The Best Macaroni Salad (+Video)

I keep it basic but delicious: elbow macaroni, mayonnaise, chicken stock, salt and pepper, green peppers, onions and radishes.
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 also add red peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, celery, onion or even green peas.

Sometimes when you go to serve your macaroni salad, you’ll notice that the noodles 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.

For pasta salads I do. I want to rinse off any extra starch that might get in the way of my noodles soaking up that delicious dressing.

I always estimate about one cup per person. So if you are doubling this recipe or even tripling this recipe, you would want to use that estimation in helping you figure out how much to make and then add an additional 8 servings to be on the safe side. There’s always someone who will take more than one serving in a buffet setting.

I don’t recommend it. The mayonnaise in the sauce does not hold up well to freezing. When you go to thaw out the salad, the mayonnaise will separate and become pretty gross and you’ll also lose the creaminess.

Absolutely! It needs to be kept covered and refrigerated, of course. Also, use my above tips to add additional creaminess if you find your macaroni has soaked up a lot of the dressing.

If you have a pasta salad recipe that calls for just mayo, consider adding a touch of chicken stock to your dressing. It helps smooth out the mayo and keeps the salad from getting too “goopy” while adding a bit of extra flavor. You can also use milk instead of chicken stock but the chicken stock is going to give that aded flavor.