The Best Macaroni Salad recipe starts with macaroni noodles, peppers, onions and radishes and is mixed with a secret-ingredient creamy dressing!
THE BEST MACARONI SALAD
TIPS FOR MAKING MACARONI SALAD:
- My Mom always made this with radishes and green pepper. Always. Radishes are my Dad's favorite. I love that pepper-y crunch of radishes and you don't often see them in pasta salad so it's a nice crunchy surprise. You could add red peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes or even green peas. You could even add PIMIENTOS!
- I have only made one slight change to my Mom's original recipe and you'll see that in just a minute. But, I think the key is to overcook the elbow macaroni just slightly. Most of the time when you cook pasta, you want it al dente (with just a little bite to it.) When making pasta salads though, you want the noodles to be nice and soft. This makes for better eating but it also helps to keep the noodles from absorbing too much of that dressing as it all cools in the refrigerator.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)
chicken stock
green pepper
radishes
red onion
salt & pepper
SECRET INGREDIENT
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST MACARONI SALAD:
Stir well until combined. Cover with plastic wrap.
Now, this next step is really important. You need to put it in the refrigerator and let it cool for at least 3 hours. This really helps the flavor come together and give the pasta a bit of time to soak up the mayonnaise mixture.
WHAT TO DO IF IT LOOKS DRY?
Sometimes when you go to serve your macaroni salad, you'll notice that the noddles have absorbed a lot of the dressing. This happens and is totally normal. Some folks prefer it this way. But if you like your salad to be super creamy, all you need to do is mix up a small bowl of a bit of mayo and a little more chicken stock or milk. Whisk it together then stir into your macaroni salad. Give it a taste to make sure it has a good balance of salt and pepper, then serve. 
CRAVING MORE PASTA SALADS? HAVE A LOOK AT THESE!
BLT MACARONI SALAD
CAESAR BASIL PASTA SALAD
PASTA SALAD WITH SWEET BALSAMIC DRESSING
THE BEST MACARONI SALAD
Ingredients
- 1 (16 oz) box macaroni noodles
- 2 cups mayonnaise
- ¼ cup chicken stock
- 1 green pepper, diced
- ½ cup radishes, diced
- ½ cup onion, finely diced
- salt & pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Prepare macaroni according to package directions.
- Drain macaroni well, and rinse with cold water until pasta has cooled.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine mayonnaise with chicken stock.
- Whisk together well and season with a bit of salt and pepper.
- I do enjoy about a tablespoon or so of freshly ground black pepper in this.
- Add in drained pasta along with green pepper, radishes and onion.
- Stir well until combined.
- Cover with plastic wrap and store in refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
- Stir again before serving.
Video
Nutrition
Originally published: June 2013
Updated & republished May 2019
Was wonderful - thank you! I just added some diced cucumber - no other changes.
Delicious! Only difference is I added diced celery and grated my radishes (because I often cut myself) I only used a few so I could introduce it to my picky eater.
Love hearing that Dolores! This is totally one of those salads you can tailor to your tastes. I sometimes add cucumber and tomatoes. I love the idea of celery! Thank you so much for coming back to comment!
I didn’t see an answer to the above question of is chicken broth the same as chicken stock?
Hi Amy. No it's not. Chicken stock is much more rich than chicken broth.
Did salad for yesterday's supper myself & hubby said it was the best salad we ever had.i think it was the chicken stock mix with the mano is what but the flavour .never ever use chicken stock before until I seen this recipe.going to make this again for our b.b.q outing when my brother gets home.thanks for sharing
This made my day Pauline!! Thank you so much! It seems like such a small addition and you don't think it would really add anything to the salad but it adds a certain depth of flavor that's kinda hard to describe. So, so thrilled y'all loved it!!
This was SO flipping good!! Thank you, thank you!!
Usually do not rate until I try a recipe as noted first. Then I tweek to our taste buds. But this one sounds almost like Mom used to make. Never could get recipe since she added a "pinch" of this & a "dab" of that- which was never the same 2 times. Tried to get Pop's Hamburgs In Sauce" once cause they were so yummy. Literally sat at counter top & wrote as he added stuff to make them. But alas - mine did not come out like his. For years after getting married I had to have a recipe to cook & Mom was surprised since most of her generation cooks never used them unless they had a new recipe or one different than she cooked. Just found your site today and spent several hours in very pleasant checking things out. Will be back - thanks for giving me a nudge to get back into cooking and baking. Husband will wonder what happened to me - chuckle.
Made this for a BBQ and everyone loved it. Easy and yummy!
I look forward to trying this. My mom’s recipe uses celery and peas, but those are on my allergy list. I was miss those textures, so I’m excited to try different veggies for the flavors.