This macaroni salad recipe is a crowd-pleasing side dish! A creamy dressing, crunchy veggies, and pickles pack it with delicious textures and flavors.
This classic macaroni salad recipe is a hit at potlucks and cookouts! Based on the macaroni salad I ate at summer gatherings as a kid, it features a creamy dressing and crunchy veggies like celery, red bell peppers, and onion. Diced dill pickles add a pop of tangy, savory flavor to the salad, and a splash of pickle juice punches up the dressing.
This macaroni salad is easy to make, and it’s perfect for making ahead. Prep it a few hours or even a day before a picnic or BBQ, and chill it until you’re ready to serve. The flavors get better the longer it sits in the fridge!
Enjoy this salad as a side dish with veggie burgers, black bean burgers, or saucy BBQ sandwiches. It pairs well with any cookout fare. I hope you love it as much as we do!
Macaroni Salad Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this classic pasta salad recipe:
- Elbow macaroni – A macaroni salad essential! You just need 8 ounces, typically half a box. It really expands as it cooks.
- Red bell pepper – It adds crunch and a touch of sweetness to the salad.
- Celery and red onion – For savory flavor and extra crunch.
- Dill pickles and pickle juice – You’ll dice up the pickles and add them to the salad and use the pickle juice in the dressing. Both amp up the salad’s addictive tangy flavor. Sub sweet pickles if you prefer!
- Mayonnaise – It creates the dressing’s creamy base. Use vegan mayo to make this recipe vegan.
- Distilled white vinegar and Dijon mustard – They work with the pickle brine to add tangy flavor to the dressing. If you don’t have white vinegar on hand, apple cider vinegar is a good substitute.
- Sugar – It sweetens the dressing, balancing the sharp vinegar, mustard, and pickle brine.
- Garlic – It gives the dressing a savory, garlicky kick.
- And salt and pepper – To make all the flavors pop!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
Variation – For an extra-creamy texture, add two peeled and chopped hard-boiled eggs to the salad.
I love them in my classic potato salad, and they’re great here too!
How to Make Macaroni Salad
To make this easy macaroni salad recipe, start by cooking the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Prepare the pasta according to the package instructions, cooking until slightly past al dente so that the noodles will stay tender once they cool.
Drain the pasta. Many macaroni salad recipes recommend rinsing the pasta in cold water after cooking. I prefer not to, as this washes away some of the starches from the noodles.
Instead, toss the pasta with a drizzle of olive oil to prevent sticking. Then, set it aside to cool.
Meanwhile, make the dressing. In a large bowl, whisk together the mayo, pickle juice, vinegar, sugar, mustard, garlic, salt, and several grinds of pepper.
Then, assemble the salad. Add the cooked pasta, red pepper, celery, pickles, and red onion to the bowl with the dressing. Stir to combine and season to taste.
Chill the salad until ready to serve. Finally, dig in!
How long does macaroni salad last?
Macaroni salad keeps well for up to 5 days in an airtight container in the fridge. Feel free to make it ahead for picnics and cookouts!
One note about the dressing: It’s best not to leave mayo-based salad dressings in the heat for too long. Keep this salad chilled until you serve it, and don’t let it sit at room temperature for longer than 2 hours.
More Classic Salad Recipes
If you love this macaroni salad, try one of these classic salads next:
- Best Potato Salad
- Creamy Coleslaw
- Easy Pasta Salad
- Best Broccoli Salad
- Cucumber Salad
- Or any of these 51 Best Salad Recipes!
Macaroni Salad
Ingredients
- 8 ounces dry elbow macaroni noodles
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- 1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and diced
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- ½ cup diced dill pickles
- ⅓ cup diced red onion
For the dressing
- ¾ cup mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons dill pickle juice
- 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 garlic cloves, grated
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Prepare the macaroni according to the package instructions, cooking until slightly past al dente. Drain and toss with a drizzle of olive oil to prevent sticking, then set aside to cool.
- Make the dressing: In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, pickle juice, vinegar, sugar, mustard, garlic, salt, and several grinds of pepper.
- Add the macaroni, red pepper, celery, pickles, and red onion to the bowl with the dressing and stir to combine. Season to taste and chill until ready to serve.
This salad is very tasty, but I would start with a quarter of the sugar it calls for and add more as needed.
Made this with gluten free elbows. It’s mingling in the fridge now. Will bring to BBQ tomorrow. My taste test of this is great. Can’t wait to have more…
Had to make a change as I was out of dill pickles, so I used bread and butter pickles chopped up and threw in a can of kidney beans to make it a main dish as well as a side and we loved it!!!It will be on my regular rotation, thank you
Hi Melodie, I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Great recipe. This is so delicious! We enjoyed as a side for our bbq over the weekend. Many compliments to Love and Lemons. Thanks!
Hi Susan, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Very good..
I shredded some carrots and added bacon bits on my portion. 👍🏻
So glad you loved it, Kristie!
What a great salad! Love the lemon and dilliness!
I’m so glad you loved it!
Can i replace mayo with greek yogurt
Yes, I think that would be great. I might add a bit more salt after tasting the final dish since mayo is more salty than plain Greek yogurt.
Can i replace mayo with greek yogurt
This is so so delicious! Crunch in every bite and the dressing is perfect. I added baked tofu for a one dish summer supper. So so yummy. I used veganese mayo and was able to keep the sodium down to 200mg. This meal will be on repeat! Thank you.
I’m so glad you loved it!
I have never been a fan of Macaroni salads, but your recipe is a wonderful design in flavours.
I did add some grated Baldersson Double Smoked Cheddar cheese. Oh man did the flavours dance together! I will make this often! Thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
What a delicious meal plan
I love it so much
Really really nice. I didn’t have frozen peas so used edamame instead. Yumm.
Loved it!! Soooo much lighted then the one with mayo/sour cream. Thanks
Made this for a party and it was great! Would you be able to freeze leftovers?
I loved this! I made it with store-bought Vegenase for the mayo and subbed chopped banana peppers for the dill pickles, since that’s what I had in the fridge. So good! I’ll be making this all summer.
Hi Shannon, I’m so glad it was a hit!
this was delicious. Thank You!
I used GF brown rice pasta, and cilantro instead of parsley (I’m a cilantro lover). I used a whole red pepper and garlic powder in place of fresh garlic. I also added edamame to increase the protein value.
Hi Esther, I’m so glad you loved it!
I do not like dill pickles or capers. What can I substitute?
chopped olives, sun dried tomatoes, or roasted red peppers would be delicious.
I just made a veggie laden pasta salad, but I used your tahini dressing. It was great.
Love this recipe cannot stand bland macaroni salad, the only thing I do a ill different I use Apple cider vinegar instead of lemon juice I use a full can of black olives either chopped or ripped and some of the brine and a bunch of hard boiled eggs the more taste the better, never thought to try dill before thanks!
I think apple cider vinegar would be delish!