some time in the refrigerator for the flavors to meld and the mayo sauce to permeate the noodles.
Ingredient Swaps and Variations
I almost always make this old-fashioned recipe as written, but every once in a while I get the urge to shake things up, just because I can. Here are some mix-ins and flavor swaps I’ve made over the years:
- Add bay salad shrimp for a shrimp macaroni salad
- Make it Mediterranean-style with smoked mozzarella and prosciutto
- Add cubed ham for a macaroni ham salad
- Toss in ⅓ to ½ cup finely chopped olives
- Swap the pickles for vinegar or lemon juice
- Add chopped roasted red peppers for a subtly smoky flavor
- Add finely chopped carrots for crunch
- Replace the mayo with Miracle Whip for a sweeter, tangier dressing (my Grandma’s potato salad recipe also uses Miracle Whip, so use whichever you grew up eating)
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below, leave a comment to tell us what you think, and tag me on Instagram @foodiecrush.
THE BEST Macaroni Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Salad:
- 1 pound ditalini pasta , or other short pasta or shell
- 3 hard-boiled eggs , diced
- 2 celery ribs , minced
- 1 red bell pepper , seeded and minced
- ¼ red onion , minced
- ¼ cup sweet pickles (sweet gherkins) , chopped
Dressing:
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon pickle juice
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons Dijon mustard
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper , to taste
- Chopped parsley (optional)
Instructions
- Boil the pasta, then rinse and drain. Cook the pasta in salted water according to the package directions, Drain in a colander and rinse under cold water until cooled. Shake the colander to toss the pasta, and drain for about 5 minutes, tossing occasionally.
- Add the mix-ins. Transfer the drained pasta to a large bowl. Add the eggs, celery, red bell pepper, red onion and sweet pickles.
- Make the dressing. In a small bowl, mix the mayonnaise, pickle juice, sugar, and Dijon mustard; season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add to the macaroni mixture and toss until evenly coated.
- Chill before serving. Season with more salt and pepper to taste then refrigerate for 1 hour before serving. Sprinkle with chopped parsley to add a little color if desired.
Nutrition
What Goes with Macaroni Salad
Think: barbecues, picnics, and of course, fried chicken! Here are a few mains to serve along with this classic side.
- BBQ — BBQ Chicken, Saucy BBQ Meatballs, Grandma’s Country Style Ribs, North Carolina-Style Vinegar Pulled Pork
- Mains — Garlic Burgers, Juicy Grilled Pork Chops, Buttermilk Chicken Tenders, Flaky Grilled Salmon
- Sandwiches — BLT Sandwiches, Club Sandwich, Ham Salad Sandwiches
- Sides — Fried Green Tomatoes, Grilled Corn, Grilled Vegetable Skewers, BBQ Baked Beans
FAQs
Go for it! I use Miracle Whip in my potato salad recipe, but prefer richer mayo here. If using Miracle Whip, taste the dressing before adding any sugar to see if the extra hit of sweetness is needed.
If your salad tastes even remotely bland, it probably needs more salt. You’ll want to salt the pasta water generously so the plain noodles are properly seasoned.
The dressing also needs a good amount of salt, *and* you’ll possibly need to salt the finished salad again after it’s chilled in the fridge.
You’re working with a full pound of pasta, plus lots of raw veggies, all of which needs salt to bring out their flavors.
The mayonnaise lends the dressing inherent creaminess, but the real secret lies in rinsing the pasta after cooking. This removes some of the excess starch from the pasta, which tends to make macaroni salad sticky rather than creamy.
Nope, you don’t want to freeze this recipe, trust me! The mayo dressing will separate (i.e. become grainy and gross) and the pasta will expand and turn to mush once thawed.
Storage and Make Ahead Tips
Once tossed with the creamy dressing, this simple macaroni salad should be eaten within 3 to 4 days.
You can definitely make it ahead of potlucks, holidays, and bbqs.
In fact, I recommend chilling it for at least an hour before serving, or make it the night before for the best, flavorful taste. And always remember to taste again before serving to decide if more salt and pepper seasoning needs to be added.
More Potluck Pasta Salads
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Leslie
What brand of mayo do you suggest? I’m going to make this for a school luncheon and I don’t normally use mayo for anything so I don’t know what brand or type would be best.
Lori
Hellmans
Donna
Dukes Mayo is the best. The big name brands can’t even come close to the awesome flavor of Dukes.
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
Thanks Don! Please susbcribe to our email list and you will receive notifications of all new recipes
Shawna
How many servings and at what size is this for please? I want to make this but will be making it for 350 @ 3oz servings!! Please email me if you get my email address otherwise I will keep checking back here! Thank you, sounds yummy
Gabrielle Falk
Looks delicious. My husband is such a fuss pot when it comes to food. He was the eldest of 8, and vegetables etc. just got boiled (& boiled). I am going to make this salad for me, and if I hide the red pepper (maybe) he might try. When I make my salad dressing (has capers in it) I also tip some of the caper juice into the dressing. I have been looking for AGES for an American recipe for pot. salad (recipe from The American Woman’s Cookbook, circa 1955? ish) with olive oil, vinegar (white or malt?), grated onion, parsley, mustard (Dijon?), salt and pepper. The cookbook is long gone. Can anyone help me with this recipe for pot. salad dressing. Thanks, Gabrielle, from Sydney, Australia
Heather Johnson
I made this(eating it for lunch right now) probably my favorite recipe so far, I added a little more dijon mustard, some garlic powder and it could’ve used more pickles and onions for my taste, but all in all a great mac salad!!!!
Denise
What brand mayo should I use? I’m definitely not a mayo connoisseur . Lol
I use Heinz Real Mayonnaise, it’s super creamy and the perfect tang IMO.
Donna
Dukes Mayo is the absolute best brand! It makes everything with mayo twice as good!
Elizabeth
Macaroni salad is my favorite! I have never put any bit of sugar in my macaroni salad though. Not sure why you would need any. I don’t use bell peppers but do use sliced black olives and a bit of the juice from the olives. As well as using chopped hard boiled eggs in the salad I top it with some sliced eggs and a sprinkle of paprika! In fact, I am going to gather my ingredients snd make some right now!
Tracy
You just up’d my Macaroni Salad Game! Ypur recipe was soooo good! First, rinsing that hot macaroni with cold water was a total game changer! Mine always looked like it had specks of mayo on it and it had to be that starch residue. Then, pickle juice?! I added kosher dill pickles and juice. Outstanding! Lastly, I’ve almost always “overdressed” both my macaroni and potato salads. Mixing the mayo and wet ingredients separately let me control it spoonful by spoonful. That method had never dawned on me before now. Duh! Plus, I panicked because I didn’t have a full cup of mayo so I had to add sour cream to bring me up to a full cup. It was absolutely perfect! Thank you so much! What a Keeper!!
Cayla
I made this yesterday it was so good I added pasta salad seasoning and mozzarella cheese and chicken!! Soo freaking good!!
Lily K Weschke
is the pickle juice used in the recipe from the sweet pickle jar or normal dill pickle jar juice?
Hi Lily, I take it from the same jar of pickles I use for the recipe, so in this case, it’s the sweet pickle juice. Enjoy!!!
Deb
I made it tonight fir the folks at the Sale Barn in Herington KS. I loved it!
Deb
I made your macaroni salad tonight for tomorrow. I cook at the Cattlemens Cafe Sale barn in Herington KS. I loved it. I’m sure the folks will love it too.
Mirinda Hughes
Can I use sweet relish juice instead of sweet pickle juice in your macaroni salad recipe?
Sure, you could try that, but the dressing won’t be as tangy.
Eva
This is about identical to my own. Especially the sweet pickle. Love it! I too always add egg. I have been making this recipe over 25 years. My family loves it.
E
Nicole
Can I switch out the red onion for green scallions?
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
Definitely!
Connie
Just made this salad. LOVE it!
I added shredded carrots,peppers, red onion sweet pickles and some grated onion to punch up the flavor. I think next time I will not use the Dijon mustard. I didn’t like the taste of it here. Gave my sister some…she’s hooked. I can do no wrong! Lol
Thanks for sharing.
Diana Lis
I had about a half pound of leftover rotini noodles from yesterday and the first thing that popped in my head was macaroni salad. I haven’t made any for quite a while but my husband bought some from the deli for himself. Ugh! Yuk! I can’t stand the sweet tangy flavor it had. I’m more of a mayo person. I wanted to make the salad with a lot of different veggies. I used thinly sliced celery, green onions because I didn’t have red, 4 chopped hard boiled eggs and grated dill pickles because I like them better than the sweet ones. I wanted something different so I grated an apple into it too! I had to squeeze the liquid out of it then used the juice from the pickles over the apple so it wouldn’t turn brown. I liked the idea of using some Dijon mustard with the mayo.
I mixes it all together and gave hubby a try and he lived it! Oops! I just realized I didn’t put in the red bell pepper! Before mincing them I thought I would roast them over the burner to blacken the skin. Then I put it in a paper bag for 20 minutes so the skin would peel off. Well, they’re still sitting in the paper bag!! Haha! I’m still going to use them somehow so I better get to chopping!
Linda
Try using celery salt….it will give you the flavor but not the crunch.
Twila
Loved the tips for cooking and rinsing the macaroni! Used dill pickles and cheese. Was very good. Thanks.
Kristina Snider
Looking forward to trying this over the weekend! I love how you expressed the importance in preparing the macaroni “just right”. I too believe that’s a major key in perfect salad! And a big BOOOO to boxed salads!
Maureen
I tried this recipe last week. It was SO GOOD! Thank you for posting such a delicious pasta salad. This one is going in my recipe binder for sure! Love your blog!
Carrie Billups
Yeah, I love ❤️ this recipe””!!!!
emile
Soo yummy….
loved the way you added the pepper into it.
Mary Patrick
looks yummy Heidi. What I want to know is how you get those ingredients so uniformed in size to look so pretty. Wow and u don’t get a big chunk of anything.
Rachael's Foodie Life
I always felt that those terrible store brought gluggy flavourless mayo pasta pits had ruined any chance of my ever liking pasta salad with mayo but alas you have convinced me to give it another go. Using the recipe of course! No store brought pasta salad here thanks
Kelly Senyei @ Just a Taste
Comfort food at its finest! And now I’m craving a big bowl of this macaroni salad!
Caroline Hickey
I’m so making it this weekend. Like FR (Fraggle Rock…), I have a weird love for mac salad and most taste wonderful to me because I also have a weird love for mayo. The sweet pickle juice and Dijon mustard have me intrigued. Wish me luck as you’ve upped my anxiety level with the Just Right cooking of the pasta.
I have faith in you Caroline! YOU CAN DO IT!!!!
Kathy
I want to make this today, however your recipe does not say how many it will serve. Taking it to a potluck so im not worried about it. Was just curious. Thanks for all the great tips.
Beaunca Franklin
Raving reviews from my church members, they Loved it
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
YAY!
Marian
It says serves 12 however I am doubling it for 17 people. Leftovers are good!
Alex
I’m with Caroline. Love mac salad (hell…ANYTHING pasta!) and mayo. Two of my favorite weaknesses.
Erin@WellPlated
You have expressed all of my mac salad woes. I want to give it another chance now!
Do it Erin! You won’t regret it :)
andre'
this recipe is just like mine. all the same elements ;) i kicked it up a notch though the last time when i added the spicier bread and butter pickles. i used famous dave’s hot and spicy bread and butter pickles and man oh man my husband melted! if you want to bump ’em up a bit it is a real good change if somebody is up for it!
Faith
Thanks for the tip on the Dave’s pickles – I was pondering that substitution, and now I will go ahead with it! :D
Mary
How far in advance can you make this? Is two days OK. Make on Friday, eat on Sunday?
Vicki
Yes. It Bc will be even more wonderful.
That would totally work Mary.
Gay
I’m adding this to our Easter lunch tomorrow. It sounds so good!
Teresa
I just made this! I added a can of sliced olives because I’m a olive lover and a half tsp granulated garlic. It is so good! I also doubled the boiled eggs because I love those too! Highly recommend this recipe!
Liz
I like to add radishes also
Amina
This looks so delicious! I’m going to make this. I live in Senegal and haven’t seen celery stalks here. I have all the other ingredients. I guess it should still be delicious without the celery! Let’s hope so
KARON R CARPENTER
It you have access to large greens you maybe could use the large ribs that are usually discarded, just an idea, or maybe Swiss chard stalks, I don’t think the color matters as much as the crunch. good luck.
Linda Donahue
Well, I left out the celery, red onions , pickles and eggs! Used the dressing ingredients and cooked broccolli along with the noodles. Hhhhmmnn, just needs black pepper now! Thank you. Pickle juice was a key!