Pimiento Cheese Macaroni Salad (+Video)
This Pimiento Cheese Macaroni Salad will be the star of the cookout! It has diced ham, store bought pimiento cheese, and macaroni noodles.
A UNIQUE PASTA SALAD RECIPE
This recipe is maybe going to sound a little strange but I promise that everyone will love it. It’s a little different but I always get asked for the recipe after folks try it. It really could not be easier to make too. The pimento cheese spread really provides a lot of flavor to this dish and kicks it up a notch. Plus, it keeps the macaroni salad from tasting bland.
TIPS FOR MAKING MACARONI SALAD:
- What I love most about using pimiento cheese spread in a pasta salad is it already has seasoning added. So really, I am just adding a bit more mayo and a couple of other ingredients to ‘beef’ it up. Even people who aren’t fans of pimento cheese love this dish!
- Feel free to add in your favorites here. Cucumbers, green peppers and/or tomatoes are all great additions.
- Substitute bacon instead of the ham.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)
- macaroni noodles
- pimiento cheese spread
- mayo
- diced ham
- diced green onion
- salt & pepper
HOW TO MAKE PIMIENTO CHEESE MACARONI SALAD:
Prepare macaroni according to package directions.
Once macaroni is cooked, drain and rinse macaroni under cool water.
Drain well and pour into a large bowl.
Stir in pimento cheese and mayonnaise.
Then stir in diced ham…
…and green onion. Give it a taste and season with salt & pepper if necessary.
Chill for about an hour before serving.
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Pimiento Cheese Macaroni Salad (+Video)
Ingredients
- 16 ounce box macaroni noodles
- 12 ounce container pimiento cheese
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 ½ cups diced ham
- ½ cup diced green onion
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Prepare macaroni per package directions.
- Once macaroni is cooked, drain and rinse macaroni (in a colander) under cool water. Drain well and pour into a large bowl.
- Stir in pimiento cheese and mayo.
- Then stir in diced ham and green onion. Give it a taste and season with salt & pepper, if necessary.
- Chill for about one hour before serving!
Video
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Originally published: March 2016
Updated & republished: July 2020
These recipes are out of this world. I love them all
That means so much! Thank you Charles!!
What would you recommend to substitute for the mayo? Yougurt, Greek yogurt or sour cream? Thanks
Hi Susan, if you must substitute, I would go with Greek Yogurt over sour cream. 🙂
This is absolutely amazing. I made YOUR southern pimento cheese recipe first then made the pimento cheese pasta using that. I couldn’t get enough. Thank you…
Im making this one today. Made the sweet balsamic pasta salad yesterday!!! OMG crazy delicious…..as all your recipes are. Thank you for doing what you do, its much appreciated!! Stay safe.
Omg, after reading the reviews, I thought “I need to make this!” And share with friends in the neighborhood, this Coronavirus and quarantines, everyone looking for recipes
It was awesome!
I used a pimento/sharp cheddar cheese I found in the deli at Safeway, otherwise followed the recipe, except after chilling, added a bit more mayo, it got a bit dry after everything soaked up .
Loved it, friends and neighbors loved it, let’s all share and hang in this together!❤️
can i leave the ham out? we are vegetarians..
this was sooo good, next time I think I will put it in the crockpot add a little more cheese and see if it is good hot.
Thanks so much Janet! Let me know what you think of it warmed up! 🙂
You have some great recipes that are quick and easy! Keep up the good work !
That is so sweet! Thank you Gail!
They will also cut you a slab from the deli! Can’t wait to try! Great site!!
Great tip! Thank you Dawn!
I have not made this pasta salad yet, but looks delicious. Other pasta salads that called for meat, ham or smoked turkey, I have had the person in the deli slice a 1/2" slice then cubed and tossed in the salad. Delicious!
Any pimento cheese will work just fine in this recipe if you are able to find it.
I'm guessing any pimento cheese spread would work? We're able to get Mrs . Weaver's.
Stacy-So glad it was a hit with the hubby 🙂
Michelle-absolutely! You will have to come back and let me know how it turned out for you.
The Country Cook – Thank you. That helps tremendously. I will be making this soon.
Ok, I made this today and it is crazy delicious! My husband said it's his favorite pasta salad I've ever made!
p.s. And No, nothing broken on my dash to the grocery store! 😀
This sounds really good. Going to make it tomorrow.
I can’t wait for the store to open to get the ingredients.
Thanks for posting this recipe.
Pasta salad looks Fantastic.
I see I will have to cut this recipe down after seeing how much pasta it requires and there is just the 2 of us. Normally when I make a fresh pasta salad, I only use about 1 – 2 cups of uncooked pasta but will be making this salad this weekend.
Great dish to make to take to a BBQ or for a church's potluck
Thanks 4 sharing the recipe. I just need to put Pimiento cheese spread on my grocery list
Colleen, if you try it – let me know!
Michelle M. – there are never any dumb questions here! A small smoked ham is what I used for this. It was maybe two pounds – pretty small. We ate some for dinner and the leftover went into this salad. Now, if you can't find a good, small smoked ham on sale (we really like the Kentucky Legend brand but I know that may not be sold everywhere) then you can certainly purchase the ham that is already diced into small chunks. You can usually find it in the refrigerator section where the other ham is located. Hormel and John Morrel both make pre-diced ham. I hope that helps!
Love, love, love Kentucky Legend Ham!! I’m going to have to try it in this!
I hope this doesn't seem like a dumb question, but what type of ham do you recommend? I don't want to buy an entire fresh ham for this. Also, I don't want to have to buy anything too expensive either. Thanks!
Stacy- It is super delicious! I sure hope you didn't break anything on your mad dash to the store 🙂
Oooohhhhh, this one literally made my tummy rumble (she says, dropping the laptop and dashing to the store for pimento cheese)!!