Nothing says summertime eating like a serving of the best, classic macaroni salad with eggs and crisp vegetables dressed in a simple and creamy but still light mayonnaise dressing for any picnic, potluck, or barbecue.
Sometimes you just don’t mess around with the classics. Much like my Grandma’s Potato Salad (THE BEST) and my Creamy Coleslaw, there’s no bells and whistles on this macaroni salad. I’m not reinventing the wheel here, and that’s exactly why it’s a timeless favorite. This macaroni salad recipe was born after years of suffering through versions that were too dry, too plain, or too heavily loaded with a goopy, flavorless mayo dressing that coated the macaroni like oil on a dipstick and likely came from a pre-packaged box from the deli counter—yes! There’s nothing worse than that acrid taste of fake mayo macaroni salad. But, this traditional macaroni salad is everything those others were not. First off, it’s homemade and dressed just right with a tangy but light mayo mixture. The pasta is neither clumpy nor starchy, but smooth and satisfying with every bite. It’s simple but well-seasoned—everything you want in a traditional macaroni salad.
In This Post
What’s in This Macaroni Salad
Like many of my favorite classics, I found the base of this recipe in a recipe collection of one of my grandmothers. This recipe is list is short but fresh and full of flavor.
- Short macaroni of your choice. I use ditalini (these extra short tubes) but classic shells or elbow macaroni works great too.
- hard-boiled eggs
- celery
- red bell pepper
- red onion
- mayonnaise
- sweet pickles (sweet gherkins) plus their juice
- Dijon mustard
- sugar
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
How to Make This Macaroni Salad
This traditional macaroni salad is so simple to make. Here’s how:
Cooking the macaroni correctly is essential to a good mac salad. Overcook it and you’ll end up with mushy bites that won’t stand up to the mixing with the vegetables. Cook the macaroni al denté as you would your favorite Italian pasta. Watching your cooking time and cooking to the package directions should ensure the perfect bite. And to be sure, taste test every minute or so when coming to the end of your cooking time.
After cooking, rinse the macaroni so it doesn’t stick. The macaroni salad trick I learned from my mom is to rinse the pasta after cooking and drain it really well so there’s no residual water lurking in the pasta nook and crannies. Rinsing the pasta under cold water stops the cooking time and removes some of the starches created from cooking. As the pasta cools, toss it a bit with your hands or a spoon so it stays loose and doesn’t clump together.
Add the pickles, peppers, eggs, and celery. Transfer the drained pasta to a large bowl. Add the eggs, celery, red bell pepper, red onion, and sweet pickles. Grandma’s recipe had the same basics as this one, but I added more sweet pickles—because I could eat pickles on dirt if I had to—and hard-boiled egg—because in my humble opinion, mayo-based salads always taste better with a touch of a hard-boiled egg.
How to Make This Macaroni Salad Dressing
In a small bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, pickle juice, sugar, and Dijon mustard. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Pickle juice is the secret! The dressing for this salad is a mayonnaise base that’s been thinned out with pickle juice reserved from the sweet pickles added to the salad. I always use sweet pickles, so if you use another style, taste test it to your liking. If you’re not a fan of pickles, you could substitute vinegar or lemon juice. Taste as you go to get the right balance. But for me, it’s sweet pickle juice all the way.
Stir it all together. Add the dressing to the macaroni and fixings, and toss until everything is evenly coated. Season with more salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with fresh parsley to add a little color if desired.
Refrigerate for the flavors to meld. This salad tastes best when it’s had some time in the refrigerator for the flavors to meld and the mayo sauce to permeate the noodles. Chill it for at least an hour before serving, or make it the night before for the best, flavorful taste. And always remember to taste again before serving to decide if more salt and pepper seasoning needs to be added.
Recipes to Serve with Classic Macaroni Salad
Think barbecues, picnics, and of course, fried chicken! Here are a few mains to serve along with this classic side.
- 30 Days of Easy Grilling Recipes to Make This Summer
- The Best Grilled Chicken
- Oven Roasted Chicken with Garlic Butter, Lemon and Rosemary
- The Secret to Grilled Barbecue Baby Back Spareribs
- The Best Garlic Burgers EVER
- The Best Juicy Pork Chops
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a 
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How to Make THE BEST Macaroni Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound ditalini pasta , or other short pasta or shell
- 3 hard-boiled eggs , diced
- 2 celery ribs , minced
- 1 red bell pepper , seeded and minced
- ¼ red onion , minced
- ¼ cup sweet pickles (sweet gherkins) , chopped
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon pickle juice
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons Dijon mustard
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Chopped parsley if desired.
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in salted water according to the package directions, Drain in a colander and rinse under cold water until cooled. Shake the colander to toss the pasta, and drain for about 5 minutes, tossing occasionally.
- Transfer the drained pasta to a large bowl. Add the eggs, celery, red bell pepper, red onion and sweet pickles. In a small bowl, mix the mayonnaise, pickle juice, sugar, and Dijon mustard; season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add to the macaroni and toss until evenly coated. Season with more salt and pepper to taste then refrigerate for 1 hour before serving. Sprinkle with chopped parsley to add a little color if desired.
Nutrition
More Potluck Recipe Ideas
- How to Make the BEST Potato Salad
- The Best Homemade Mac and Cheese
- How To Make The Best Creamy Coleslaw
- Fresh and Easy Vietnamese Noodle Salad
- The Best BBQ Baked Beans
- 20 Potluck Side Dishes For The Classic Summer BBQ
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Made a double batch for a pool party tomorrow, tastes pretty good! I can’t wait till tomorrow to try a bite after all the flavors have melted together
We hope you love it as much as we do, Jill!
This very similar to how my mom made hers. The only difference is that she also added flaked solid white tuna to it.
Awesome! We bet it would be tasty with tuna added. :)
I have a question about the pickle juice called for in the recipe. Did you use sweet pickle juice or dill pickle juice?
Hi Laura! We just use sweet pickles (sweet gherkins) and sweet pickle juice. We hope you enjoy!
Very good recipe, made it tonight. I only used 1 tsp of sugar and felt that was just right. This is a simple easy recipe that is really good. I plan to add a cup of frozen peas next time. In fact, this is a great recipe to use when you want to add tuna or salad shrimp. Thanks for a keeper.
Glad you enjoyed Mark!
This was a huge hit!! Everyone loved it. It is easy an quick to make. This will be my go to recipe for the summer BBQ’s.
Happy to hear it was a success!
I made this recipe for a friend of mine that had never eaten macaroni salad. Because there was so much I had enough for several of my neighbors, They thought it was very good.
I made it with gluten free elbow macaroni, white sweet onion and a bright orange pepper. None of my neighbors are gluten free
It will be my recipe for macaroni salad.. Excellent.
Glad it was a success Dale!
Wow! This is the perfect mac salad recipe! I added more mustard, a handful of chopped pepperoncinis with some juice and held off on the onion. So dang good. My husband cannot stop raving about it.
So glad you enjoyed it Sydney! Thx for the rating and comment.
Absolutely the best recipe for macoroni salad. Do not substitute any ingredients; follow the recipe and you will love it!
I’m glad you enjoyed it Vicki!
Really good! Make every cookout!
This was a great recipe. All the basics to make a good pasta salad. I added a few finely chopped carrots just because they were with my celery and a little garlic powder.
Thank you so much!
Love this recipe…. I made it this morning for a Christmas party I am attending later this evening. I made due with what I had. I used regular macaroni pasta, purple onion, green bell pepper, Celery Kosher dill pickles, egg and all the rest of the ingredients. The sugar part made a big difference and I love it… I can’t wait to get some feed back from everyone at the party this evening. Thanks so much!
I think the dressing is fantastic. it’s a little sweet, a little zingy from the vinegar, a little mustardy, it all blends well. i truly love it… just not on macaroni
you are amazing and your recipes are great
thanks!!
I don’t leave reviews but, this recipe is fantastic!
I’ve been looking for a creamy macaroni salad for years. I finally found it! My family absolutely loves this salad. I usually make it the day before so all the flavors can marry. I use sweet relish but, I save my dill pickle juice & use that as well. It comes out just the way we like it!
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much!!
Thank you so much!
My family has been making a similar salad for over 50 years. Our differences: soaking the onion in vinegar for 10-15 minutes to take away the onion’s bitterness. Drain the vinegar off, the vinegar soaked up by the onion is just enough vinegar for added tanginess.
We use jarred diced pimentos instead of fresh bell peppers and add chopped olives. Also add some hot sauce to the mayo dressing-(I’ve used Tabasco or Sriracha).
Great idea to soak the onions first Andrea. I like the heat but for those who don’t, it’s a great idea.
I’m been so frustrated with the overly-wet/souply mac salad from the store deli and made yours yesterday. The taste of this was amazing! I followed the instructions (adding one additional egg) and the flavor was incredible. My wife thought it was a little on the “dry” side so she put in an extra cup of Hellmann’s diluted with some milk. I think we found the consistency we can both agree on! Overall, very pleased with this!
I’m glad you and your wife were able to make it work for you.
I love all of your recipes I tried the macaroni salad , I had to leave out the onion, My oldest son doesn’t like onions, but the salad was great.
Yummy!! I love a good macaroni salad. This is calling my name!
Can I use miracle whip instead of mayonnaise?
Yes, you could! I prefer mayonnaise for flavor and texture
Looks really yellow but is the best salad ever.
I love this recipe! It’s creamy and has a bit of crunch. Perfect.
This recipe was delicious, I added four eggs, a little extra onion, paprika, garlic powder, fire famous Dave pickle juice, as well as regular dill pickles, and fresh parsley as suggested and it really brought the flavors together. I didn’t have bell peppers but I think it didn’t make a difference because the flavors were spot on.
Thanks for the feedback Ruth!
This macaroni salad recipe sounds delicious but please tell me how many servings it makes!!
This would serve 8-10 depending on how generous your eaters are :)
So yummy! My new favorite Macaroni Salad!
I’m so glad you loved it Steph! And glad you’ve dubbed it a fave :)
Macaroni salad, oh how I love thee. Growing up Italian, we always ditched the egg and added tuna instead, such a game changer, this recipe is great, i just drop egg add tuna, give it a try! Mangia!
I will have to give that a try! Thanks for the tip!
Love that idea of adding the egg Wolfy, thanks for the tip!
Why drop the egg to add the tuna? I usually use both if making a meal ie lunch, and generally add carrots.
Best mac salad recipe I’ve ever found. I substitute the peppers for olives…YUM.
The pic used in artcile doesnt look like theres much dressing, but trust me its perfect!
Yummy! I will have to try Olives. Thanks Crystal!
I’m an olive fiend too Crystal, that’s a great ingredient idea. Thanks for sharing.
This was very close to the recipe that grandma used to make. I tweaked it a little and used a quarter cup apple cider vinegar, the two celery ribs and green onions. I salted and peppered to taste and used two teaspoons sugar. At first it tasted a little vinegary and I didn’t want to add more sugar, so I upped the mayo a little by eyeball and its perfect. I know it said to wait at least an hour before eating….but well lol. It tastes good warm too.
Hi! I would love to know how many this serves as I want to make for large crowd. I’ve seen the question asked above but am missing the response. Would so appreciate this info. Many thanks!!!!
I love to use dill pickles and their juice in my mac salad. My mother always cut up a tomato or two as well as American cheese slices cut up. The cheese is optional for me but I could eat this 3 meals a day…..oh yea, I have!
Can you use the cubed sweet pickle relish and the juice, verses chopping sweet pickles?
This was a PERFECT recipe! You hit all of the flavors straight on the tastebud! This will be my go-to, as so many other of your recipes are.
Thanks Courtney!
I love to use dill pickles and their juice in my mac salad. My mother always cut up a tomato or two as well as American cheese slices cut up. The cheese is optional for me but I could eat this 3 meals a day…..oh yea, I have!
I made this Mac salad for Memorial Day, along with the burgers. First, I’ve always made my husbands grandmas Mac salad , for the last 30 years. I decided to give this one a try and am so glad I did. I used kosher pickles along with the sweet pickles. Other wise made exactly as written. Delicious. And let me tell you the hamburgers on French bread is a game CHANGER. I don’t think I’ll ever buy hamburger buns again. Perfection. Thank you for the great recipes .
So glad you had such success! Thanks for sharing with us, and glad your husband was okay with the change too. :)
How many servings is this recipe for?
What brand of mayo do you suggest? I’m going to make this for a school luncheon and I don’t normally use mayo for anything so I don’t know what brand or type would be best.
Hellmans
Dukes Mayo is the best. The big name brands can’t even come close to the awesome flavor of Dukes.
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How many servings and at what size is this for please? I want to make this but will be making it for 350 @ 3oz servings!! Please email me if you get my email address otherwise I will keep checking back here! Thank you, sounds yummy
Looks delicious. My husband is such a fuss pot when it comes to food. He was the eldest of 8, and vegetables etc. just got boiled (& boiled). I am going to make this salad for me, and if I hide the red pepper (maybe) he might try. When I make my salad dressing (has capers in it) I also tip some of the caper juice into the dressing. I have been looking for AGES for an American recipe for pot. salad (recipe from The American Woman’s Cookbook, circa 1955? ish) with olive oil, vinegar (white or malt?), grated onion, parsley, mustard (Dijon?), salt and pepper. The cookbook is long gone. Can anyone help me with this recipe for pot. salad dressing. Thanks, Gabrielle, from Sydney, Australia
I made this(eating it for lunch right now) probably my favorite recipe so far, I added a little more dijon mustard, some garlic powder and it could’ve used more pickles and onions for my taste, but all in all a great mac salad!!!!
What brand mayo should I use? I’m definitely not a mayo connoisseur . Lol
I use Heinz Real Mayonnaise, it’s super creamy and the perfect tang IMO.
Dukes Mayo is the absolute best brand! It makes everything with mayo twice as good!
Macaroni salad is my favorite! I have never put any bit of sugar in my macaroni salad though. Not sure why you would need any. I don’t use bell peppers but do use sliced black olives and a bit of the juice from the olives. As well as using chopped hard boiled eggs in the salad I top it with some sliced eggs and a sprinkle of paprika! In fact, I am going to gather my ingredients snd make some right now!
You just up’d my Macaroni Salad Game! Ypur recipe was soooo good! First, rinsing that hot macaroni with cold water was a total game changer! Mine always looked like it had specks of mayo on it and it had to be that starch residue. Then, pickle juice?! I added kosher dill pickles and juice. Outstanding! Lastly, I’ve almost always “overdressed” both my macaroni and potato salads. Mixing the mayo and wet ingredients separately let me control it spoonful by spoonful. That method had never dawned on me before now. Duh! Plus, I panicked because I didn’t have a full cup of mayo so I had to add sour cream to bring me up to a full cup. It was absolutely perfect! Thank you so much! What a Keeper!!
I made this yesterday it was so good I added pasta salad seasoning and mozzarella cheese and chicken!! Soo freaking good!!
is the pickle juice used in the recipe from the sweet pickle jar or normal dill pickle jar juice?
Hi Lily, I take it from the same jar of pickles I use for the recipe, so in this case, it’s the sweet pickle juice. Enjoy!!!
I made it tonight fir the folks at the Sale Barn in Herington KS. I loved it!
I made your macaroni salad tonight for tomorrow. I cook at the Cattlemens Cafe Sale barn in Herington KS. I loved it. I’m sure the folks will love it too.
Can I use sweet relish juice instead of sweet pickle juice in your macaroni salad recipe?
Sure, you could try that, but the dressing won’t be as tangy.
This is about identical to my own. Especially the sweet pickle. Love it! I too always add egg. I have been making this recipe over 25 years. My family loves it.
E
Can I switch out the red onion for green scallions?
Definitely!
Just made this salad. LOVE it!
I added shredded carrots,peppers, red onion sweet pickles and some grated onion to punch up the flavor. I think next time I will not use the Dijon mustard. I didn’t like the taste of it here. Gave my sister some…she’s hooked. I can do no wrong! Lol
Thanks for sharing.
I had about a half pound of leftover rotini noodles from yesterday and the first thing that popped in my head was macaroni salad. I haven’t made any for quite a while but my husband bought some from the deli for himself. Ugh! Yuk! I can’t stand the sweet tangy flavor it had. I’m more of a mayo person. I wanted to make the salad with a lot of different veggies. I used thinly sliced celery, green onions because I didn’t have red, 4 chopped hard boiled eggs and grated dill pickles because I like them better than the sweet ones. I wanted something different so I grated an apple into it too! I had to squeeze the liquid out of it then used the juice from the pickles over the apple so it wouldn’t turn brown. I liked the idea of using some Dijon mustard with the mayo.
I mixes it all together and gave hubby a try and he lived it! Oops! I just realized I didn’t put in the red bell pepper! Before mincing them I thought I would roast them over the burner to blacken the skin. Then I put it in a paper bag for 20 minutes so the skin would peel off. Well, they’re still sitting in the paper bag!! Haha! I’m still going to use them somehow so I better get to chopping!
Try using celery salt….it will give you the flavor but not the crunch.
Loved the tips for cooking and rinsing the macaroni! Used dill pickles and cheese. Was very good. Thanks.
Looking forward to trying this over the weekend! I love how you expressed the importance in preparing the macaroni “just right”. I too believe that’s a major key in perfect salad! And a big BOOOO to boxed salads!
I tried this recipe last week. It was SO GOOD! Thank you for posting such a delicious pasta salad. This one is going in my recipe binder for sure! Love your blog!
Yeah, I love ❤️ this recipe””!!!!
Soo yummy….
loved the way you added the pepper into it.
looks yummy Heidi. What I want to know is how you get those ingredients so uniformed in size to look so pretty. Wow and u don’t get a big chunk of anything.
I always felt that those terrible store brought gluggy flavourless mayo pasta pits had ruined any chance of my ever liking pasta salad with mayo but alas you have convinced me to give it another go. Using the recipe of course! No store brought pasta salad here thanks
Comfort food at its finest! And now I’m craving a big bowl of this macaroni salad!
I’m so making it this weekend. Like FR (Fraggle Rock…), I have a weird love for mac salad and most taste wonderful to me because I also have a weird love for mayo. The sweet pickle juice and Dijon mustard have me intrigued. Wish me luck as you’ve upped my anxiety level with the Just Right cooking of the pasta.
I have faith in you Caroline! YOU CAN DO IT!!!!
I want to make this today, however your recipe does not say how many it will serve. Taking it to a potluck so im not worried about it. Was just curious. Thanks for all the great tips.
Raving reviews from my church members, they Loved it
YAY!
It says serves 12 however I am doubling it for 17 people. Leftovers are good!
I’m with Caroline. Love mac salad (hell…ANYTHING pasta!) and mayo. Two of my favorite weaknesses.
You have expressed all of my mac salad woes. I want to give it another chance now!
Do it Erin! You won’t regret it :)
this recipe is just like mine. all the same elements ;) i kicked it up a notch though the last time when i added the spicier bread and butter pickles. i used famous dave’s hot and spicy bread and butter pickles and man oh man my husband melted! if you want to bump ’em up a bit it is a real good change if somebody is up for it!
Thanks for the tip on the Dave’s pickles – I was pondering that substitution, and now I will go ahead with it! :D
How far in advance can you make this? Is two days OK. Make on Friday, eat on Sunday?
Yes. It Bc will be even more wonderful.
That would totally work Mary.
I’m adding this to our Easter lunch tomorrow. It sounds so good!
I just made this! I added a can of sliced olives because I’m a olive lover and a half tsp granulated garlic. It is so good! I also doubled the boiled eggs because I love those too! Highly recommend this recipe!
I like to add radishes also
This looks so delicious! I’m going to make this. I live in Senegal and haven’t seen celery stalks here. I have all the other ingredients. I guess it should still be delicious without the celery! Let’s hope so
It you have access to large greens you maybe could use the large ribs that are usually discarded, just an idea, or maybe Swiss chard stalks, I don’t think the color matters as much as the crunch. good luck.
Well, I left out the celery, red onions , pickles and eggs! Used the dressing ingredients and cooked broccolli along with the noodles. Hhhhmmnn, just needs black pepper now! Thank you. Pickle juice was a key!