Everyone needs this Old Fashioned Macaroni Salad recipe on hand to make for barbecues and potlucks. This is a great, classic macaroni salad recipe. It’s the best! I’ve included a video included showing you how to make it, as well as the full recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Old Fashioned Macaroni Salad
My mother made a similar version of this simple, classic macaroni salad recipe. It has always been my favorite. I don’t want anything fancy in my macaroni salad, so the simplest version works best for me. You must begin with the small noodles with the hole in the middle (otherwise known as ditalini). I suppose you could use small elbows too, but I personally love the little guys!
What makes this the best macaroni salad?
Have you ever tried the macaroni salads that they sell in the deli section at your grocery store? They’re over-slathered with a thick mayonnaise dressing, and the flavor is just not there. It tastes like it is mass-produced because it is! Yuck! Making this Old Fashioned Macaroni Salad at home is infinitely better. You can control the amount of dressing you add to the salad. It’s totally your preference whether you like it heavily dressed or not. And it turns out 100% more delicious than store-bought macaroni salad.
🛒Ingredients Needed:
- macaroni (I use ditalini)
- mayonnaise (low fat mayonnaise is fine)
- celery and green onions
- mustard
- onion powder
- salt and pepper
- hard-boiled eggs
- paprika
✏️How to make Old Fashioned Macaroni Salad:
*The complete, printable recipe with all ingredients and instructions is at the end of this post.
- Prepare the pasta according to package directions. Rinse under cold water and set aside to drain well.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, celery, green onion, mustard, onion powder, salt and pepper.
- Place the drained, cooled pasta in a large bowl. Add the mayonnaise mixture and stir into the pasta until well combined. Gently stir in the chopped egg. Sprinkle with paprika, cover with plastic wrap, and chill for at least a couple of hours before serving.
➡️Recipe Tips:
- Hold back a little of the mayonnaise mixture and experiment with how wet you want your salad. If you have any leftover, save it. You may want to add the rest right before serving depending on how much has been absorbed by the macaroni.
- Make sure NOT to overcook the macaroni. It only gets softer in the salad and you don’t want it to be a mushy mess. 😉
- Feel free to add an extra egg or two if you’d like.
- Some people like pickles in their macaroni salad. That’s not for me, but I certainly think they would work, so go ahead and give it a try.
✔️What to serve with Old Fashioned Macaroni Salad:
- My Old Fashioned Macaroni Salad is perfect to serve at a party or barbecue. It makes an excellent side to to burgers and hot dogs.
- This salad is also a great accompaniment for grilled chicken or steak.
- Add some sliced watermelon and corn on the cob to one of those, and you have a super easy complete meal!
★How to Store:
Macaroni salad will be fine when kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Then it’s probably time to throw it out. Be careful when serving at room temperature. It’ll be fine at room temperature for a couple of hours unless it is in a very hot environment. Be sure to toss your macaroni salad if it’s been left out at a party for more than 2 hours. It likely won’t be safe to keep for leftovers.
❤️Why I love this recipe:
- Even though I make a slightly different version than my mom did, I love that every time I make this salad it reminds me of summers spent on the lake with her.
- I like to make this salad when we have company coming over. It’s a sort of summer staple that everyone loves and it makes a lot.
- I love that this salad is always a hit. I’m not the only one who likes things a little on the old fashioned side!
Salads great for parties or barbecues:
Old Fashioned Macaroni Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups ditalini pasta (or a macaroni pasta)
- 1½ cups mayonnaise
- 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
- 4 whole green onions, finely chopped (white and green parts)
- 1½ tablespoons mustard
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 4 large hard-boiled eggs, chopped
- paprika, for garnish
Instructions
- Prepare the pasta according to package directions. Rinse under cold water and set aside to drain well.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, celery, green onion, mustard, onion powder, salt and pepper.
- Place the drained, cooled pasta in a large bowl. Add the mayonnaise mixture and stir into the pasta until well combined. Gently stir in the chopped egg. Sprinkle with paprika, cover with plastic wrap, and chill for at least a couple of hours before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
So good!! I made it for a family party yesterday and everyone loved it! I could eat the whole batch! ????
What kind of mustard do you use?
I use regular yellow mustard in this recipe.
Can you use miracle whip in place of mayo?
I don’t like Miracle Whip at all, so I wouldn’t recommend it. But if that’s what you prefer then perhaps you should try it!
This was absolutely wonderful tasting; however, after reading the reviews it was stated use 2 cups DRY macaroni which I measured & used. I now see where the confusion lies with the macaroni amount. Measuring 2 cups dry does not work, recipe should say 16 oz. dry which is equivalent to 1 standard size box. I’m not a new cook but the recipe amount is deceiving. Hope this helps others because the recipe is SO GOOD!
I use 2 cups dry (8 ounces)… probably best to add in the dressing a little at a time until you get the texture you want for the salad. Did you use 16 ounces (4 cups) of dry ditalini pasta for the recipe?
My mom always made the best macaroni salad. This one looks really yummy! I’m going to have to give this recipe a try.
If you like your salad soopy than use the above measurements. way too much mayo . the whole thing turned out soopy. Way too much mustard. the whole thing tasted like only mustard. had to cut the tanginess with honey. bad measurements on this recipe. this certainly wasnt old fashioned.
Did you use two cups of cooked pasta or two cups of dry pasta? Sounds like you measured it already cooked… which would definitely result in too much dressing being added. Use two cups of dry- cook according to package directions (which should give you lots of pasta!), and the dressing added should be just right.
I will make this on the coming weekend for a party. The only thing I will add is a bit of cubed cheddar cheese. Thanks for the great recipe!
I love cheese in macaroni salad! Peas too!
How much would you say is in each serving? I’m guessing just over 1/2 cup?
I’d say that’s about right.
Thanks a million was just thinking about making some yesterday. I can eat tons of it as well. I also like to add a bit of Velveeta cheese into the mix as well. 🙂
is it 2 cups of dry or cooked noodles?
2 cups dry- then prepare as directed on the package.