Textual Chef Textual Chef

Macaroni Salad

A classic American deli-style macaroni salad with elbow macaroni, crisp vegetables, and a tangy-sweet creamy dressing. A cookout essential that only gets better after chilling.

25 minEasyServes 8290 cal/serving

AmericanSaladStovetopVegetarianNut-FreePork-FreeCorn-Free

Ingredients

  • 1 lb elbow macaroni
  • 2 celery stalks, diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1/2 red onion, finely diced
  • 1/2 cup dill pickles, diced
  • 2/3 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 tsp yellow mustard
  • 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tsp granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper

Instructions

  1. 1

    Cook 1 lb elbow macaroni in boiling salted water until very tender. Drain, rinse under cold water, and let cool completely.

  2. 2

    In a large bowl, whisk together 2/3 cup mayonnaise, 2 tsp yellow mustard, 2 tsp apple cider vinegar, 2 tsp granulated sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp black pepper.

  3. 3

    Add cooled macaroni, 2 diced celery stalks, 1 diced red bell pepper, 1/2 finely diced red onion, and 1/2 cup diced dill pickles to the dressing.

  4. 4

    Toss everything until well coated.

  5. 5

    Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving. Stir in a splash of milk to loosen if too thick.

Questions

Can I make Macaroni Salad gluten-free?

Yes. The gluten in this entry is 1 lb elbow macaroni. Swap the pasta for a gluten-free one, cooked a minute short of its package time. Everything else proceeds as written.

Can I make Macaroni Salad ahead?

Yes, it takes well to being made ahead. Dressed, it is best the day it is made. Keep the components separate and refrigerated and they hold about two days; dress just before serving.

Can I halve or double Macaroni Salad?

Yes. As written it serves 8. Every ingredient in this entry carries precomputed half and double quantities, and the app's batch dial rewrites them inside each step. When doubling on the stovetop, use your widest pan or work in two batches so the food sears instead of steaming.

Serve it with

Cook this free in the app

Textual Chef is 4,512 plain-text recipes, free to read and free to cook from. No account, no paywall, no ads, no life stories. Open this one in the app and each quantity sits inside the step that uses it, so you read once and cook.

Every recipe is curated or public-domain sourced, written to one template and checked before it publishes. Nothing here is a scraped blog post.

Cook this free in the appNo download needed. It opens in your browser. The kitchen tools (planner, shopping list, pantry, import) are $5.33 a month billed annually; the first 30 days are free.