The BEST Homemade Macaroni Salad

Macaroni Salad is one of the best recipes for summer potlucks. This creamy, simple, old fashioned recipe is full of veggies for added flavor and crunch!

If you’re looking for other great potluck recipes, be sure to try my Classic Potato Salad, Pea Salad, or my Mexican Street Corn Salad.

Why this recipe works:

I do love me a good potluck. There’s something about getting to try a small scoop of everything and then going back for seconds with your favorites.

This creamy macaroni salad recipe is definitely a keeper.

You’ll find that my recipe has a lot more vegetables than most recipes out there. Chop them up super small and you can eat it with a spoon!

The vegetables not only make this recipe healthier, but they add so much more crunch and texture than your ordinary macaroni salad.

Ingredients needed:

When you make this recipe, you’ll make the dressing and then everything else that goes into the recipe. My recipe uses a lot of ingredients, but it’s super simple to make and has more flavor than any macaroni salad recipe I’ve ever had.

For the dressing, you’ll need:

• mayonnaise – I always make my own homemade mayonnaise
• sour cream – full fat
• cornichon juice – you can use pickle juice if you don’t have cornichons
• apple cider vinegar – I recommend unfiltered
• sugar
• dijon mustard
• salt – I always use kosher salt when cooking
• black pepper – freshly ground makes all the difference
• garlic powder
• red pepper flakes

For the rest of the macaroni salad you’ll need:

• elbow macaroni noodles – you can use a different kind of pasta if you prefer but I love the size and shape of these for this recipe
• cornichons – again, you can substitute with pickles but the cornichons are generally more firm and pack more flavor
• green bell pepper – you can use a different color… green is what I had on hand
• celery
• red onion
• carrots

How to make this recipe:

1. First step is to cook the pasta. When cooking pasta, I always heavily salt my water and use a good tablespoon of kosher salt. Cook the noodles al dente. You want them to be done but still have quite a bit of bite to them. Drain the pasta and let it fully cool.
2. Next, you’ll combine the pasta with the remaining macaroni salad ingredients. This recipe tastes best when the vegetables are cut super small to a uniform size. This can be done quickly in the food processor.
3. The dressing is easy to make. Simply combine all of the dressing ingredients together and whisk well until they’re fully combined.
4. Finally, add the dressing to the rest of the salad and toss to combine.

Storage tips:

How long is Macaroni Salad good for? Although I think this is definitely best when served immediately, we’ve kept leftover macaroni salad in the fridge for a good 3-5 days and it was fine.

Keep in mind that the longer you store it, the more liquid the veggies will release and the soggier they’ll get. You may need to scoop it out with a slotted spoon.

This homemade mac salad goes great with Stuffed Bacon Jalapeno Cheddar Burgers and Potato Wedge Fries.