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If you are yearning for an easy, delectable, and creamy Southern Macaroni Salad recipe then you have come to the right place!
What is Southern Macaroni Salad?
Macaroni salad, like potato salad, is a classic side dish and a deli staple. It's often served at summer barbecues and is a fixture at potluck dinners.
There are some regional variations when it comes to macaroni salad. For example, Hawaiian macaroni salad typically contains shredded carrots and the macaroni may be cooked until it is very soft (i.e. overcooked).
Classic southern macaroni salad contains macaroni that is cooked al dente (firm). It also typically contains lots of creamy mayonnaise, hard-boiled eggs, sweet pickle relish, and onions. Green bell pepper or fresh crunchy celery is also included for some nice crunch. 😃
Why You Will Love This Recipe
I'm confident your family will love this great side dish! And you will love this recipe because:
- This recipe uses fresh ingredients that combine to give this cold pasta salad a delicious flavor (as good as your deli macaroni salad!)
- It's super easy to make. The hardest part is peeling the hard-boiled eggs 😅. Other than that, you only have to cook the macaroni and mince some green bell pepper and onion, and that's it!
- This is the perfect side dish to accompany not only fried chicken and barbecue, but any of your favorite mains.
- This salad is so nice and creamy. The creamy dressing, with mayonnaise as its base, is made even creamier with the addition of plenty of chopped hard-boiled eggs.
So let me tell you what you will need to make this Southern creamy macaroni salad!
🥘 Ingredients
You will only need a few ingredients to make this easy and delicious recipe.
- Elbow macaroni, cooked according to package directions. Aim to cook them al dente (with a bit of bite to them)
- Hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
- Sweet relish
- Onion (I used yellow onion, but you can sub some crisp red onion if you prefer)
- Green bell pepper (can sub red bell pepper)
- Mayonnaise
- Mustard (I used Dijon mustard, but feel free to sub yellow mustard)
- Cayenne
- Salt
- Black Pepper
- Garlic powder (can also sub onion powder)
- Green onions sliced, for garnish
Try to use the best quality mayonnaise for this macaroni salad as it really does make a difference!
🔪 Instructions
Hard boil your eggs and then peel and chop them. You can cut down on this prep step by using a product like Eggland's Best Hard Cooked Peeled Eggs. If you need instructions as to how to hard boil your eggs, check out this tutorial from Egg Farmers of Cananda on "How To Make The Perfect Hard Boiled Egg."
Mince the onion and the green bell pepper. Using a food processor makes this a snap!
Prepare the macaroni noodles according to your package directions and drain. Rinse under cold water to cool the macaroni down.
In a large bowl combine all ingredients and mix together.
Taste and adjust for seasoning by adding additional salt and pepper to your tastes. Then add sliced green onions as a beautiful garnish and the perfect finishing touch.
Behold your delectable creamy Southern Macaroni Salad!
How To Serve This Easy Macaroni Salad
You'll probably want to dig right in after making this classic macaroni salad recipe! And that's perfectly acceptable. 😊
So although this is traditionally a cold salad, you can also serve it at room temperature. It is typically not heated, though.
This great recipe is here for you whenever you need an easy and delicious side dish. It's also the perfect make-ahead side dish, as you can keep it refrigerated for a couple of days and pull it out whenever you are ready for it. Actually, the salad may taste better a day or two after (I think so anyway!).
It's also ideal for family reunions, and you'll certainly want to include it at your next picnic.
I certainly hope that you will give this a try and let me know what you think! A printable recipe card with nutritional information is available below.
FAQ
Store macaroni salad in an airtight container in your fridge. It is best consumed in about 4 days.
The macaroni sauce (or dressing) is typically made of mayonnaise, sweet relish, and sometimes mustard.
Macaroni salad goes well with all your favorite mains! It's especially great with fried chicken and barbecue!
Some Other Recipes You May Enjoy
Here are some other recipes you may enjoy!
- Refreshing Southern Cucumber Salad
- Delicious and Hearty Pink Beans Recipe
- Absolutely Must Try Nashville Hot Chicken
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Cheers!
Grace
Delectable Southern Macaroni Salad Recipe
Equipment
- large mixing bowl
Ingredients
- ½ pound elbow macaroni
- 4 hard boiled eggs peeled and chopped; You can cut down on this prep step by using a product like Eggland's Best Hard Cooked Peeled Eggs.
- ¼ cup sweet relish
- ¼ cup onion minced; can use yellow or red onion
- ¼ cup green bell pepper minced; can sub red bell pepper
- 1 cup mayonnaise try to use the best quality mayo that you can
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard can sub yellow mustard
- ¼ ts cayenne pepper
- ¼ ts salt
- ¼ ts black pepper
- ¼ ts garlic powder can sub onion powder
- 1 ea green onion sliced for garnish
Instructions
- Hard boil your eggs and then peel and chop them. You can cut down on this prep step by using a product like Eggland's Best Hard Cooked Peeled Eggs. If you need instructions as to hard boil your eggs, check out this tutorial from Egg Farmers of Cananda on "How To Make The Perfect Hard Boiled Egg."
- Mince the onion and the green bell pepper. Using a food processor makes this a snap!
- Prepare the macaroni noodles according to your package directions and drain. Rinse under cold water to cool the macaroni down.
- In a large bowl combine all ingredients and mix together.
- Taste and adjust for seasoning by adding additional salt and pepper to your tastes. Then add sliced green onions as a beautiful garnish and the perfect finishing touch.
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