Sometimes you need a sweet and delicious macaroni salad, and you need enough to feed a crowd. Whenever that occasion comes up, I have the recipe you need right here!
The dressing is both sweet and tangy, the medley of veggies provide a variety of tastes and textures, and the elbow macaroni noodles give that classic smooth comfort food enjoyment in every bite.
This is one of my favorite salads to bring to a potluck, because it is always met with rave reviews. It never fails!
Jump to:
- Why you Will Love This Creamy Macaroni Salad Recipe
- Sweet Macaroni Salad Recipe Ingredients
- How to Make Old Fashioned Macaroni Salad
- Tips For Making Sweet Macaroni Salad
- What to Serve With Old Fashioned Macaroni Salad
- Creamy Macaroni Salad Recipe Storage
- More Ideas to make for your Next Potluck
- 📖 Recipe
- 📖 Recipe
Why you Will Love This Creamy Macaroni Salad Recipe
This is honestly the most delicious macaroni salad I’ve ever had. I first made it about 15 years ago and made it many times to tweak it JUST SO. The many people who’ve enjoyed it at potlucks will agree that it's the best!
In fact, I love it so much that I also scaled it for a smaller batch, so I can enjoy it even when I’m NOT feeding a crowd. There are recipe cards below for both the full- and half-sized recipe. (I even tried to scale it to ¼ once, but got complaints that there weren’t any leftovers LOL)
One of the important things to remember is that this salad gets better with time. You must put it together and let the flavors blend for at LEAST 4-6 hours before serving. Overnight is even better.
And it keeps for days! I had leftovers from my last batch and they were enjoyed for 4-5 days after our gathering. Every bite was just as delicious as the day the salad was made.
Sweet Macaroni Salad Recipe Ingredients
How to Make Old Fashioned Macaroni Salad
Cook the macaroni noodles, cool them off by immersing in ice water, and then let them drain well. In the meantime, prepare the eggs and veggies by chopping or grating as needed.
The magic, of course, is in the salad dressing. The ingredients are simple, but they combine to make a sweet and tangy flavor. It’s going to seem like a lot of sugar, but the amount really works to balance the tang from the vinegar and mustard.
Whisk all the dressing ingredients in a bowl. To save on extra dishes, you can add this to the large bowl you'll be using to serve, if desired. Once the dressing is smooth, go ahead and add all the other ingredients, including the macaroni. Mix well to coat.
More often than not, I mix my dressing in a small bowl and then pour it over the salad once all the ingredients are in the bowl. It works either way, as long as you can mix the macaroni salad well enough to distribute the dressing throughout the bowl.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 4-6 hours or overnight before serving.
Tips For Making Sweet Macaroni Salad
When I used to take this for a work potluck, I would chop and prepare everything the night before and mix the dressing in its own bowl. I would then combine everything in a big bowl in the morning to take to work.
The dressing will have developed its flavor while overnight, but even so I would combine everything first thing in the morning to ensure the salad had at least 4 hours to blend all flavors before serving. This comes in handy when you don’t have enough room in your fridge for a giant bowl of macaroni salad. LOL
What to Serve With Old Fashioned Macaroni Salad
This macaroni goes with just about anything, but here are some of the favorites at my house:
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- Grilled meats – like burgers, bratwurst, BBQ chicken or kabobs.
- Sandwiches or wraps – pulled pork, grilled cheese, BLT, or Sloppy Joes.
- Seafood – think grilled shrimp or potato crusted cod.
Creamy Macaroni Salad Recipe Storage
Since macaroni salad has a mayonnaise-based dressing, you need to be careful about leaving it out in warm temperatures. You should not leave it unrefrigerated for more than 2 hours. If you’re serving it at a picnic, place the salad bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice to keep the salad chilled.
If you have any leftovers, they keep beautifully. Just store in the fridge in an airtight container. I have found the salad to still be delicious up to 4-5 days later! However, it’s usually gone by the next day LOL.
Can you freeze Macaroni Salad?
I do not recommend freezing as it will create an unpleasant texture for every part of this salad. The dressing will separate, the vegetables will lose their crunch and become soggy, and the pasta will probably turn downright mushy. Plan on making it fresh when you need it so you can really enjoy it!
More Ideas to make for your Next Potluck
📖 Recipe
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Grandma's Macaroni Salad
Ingredients
- 16 ounces elbow macaroni, dry 4 cups
- ½ medium red onion chopped
- 2 stalks celery chopped
- ½ green bell pepper chopped
- 2 medium carrots grated
- 1 medium cucumber chopped (or 2 mini cukes)
- 1 Roma tomato chopped
- 4 eggs hard boiled
For dressing:
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup white vinegar
- ⅔ cup white sugar
- 2½ tablespoons yellow mustard prepared
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add macaroni and cook according to package directions until tender, about 8 minutes. Drain, immerse in ice water to cool quickly, then drain completely.16 ounces elbow macaroni, dry
- Add all dressing ingredients to a large bowl and whisk to combine.1 cup mayonnaise, ¼ cup white vinegar, ⅔ cup white sugar, 2½ tablespoons yellow mustard, 1½ teaspoons salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper
- Add all other ingredients to the bowl and stir to coat with the dressing. Refrigerate for at LEAST 4 hours before serving. (Overnight is better)½ medium red onion, 2 stalks celery, ½ green bell pepper, 2 medium carrots, 1 medium cucumber, 1 Roma tomato, 4 eggs
Nutrition
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.
📖 Recipe
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Half Batch Sweet and Creamy Macaroni Salad
Ingredients
- 8 ounces macaroni noodles 2 cups
- ¼ red onion chopped
- 1 stalk celery chopped
- ¼ green pepper chopped
- 1 carrot grated
- 1 mini cucumber chopped
- ½ Roma tomato chopped
- 2 eggs hard-boiled and chopped
For dressing
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- ⅓ cup white sugar
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add macaroni and cook according to package directions until tender, about 8 minutes. Drain, immerse in ice water to cool quickly, then drain completely.8 ounces macaroni noodles
- Add all dressing ingredients to a large bowl and whisk to combine.½ cup mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons white vinegar, ⅓ cup white sugar, 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon yellow mustard, ¾ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Add all other ingredients to the bowl and stir to coat with the dressing. Refrigerate for at LEAST 4 hours before serving. (Overnight is better)¼ red onion, 1 stalk celery, ¼ green pepper, 1 carrot, 1 mini cucumber, ½ Roma tomato, 2 eggs
Nutrition
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.
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