I think it’s safe to say Macaroni Salad is a summer potluck or BBQ staple. Like, if I turned up and didn’t see a big ol’ bowl of classic macaroni salad on the table, I’d honestly be a little concerned. It’s cold, creamy, carby, and totally nostalgic. The kind of side dish that just belongs next to grilled burgers or veggie skewers. It’s also super cheap to make, which I really appreciate. But this easy mac salad isn’t just good for gatherings, it’s also a great side to meal prep for your lunches for the week!
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“This recipe is amazing! I had my first bite and said “wow” out loud. My partner who normally doesn’t like any sort of mayo based dressings loved it too. I cut the sugar back a tiny bit (added about 2 tsp instead of 1 tbsp) but that’s just preference. Will definitely be keeping this in the summer rotation! Thanks Beth :)”
Sam
Easy Recipe for Macaroni Salad
Macaroni salad starts with one of my favorite budget-friendly staples: macaroni, of course. It’s a creamy pasta salad at heart (and there are a lot of ways to make it), but here’s how I like to do it. I mix in celery, bell pepper, and red onion for crunch and color, plus a couple of hard-boiled eggs to make it more filling. The dressing is that classic deli-style combo of mayo, Dijon, sweet pickle relish, a splash of vinegar, a pinch of sugar, and salt and pepper. It’s classically creamy, sweet, tangy, crunchy, and delicious. 🤤
Macaroni Salad
Servings 8 servings (¾ cup each)Ingredients
- 2 hard-boiled eggs ($0.58)
- ½ red bell pepper ($0.75)
- ½ red onion ($0.49)
- 2 ribs celery ($0.20)
- 8 oz. macaroni (uncooked, $0.56)
Dressing
- 1 cup mayonnaise ($1.16)
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard ($0.18)
- 1 Tbsp sweet pickle relish ($0.08)
- 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar ($0.10)
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar ($0.01*)
- ½ tsp salt ($0.02)
- ¼ tsp black pepper (freshly cracked, $0.02)
Instructions
- Chop the salad ingredients, so they're ready to go. Dice the hard-boiled eggs, bell pepper, onion, and celery.
- Boil the macaroni until tender, then drain it in a colander. Briefly rinse the pasta with cool water to cool it off.
- While the macaroni is boiling, prepare the dressing. Stir together the mayonnaise, Dijon, relish, red wine vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper.
- Combine the cooled and drained macaroni, egg, bell pepper, celery, and onion in a bowl. Pour the dressing over top, then stir until everything is well combined and coated in dressing.
- Serve the macaroni salad immediately or refrigerate until ready to eat.
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Equipment
- Chef’s Knife
- White Cutting Boards
- Measuring Cups Spoons
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Macaroni Salad Step-by-Step Photos
Gather all of your ingredients.
Prep the add-ins: Start by dicing two hard-boiled eggs (here’s a tutorial on how to make hard-boiled eggs, if needed), ½ of a red bell pepper, ½ of a red onion, and 2 ribs of celery.
Cook the pasta: Next, boil 8 oz. elbow macaroni until tender. Drain the pasta in a colander and rinse briefly with cool water to cool down the pasta.
Prepare the dressing: Combine 1 cup mayonnaise, 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard, 1 Tbsp sweet relish, 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar, 1 Tbsp sugar, ½ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp freshly cracked pepper.
Assemble the salad: Add the cooked and cooled macaroni to a large bowl along with the chopped egg, bell pepper, celery, and red onion.
Pour the prepared dressing over the salad in the bowl.
Serve: And now your macaroni salad is ready to eat! Make sure to keep it in the refrigerator if you don’t plan to serve it right away, and give it a good stir again just before serving.
Top Tip
I absolutely love the bite of the red onion in this recipe. It adds a really nice contrast to the creamy dressing. But if you’re someone who doesn’t love that sharp, raw onion flavor, try soaking the chopped onion in cold water for about 10 minutes before mixing it in. Just make sure to drain it well and pat it dry with a paper towel so it doesn’t water down the salad. This trick takes the edge off without losing any crunch!
What Else Can I Add to Macaroni Salad?
This homemade macaroni salad is another one of those great catch-all recipes. You can add all sorts of ingredients for color, texture, and flavor. Here are some add-in ideas I love:
- Cheddar cheese cubes
- Broccoli florets
- Peas
- Black olives
- Shredded carrots
- Diced ham
- Chopped parsley
- Leftover grilled chicken
- Diced dill pickles
- Crispy air fryer bacon crumbles
Serving suggestions
I love serving this macaroni salad with our grilled sausage and peppers packet for an easy summer dinner. It’s also great alongside chicken burgers or smoky mushroom kebabs…anything off the grill, really. And if you’re putting together a spread, don’t forget the potato salad! Add a simple fruit dip for dessert, and you’ve got a meal that’s totally family-friendly and perfect for a casual get-together with friends.
Storage Instructions
Macaroni salad can be kept in the refrigerator for about 3-4 days. The macaroni will continue to absorb moisture as it sits in the refrigerator, so you may find it gets a little drier each day. If taking your mac salad to a potluck or BBQ, make sure to not let it sit out at room temperature for more than two hours.
More Easy Pasta Salad Recipes
Our Macaroni Salad recipe was originally published 6/22/22. It was retested, reworked, and republished to be better than ever 8/2/25.
The equipment list should include a pot and colander :)
Delicious! First time making a macaroni salad and the instructions were easy to follow and I didn’t feel too intimidated :) I added a 3rd boiled egg and doubled the dressing amt, but other than that followed to a tee. Will save this for summer rotation!
I have a friend who can’t have refined sugar – any ideas on what to sub? Would honey be weird??
My whole family loved this recipe! Solid replacement for those plastic tasting store-bought versions. The only thing I would change is to add a third or even fourth hard-boiled egg as I do love that addition in both potato and macaroni salads.
This was excellent. I made it for July 4th. Only change is I added some banana peppers because I had them. They worked really well with flavors in the dish.
I made a half batch of this before and it was SO GOOD I need to make it again. Any suggestions for making this a full meal, like the meal prep recipes? Thanks!
I would add canned tuna and/or some white beans to make it a more complete meal.
This came out so GOOD!!! My husband loved it and always loves your dishes. But this was the kicker. I was cooking this and my dad came over to deliver some groceries and he smelled what I had just cooked. I gave him some of this pasta salad to take home for him and my mom to try and they loved it too. They have now requested that I make it for Thanksgiving Day. Beth, you may have just started a new Thanksgiving tradition in our family’s home without even knowing it. Lol :)
Hey, I’ve always wondered – is there a particular reason to use macaroni for pasta salads, or is it just tradition? Does it make any kind of difference in the pasta shape itself?
Use what you have! I love making mine with bowtie. XOXO -Monti
This recipe is amazing! I had my first bite and said “wow” out loud. My partner who normally doesn’t like any sort of mayo based dressings loved it too. I cut the sugar back a tiny bit (added about 2 tsp instead of 1 tbsp) but that’s just preference. Will definitely be keeping this in the summer rotation! Thanks Beth :)
Can you use gluten free pasta in this salad?
Absolutely! Just make sure to follow the directions on the box and cook until tender.
Loved this! I don’t usually like mayo-based pasta salads, but this was so good. I doubled everything to use a full box of pasta, left out the eggs and instead added more veg.
My husband doesn’t usually like macaroni salad but he devoured this. Went back for multiple servings. This pasta salad is great. Just the right amount of sweetness, crunchy veggies, creamy dressing. Super good.Â
This is so good! I love the crunch of all of the vegetables, I’ve found that a lot of other macaroni salads are too mushy. I only used part of the dressing (saving the rest) since I wasn’t planning on eating it all in one go and I was worried the pasta would soak up too much of the dressing/get dry. The dressing has a good tang to it and honestly would be good on anything combo of veggies and pasta! This will be a summer staple.
The dressing is so good, it’s delicious!  I added shredded carrot and skipped the egg.  Great, classic salad!
This was so tasty! I loved the crunch of all of the veggies in it. Would definitely make this again!