Cooked elbow macaroni cooled and folded into a creamy mayonnaise dressing with crunchy bits of celery, onion, and bell pepper, served chilled. A classic American deli-case and cookout side, it sits alongside potato salad and coleslaw at picnics, barbecues, and church suppers. The character is soft, cool, and creamy, brightened by a little vinegar or mustard and the crunch of raw vegetables.
Macaroni salad is a folk dish of the American deli and home table with no single documented inventor; it belongs to the broad family of cold, mayonnaise-dressed salads that became popular in the United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as commercial macaroni and bottled mayonnaise grew cheap and common. Cool pasta salads spread as picnic and potluck food through the mid-twentieth century. Its best-known regional offshoot is the soft, dressing-heavy Hawaiian macaroni salad served on the plate lunch.
Soft, cool pasta slicked in a tangy-sweet creamy dressing, punctuated by the fresh crunch of celery, onion, and pepper. It is mellow and comforting rather than sharp, the kind of dish eaten by the forkful from a communal bowl. A good one is well-seasoned and just moist; a poorly made one is bland and dry, or gluey from overcooked pasta and too little dressing.
Pasta is cooked slightly past al dente, because cold starch firms up and a too-firm noodle eats hard once chilled. Dressing the macaroni while still warm lets the noodles absorb flavor and a little dressing into their surface starch, so the salad tastes seasoned through rather than just coated. Mayonnaise, an egg-and-oil emulsion, supplies the creamy body; a splash of vinegar or pickle brine and a pinch of sugar balance its richness. Resting chilled lets the pasta drink up dressing, which is why cooks often reserve extra to loosen it before serving.
Variations
Add-ins range widely — hard-boiled egg, peas, shredded carrot, cheddar, ham, tuna, or sweet pickle relish. The dressing can lean sweet (sugar and sweet pickle), tangy (mustard and vinegar), or rich (heavy on mayonnaise). Hawaiian macaroni salad is exceptionally soft and dressing-heavy; an Italian-American pasta salad swaps the mayonnaise for a vinaigrette with olives, salami, and mozzarella.
On the Palate
Where Macaroni Salad sits in the American flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 8How it's made
6 steps · 20 min active + 15 min waiting
- 110 min
Boil elbow macaroni until just past al dente, then drain.
Watch outBoil the macaroni slightly past al dente — cold pasta firms up, so a too-firm noodle eats hard once the salad chills.
- 26 min
Finely dice celery, onion, and bell pepper.
- 33 min
Whisk a dressing of mayonnaise, a little vinegar or pickle brine, mustard, sugar, salt, and pepper.
- 44 min
Toss the warm macaroni with part of the dressing so it absorbs, then fold in the vegetables.
Watch outDress the macaroni while still warm so it drinks in flavor through its surface starch — dressed cold, it only gets coated on the outside.
- 560 min
Chill until cold, at least an hour, then stir in the remaining dressing to loosen.
- 62 min
Adjust seasoning and serve cold.
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