First published August 1, 2010. Last updated April 11, 2025 for editorial improvements.
Table of Contents
- Highly recommend!
- 🗝️Key takeaways: why this recipe is your new favorite
- 🧾 Gather your ingredients: what you'll need
- 📖 Make it your own: yummy variations
- 🤫 Marye's secret for zhuzhing it up -
- 📖 Recipe
- 🔪 Step-by-step guide: instructions for success
- 🥫 Leftover love: how to store macaroni salad
- 💭 Insider tips: things to know
- 👩🍳 Let's answer those questions: FAQs
- 📚 More Southern comfort: related recipes you'll love
- 🍽️ No waste: creative ways to repurpose leftovers
- ✍🏻 A note from Marye...
- 💬 Comments
Save this recipe by clicking on the ❤️ heart on the right-hand side of the screen or in the recipe card.
🗝️Key takeaways: why this recipe is your new favorite
Nothing fancy here—just the macaroni salad you probably grew up on, the one that showed up at every summer potluck like clockwork. It’s creamy, tangy, and packed with flavor—no trendy nonsense, just the good stuff. This is the classic recipe my mom swore by, with her signature tweaks: shredded carrots, extra green olives (because she was an olive fiend), chopped red onion, bell pepper, and celery, all tangled up in overcooked elbow macaroni—yes, overcooked. Be a rebel, break the al dente rules, and trust me, it just works. Serve it chilled, act like you spent all day on it, and watch it disappear.
🧾 Gather your ingredients: what you'll need
📖 Make it your own: yummy variations
- Pickle Relish: Add a few tablespoons of sweet pickle relish for extra tang.
- Cheese Lovers: Mix in shredded cheddar or mozzarella cheese for a cheesy twist.
- Spicy Kick: Add a pinch of cayenne pepper or diced jalapeños for a bit of heat.
- Herb Garden: Toss in fresh herbs like parsley, dill, or chives for added freshness.
- Pasta. Elbows, shells, or some other type of macaroni noodles. Ditalini macaroni is fantastic for this recipe and so are shells.
- Some people use Miracle Whip, but I prefer Hellmann's mayo.
- Carrots. Mom always grated the carrots on the small side of a box grater and that's the way I do it, too. I don't like big chunks of crunchy carrots in it but the grated carrots add sweetness.
🤫 Marye's secret for zhuzhing it up -
For an extra layer of flavor, add a splash of pickle juice to the dressing. It adds a delightful tang that will make your salad stand out!
zhuzh: verb. To make something more interesting or attractive
📖 Recipe
Old Fashioned Macaroni Salad
Print Pin Recipe Rate RecipeIngredients
- 1 pound dried elbow macaroni, uncooked small elbows or shells
- 2 cups mayonnaise
- ¼ cup cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons mustard, plain yellow prepared
- 2 tablespoons sugar, more or less to taste
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, more to taste
- 2 cups celery, celery - thinly sliced
- 1 cup red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- ½ cup onion, peeled and chopped
- ¼ cup carrot, grated
- 1 cup salad olives with pimentos, drained
Instructions
Step one
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Pour in elbow macaroni and cook until very tender.
- Drain completely but don't rinse.
- Stir a little mayonnaise into the macaroni to keep it from sticking.
- Cool completely.
Step two
- Combine mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar in a small bowl and mix well. Taste and adjust seasoning and sweetness.
- Put the cooled macaroni, celery, carrot, onion, peppers, and olives in a large bowl.
- Pour mayonnaise mixture over and stir gently to combine.
- Cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight if time permits.
- Add a little more dressing if necessary before serving
- Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days - keep chilled if you are bringing it to a cookout or picnic.
Notes
- Slightly overcook your pasta. I know the directions say not to overcook it but trust me on this. I once asked Mom why her macaroni salad was better than mine and she said (and I quote) "You have to cook the snot out of it darlin'". So there's that.
- Drain the pasta but don't rinse it. Mix about ¼ cup of plain mayonnaise with the macaroni to coat it and keep it from sticking.
- Let it cool before adding the dressing and vegetables! If you add your vegetables to the hot macaroni they'll lose their crispness.
- This is fantastic for potlucks and cookouts but you MUST keep it cold. The easiest way is to fill a big bowl with ice and keep the bowl of macaroni salad in the bowl of ice.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
🔪 Step-by-step guide: instructions for success
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page. Click on the image to see it full size.
Combine mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar.
Whisk to blend. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Put macaroni, celery, carrot, onion, peppers, and olives in a large bowl.
Pour mayonnaise mixture over and stir gently to combine. Chill.
🥫 Leftover love: how to store macaroni salad
Refrigerate promptly. Since macaroni salad contains mayonnaise throw it away if it's been out for 2 hours or more or if it feels warm to the touch. It's better to "waste" a little food than get sick.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Stir in a little extra mayonnaise if the salad becomes too dry.
💭 Insider tips: things to know
- Don’t skip the chilling time; it’s crucial for the flavors to develop.
- Use salted water to cook the pasta- about 2 tablespoons salt to 1 gallon of water.
- Be sure to use regular mayo and not low-fat or fat-free.
- Always go by taste with the dressing. I use a lot more sugar than is called for in the recipe - I probably use ⅓ of a cup because we like things on the sweet side. Adjust to your own tastes.
- Full disclosure - Just to be honest - I double the salad olives because I love them.
- Let the flavors blend at least two hours in the refrigerator before serving. It's better the next day.
- You may need to add a little more dressing just before serving if the macaroni soaks up all of the moisture. Just be prepared to make more and stir it in.
- If the dressing seems too thick after it's mellowed in the fridge you can add a little cream or milk to balance it out.
👩🍳 Let's answer those questions: FAQs
Have other questions? Ask me in the comments!
Nope. The veggies will get slimy and the dressing will end up being a weird texture.
Be sure to let the macaroni cool completely before making your salad. That way it won't soak up so much dressing. It's also a good idea to keep some extra dressing on hand just in case.
It's got mayonnaise so you'll want to throw it away at the 2-hour mark if it hasn't been put away.
Yes, shells or other small pasta work best.
Yep! It tastes best if it is made the day before anyway. You can make it up to 24 hours ahead of time.
📚 More Southern comfort: related recipes you'll love
🍽️ No waste: creative ways to repurpose leftovers
This may sound a little crazy but I like to make lettuce wraps with the leftovers. Spoon a little macaroni salad in romaine lettuce leaves and wrap. It sounds weird but it's so good.
✍🏻 A note from Marye...
I grew up on this dish for dinner. It's my absolute favorite hot weather recipe.
In the summer my mom just didn't cook a lot because of the heat so this was often the main course.
If it was the weekend dad would grill but during the week? We were likely to eat a cold pasta salad. We were not big eaters.
Meals were often just what happened to be in the fridge and could consist of cantaloupe with ice cream, or sandwiches, or strawberry shortcake, or the best macaroni salad ever.
Seriously. Mom made the best.
I think her secret was making macaroni salad with green olives! Lots and lots (and lots) of olives - plus the way she made the creamy pasta salad dressing with mayo.
If you were still hungry afterward? Ah... the sound of my mom's voice echoes through the decades...Grab a carrot.
The answer to world hunger as far as my mom was concerned was raw carrots. Snack food? Carrots. Craving something? Grab a carrot.
And you know what my kids hear when they are wanting a snack? Yep... Grab a carrot.
Anyway, to me macaroni salad was summertime. I was a bit of a picky eater but I could put this stuff away. My kids can, too.
Classic Summer Salad!
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Marg says
Honestly I wasn't crazy about this. I thought it was way too salty and a bit too sweet. I'm glad I went with my gut on the pepper and added only 1/4 tsp. I also felt it was too tangy. I do like the addition of the olives though. I think I just have to tweak the other ingredients next time. Less of everything except the macaroni and olives.
Christina says
My grandmother made this but used pickle juice instead of vinegar and didn't include carrots or pellets. She also added chopped boiled eggs to the salad and topped it with sprinkled on paprika!
Christine says
This recipe is delish! I typically make this with mayo, green olives sweet onion and a few other items but I misplaced my recipe and decided to try this one…absolutely fabulous! This will be my go-to from now on! Thank you.
Jackie says
This is some of the best macaroni salad! I've made it several times now and it is always a hit. I like mine on the sweeter side, so I use a little more sugar. My husband's co-workers request I make it on a regular. Highly recommend!
Penny says
This is very similar to the Mac Salad I grew up on. Mine is drier, and we add soy sauce to our own serving. I know, everyone ALWAYS gives me the weirdest look when I tell them to add some soy sauce...and then they go back for more and I can't keep track of the bottle of soy sauce after that LOL. It is a family favorite every summer for us.
Azaela says
I grew up in WV and the annual church picnic always had macaroni salad with olives diced up in it. I loved it but rarely find a recipe made with green cocktail olives. I kept the olives to a cup but instead of tossing the pasta with mayo I tossed it in a little of the olive brine for extra olive flavor. It’s chilling overnight. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Marye says
I always add a little of the olive "juice" too.
Lorraine says
Since I saw your recipe fo this Macaroni salad I will never use any other recipe
for this dish. I am 80 years old, and finally found that your recipe is so creamy
and delicious - I love it!
o
Rita says
I left out the carrots and put hard boiled eggs with a little bit more mustard Best I Ever Had thank you