Classic Macaroni Salad

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5 from 33 votes

A delicious nostalgic comforting classic!

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Diet Vegetarian

Total Time 20

Servings people

Calories 353kcal

Author Tracy

Ingredients

8 oz elbow macaroni we like extra large
1 cup celery halved and diced, approx 4 celery stalks
1 cup carrots grated, approx 3 medium carrots
1/4 cup bread and butter pickles diced
1/4 cup red onion diced

Dressing

3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon celery seed

Instructions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook macaroni for 8 minutes (or other pasta for however long is instructed on box).
Meanwhile, prep veggies and pickles and then add mayo, vinegar, dijon, salt, pepper, and celery seed and mix well.
Once pasta is done, drain and add to a medium-sized bowl. Add veggies, pickles, and mayo mixture and mix well.
Season with additional salt or pepper to taste and either enjoy immediately or store in the fridge until ready to serve.

Video

[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id="rrygExy0" upload-date="2022-08-10T03:58:53.000Z" name="Classic Macaroni Salad.mp4" description="This easy Classic Macaroni Salad recipe is ready in just 20 minutes and has everything you want in this cookout staple. This elbow macaroni salad has a creamy mayo dressing that's packed full of flavor thanks to a couple of our unique ingredients!" player-type="default" override-embed="default"]

Notes

Storage

Store in the fridge for up to 3-5 days. This recipe is great to prepare in advance, up to 2 days. Just prepare all of your veggies and macaroni and add them to a bowl and then the mayo mixture in a separate container. I like to add the mayo right before leaving the house so that it doesn't absorb too much into the macaroni and is still creamy and dreamy.

Substitutions

Vinegar - Apple cider is one of our favorites because it's pretty mild. But if you don't have any, you could also use white or white wine vinegar, too.

Dijon mustard - while we love a good dijon mustard for this recipe, we have also made this with stone ground mustard and even yellow mustard and it's still delicious! You could also add a tablespoon of ground mustard if you don't have any other mustard in the house.

Onion - A sweet yellow onion or white onion is great in this, too.

Pickles - Dill pickles also add a great flavor to this macaroni salad, but not the same sweetness.

Kosher Salt - This is the standard in our house, but if you use regular table salt, no problem, just reduce the salt to 1/2 teaspoon and then add more if desired.

Add Ons

Want to beef it up a little? Add some red bell pepper, capers, or hard-boiled eggs to this recipe. Just keep in mind how much you add to it, as you may need to increase the mayo mixture to make sure that you don't have a dry macaroni salad.

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