Classic Macaroni Salad

This classic macaroni salad is creamy and packed with veggies! It’s an easy recipe for any potluck or party!

You can bring this crowd-pleasing side dish to any gathering, including potlucks, parties, BBQs, or picnics. But it also makes a refreshing lunch or side dish for dinner on a hot summer day. It’s the perfect summertime dish.

This flavorful macaroni salad is already vegetarian and can easily be made vegan, so that everyone can enjoy this mouth-watering side dish.

This old-fashioned macaroni salad recipe is easy to make. It’s great for making ahead too. Prepare it a few hours before or even a day in advance, as it will gain in flavor.

Classic Macaroni Salad Ingredients

For a classic macaroni salad, you’ll need elbow macaroni pasta. Other than that, it’s made of bell peppers, onions, and sweet pickles or dill pickles. Flat-leaf parsley and chopped hard-boiled eggs are optional.

As for the vegetables, you can add in those you like. Simply replace the ones you don’t like. Instead of bell peppers and pickles, you can go for shredded or chopped carrots, diced or chopped celery, chopped cucumbers, or seeded and chooped tomatoes. I’ve made this salad without onions and it’s still good. So if you’re not a fan of raw onions, just leave them out. But they still provide a great flavor.

The simple, slightly tangy dressing is made of mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar, yellow mustard, salt, and pepper. You can substitute plain Greek yogurt for the sour cream. You can also skip the sour cream or Greek yogurt and replace it with mayonnaise.

Vegan Macaroni Salad

You can easily veganize this macaroni salad recipe. The add-ins for the salad are vegan already, as soon as you skip the optional hard-boiled eggs. You just need to use a vegan mayonnaise instead of a regular one and swap the regular sour cream for a vegan version.

Also be sure to try my other salad recipes, like my White Bean Salad, Mediterranean Chickpea Salad, and Cowboy Caviar.

If you make this recipe, I’d love to know how it turned out! Please let me know by giving it a star rating and leaving a comment below. Or snap a photo and tag @teatimeontheporch on Instagram so I can see it! I’d love to see your classic macaroni salad!

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Classic Macaroni Salad

By Christina

Yields: 8 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

This classic macaroni salad is creamy and packed with veggies! It’s an easy recipe for any potluck or party!

Ingredients

• 8 ounces uncooked elbow macaroni
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 green or yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 1 small yellow onion, or red onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup sweet pickles, or dill pickles, chopped
• 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped (optional)
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped (optional)

For the Dressing

• 3/4 cup (168 g) mayonnaise, vegan if desired (see Notes!)
• 1/4 cup (57 g) sour cream, or plain Greek yogurt (see Notes!)
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) white wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon (15 g) yellow mustard, you can use Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

• Cook the elbow macaroni according to the package instructions, until al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water. Set aside and let cool completely.
• Add the cooked macaroni, bell peppers, onions, and pickles to a large bowl and mix together.
• To make the dressing, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
• Pour the dressing over the ingredients, add the parsley and chopped eggs, if using, and toss gently to coat.
• Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

Notes

Storage Instructions: This macaroni salad will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Make-Ahead Instructions: You can make this macaroni the night before. It will gain in flavor.

Mayonnaise: You can also opt for a lighter mayonnaise with less fat.

Sour cream: Instead of sour cream you can also use plain Greek yogurt. Full-fat works best, but low-fat or nonfat will work too. You can skip the sour cream or Greek yogurt and replace with mayonnaise.

Vegan Option: Use vegan mayonnaise as well as a vegan sour cream or Greek yogurt option.

If your salad dries out a bit, especially after refrigerating for a longer period of time, just add up to 2 tablespoons of sweet or dill pickle juice to thinnen it out a bit.

Did You Make This Recipe?

I’d love to know how it turned out! Please leave a comment below. Or snap a photo and tag @teatimeontheporch on Instagram so I can see it!