Hawaiian-Style Macaroni Salad is unlike any other pasta salad! It is packed full of flavor! It's a cross between cole slaw and potato salad!
This post is sponsored by The Little Potato Company. All text and opinions are my own.
HAWAIIAN MACARONI SALAD
I had a friend, Leilani, who made it her goal to educate folks on all things Hawai'i. She was a military brat, like myself, and was born and raised there. She would always half-joke about our (and by "our" - I mean us mainlanders) use of pineapple. "Mainlanders think that just cause you put pineapple in something, it automatically becomes 'Hawaiian'." So, of course, we had to constantly joke with her. She'd come into the break room and ask what we were eating and it became a competition on who could come up with the best (and by 'best'- I mean horrifyingly gross) use of pineapple in a made-up dish.
She would tell me about her favorite meal of Teriyaki Burgers (which, ironically enough, do have pineapple on them) with a side of Hawaiian-Style Macaroni Salad. She made it for me once and the dressing tasted so much like a cole slaw dressing to me. Hers was such a simple salad of macaroni, mayonnaise-based dressing, sliced carrots & celery with a hint of onion. Simple but perfect.
NO PINEAPPLE - ALL GOOD!
So using that recipe as inspiration, I created this recipe. I've had friends tell me that at some Hawaiian barbecue joints, they add potatoes to the mac salad. So that is just what I did here. I'm using my favorite Little Potato Company creamer potatoes. They go perfectly with this dish since they are easy to dice and are super tasty. And to make it even easier, I am using a pre-made cole slaw dressing AND we are going to boil the potatoes and noodles together to save time and dirty dishes. Boom! This is so good y'all - no pineapple needed!
WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
Little Potato Co. creamer potatoes
elbow macaroni noodles
hard-cooked peeled eggs
shredded carrots
coleslaw dressing
green onions
You can usually find the hard-cooked peeled eggs over in the refrigerated section of the grocery store near the other eggs. It's a great time saver!
HOW TO MAKE HAWAIIAN STYLE MACARONI SALAD:
Make sure to stir the potatoes and macaroni occasionally while cooking so they don't stick to the bottom of the pot. Once the noodles are tender, drain the potatoes and noodles and allow them to cool for about 15 minutes or so. 
Once they're cooled off, add potatoes and noodles to a large bowl. Mix in chopped hard-cooked eggs, sliced carrots and coleslaw dressing.
HAWAIIAN-STYLE MACARONI SALAD
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs Little Potato Co. Baby Boomer creamer potatoes
- 1 cup macaroni, uncooked
- 2 hard-cooked peeled eggs, chopped
- ½ cup shredded carrots
- 1 15 oz bottle coleslaw dressing
- sliced green onions, for garnish
Instructions
- Cut up your little potatoes into halves (or quarters - depending on how big they are.)
- You basically want a 1-inch size chunk of potato.
- Put them into a large pot of water over medium-high heat and bring to a gentle boil.
- Once the water starts boiling, add in macaroni.
- Stir well.
- Make sure to stir the potatoes and macaroni occasionally while cooking so they don't stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Once the noodles are tender, drain the potatoes and noodles and allow them to cool for about 15 minutes or so.
- Once they're cooled off, add potatoes and noodles to a large bowl.
- Mix in chopped hard-cooked eggs, sliced carrots and coleslaw dressing.
- Stir well.
Notes
Nutrition
If theres no pineapple in Hawaii macaroni salad its not Hawaii
Not true at all. Google "traditional Hawaiian Macaroni Salad" - if you go to Hawaii, they do not put pineapple in their macaroni salad.
This looks so yummy! Will update when I've tried it 🙂
Brandie,
I have a recipe for Macaroni and Potato Salad and it is just AMAZING! It has fresh cucumbers in it and it is oh so good! My recipe came out of not having enough potatoes for a cookout I was hosting so I just got out a ton of stuff and made a whole new dish lol 2nd most requested dish I make!
Gonna' try this one too!
Is that 600 calories per serving? What size serving?
my brother and his family lives in Hawaii, I may have to send him this recipe to try.
Thanks!
I've got the great result. Thanks a lot.
i like all the recipes , too many favorites to pick just one ..
What happened to your friend Leilani?
Donna, I would LOVE to reconnect with her! The last I heard, she got married to a sailor and moved back to Hawai'i!
When I saw the headline, I thought, "Macaroni salad with pineapples!" Well, I just love potatoes, and I love pasta. Sounds like a marriage made in heaven. I cannot wait to try this recipe!
Ha! I have not been to the Hawaiian islands yet but I am thankful to have friends that have lived there and have educated me on a lot of the food culture. Food tells a story of every place which I love to learn about!
I thought the same thing !
Yum! This looks like a perfect side, you don't have to decide between the pasta salad and the potato salad! I love the Hawaiian mashed potato idea too... genius!;-)
Haha! We came up with some funny ideas. Pineapple Spaghetti and Ham, Beas & Diced Pineapple. All in fun!