Macaroni Salad Recipe
Every time I make My Mom’s Macaroni Salad, I’m transported back to summer potlucks and backyard barbecues. This creamy, tangy, and slightly sweet macaroni salad has been a family favorite for decades; it’s the perfect balance of tender pasta, crunchy veggies, and a perfectly seasoned dressing. After testing countless variations over the years, I can confidently say this classic version—with its precise ratio of vinegar to sugar—is absolutely foolproof and always the first dish to disappear.
PrintMacaroni Salad
Ingredients
Scale
- 16 oz Macaroni
- 8–10 Eggs (hard-boiled & chopped (If you like a lot of eggs, do 10))
- 1 cup chopped celery (I like to finely dice mine)
- 1 cup chopped onion (I like to finely dice mine)
- 2 cups mayonnaise
- 6 teaspoons sugar
- 8 teaspoons white vinegar (can use apple cider vinegar as a substitute)
- 2 teaspoons yellow mustard
- Salt (to taste)
- Pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Cook macaroni per box instructions. Rinse the macaroni with cold water immediately after boiling and draining. That keeps the macaroni from getting sticky and sticking to each other. Let cool.
- In a separate small bowl or large measuring cup, combine the mayo, mustard, vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper.
- Add macaroni, chopped eggs and chopped vegetables to a large bowl.
- If you prefer a more creamy macaroni salad, only add about half of the mayo mixture/sauce to the macaroni salad at this time and stir to combine well. Then, refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- When ready to serve, add the rest of the mayo/sauce mixture and stir to combine well. This is because the macaroni will soak up the sauce as it gets cold. If you reserve some of it and refrigerate the sauce separately, then add just before serving, you still have part of the sauce melding those flavors into the macaroni, and have your reserve sauce to keep it creamy instead of more dry.
- If you don't like an extra creamy macaroni salad and prefer it more dry, skip steps 4 and 5 and just add all the sauce with the rest of the ingredients, stir well and refrigerate until ready to serve. It's best served nice and cold.
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