Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Classic Macaroni Salad – Delicious is In the Details

I can’t believe I’ve never posted a video for my take on summer’s most iconic pasta salad. Whether it’s sitting next to some smoky ribs, or just a humble hot dog, this deli-style macaroni salad will always be a crowd-favorite, as long as you pay attention to a few key details.

The most important things are to not rinse the macaroni, and to let it cool before adding the dressing. If you add it while the pasta is too hot, the mayo sort of melts, and you get a greasy salad. By letting it cool, while tossing, the macaroni gets nice and tacky, and will grab the sauce a lot better.

I mention in the video, I don’t put as much sugar as many of the web’s most popular versions call for. For this much dressing, a half-cup of sugar is not uncommon, which for my taste is way too much. Since we’re adding all those sweet veggies, just a spoon or two is all you should need.

As long as you follow the technique shown, you can tweak the vegetables and dressing ingredients to your liking, but no matter what you put in, try to let it sit overnight before serving. The flavors will develop, the macaroni will fully absorb the dressing, and all you’ll need to do is taste, adjust, and serve. I hope you give easy salad a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients for 12 portions:
1 pound (4 cups) uncooked elbow macaroni, cooked in well-salted water
For the dressing:
1 cup mayonnaise, plus an extra spoon as needed
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 or 2 tbsp white sugar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/2 cup green onions, white and light parts
1 cup finely diced celery
3/4 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup diced green pepper (I used poblano and jalapeno)
1/2 cup grated carrot

52 comments:

Unknown said...

Un-believable. i was literally just searching youtube and google looking for a pasta salad recipe for next weekend. The whole time thinking g-dammit why hasn't chef john put one of these up. the rest suck. That'a a great tag-line for this site btw: Foodwishes.com "the rest suck". Thanks for the recipe.

Unknown said...

Un-believable. i was literally just searching youtube and google looking for a pasta salad recipe for next weekend. The whole time thinking g-dammit why hasn't chef john put one of these up. the rest suck. That'a a great tag-line for this site btw: Foodwishes.com "the rest suck". Thanks for the recipe.

Chris K. said...

YOU WON'T BELIEVE THIS MACARONI SALAD WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE FOR A DAY

gibbygoo56 said...

I'm making this!

Anonymous said...

I couldn't believe that both you and Dan Gritzer (Serious Eats) posted MONUMENTAL pasta salads at the same time O_0. Too funny!

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

Thank you. I look forward to making this.

Anthony Vaiana said...

TOO MUCH MAYO!!!

Unknown said...

Looks delish! I'm making this for sure!! Love your site!!! Thank you!!

Chris said...

Did I see packaged creme fraiche in your fridge?! After all that encouragement for us to make our own, im shocked and chagrined :P
Seriously though, thanks for the recipe, it should work well in my endeavour to show-up my in-laws at family gatherings, lol (been quite successful so far, thanks to you).

Unknown said...

Just saw the video and thought to myself hey... I have all these ingredients just sitting at home. I'm typing this as I'm boiling my macaroni! Can't wait to try it.

Luisawithlove said...

Same as the commenter above I already had most of those ingredients at home. I'm very a much a "use what you have" cook so I've made some adjustments. I am using penne, rice wine vinegar, sweet and hot mustard, yellow onion, and for the peppers only red and jalapenos. I'm so excited to see how it comes out!!!

Luisawithlove said...

I'm a use what you have type a girl so I made some minor adjustments based on what I have on hand. I used rice wine vinegar, sweet and hot mustard, red and jalapenos for the peppers, and a yellow onion....also a olive oil based mayo. So excited! I wish it was dinner time tomorrow! Thanks for the recipe!

Unknown said...

The written recipe says white wine vinegar but in the video you say distilled white vinegar. Is one better than the other for this recipe? Thanks!

Chef John said...

Yes, it is supposed to be distilled white vinegar! Thanks!

Anonymous said...

You gotta be kidding! Do you think it even made it to the fridge? It is out of this world! If I want to make it more meal-like I will add some diced ham.

Unknown said...

Great recipe, Chef John! Do you think you can recommend a recipe for Ginger Chicken Tacos in the near future?

Hollis K. Lee said...

The science of a really good Mac Salad...from the Greatest Food Comedian.

Many Thanks

Ed the house chef said...

Thanks again Chef. Made this for a BBQ this past weekend and got great reviews from everyone. Unfortunately, there was none left for me to bring back home and enjoy :(

Unknown said...

Definitely wait the full 24 hours,it was really good a few hours after but the next day it was amazing. Its worth the wait.

linds1986 said...

Made this for a potluck BBQ and it was great! Simple and delicious. Thanks Chef John!

Unknown said...

It was delicious! Even better when it's left in the fridge overnight!!!

Chris K. said...

BTW please tell me what was in the covered sauce pan in your refrigerator. It's killing me.

Chef John said...

I wish I could remember! Probably a stock.

K said...

This recipe is DELICIOUUUS !!! Truly ! I added sriracha in the sauce to make it extra spicy and I loved it, everybody did !
At first when I saw the recipe, I thought "how weird... mayo, vinegar, mustard, sugar ?!" But it turned out sooooo fffff-ing gooooooooood !
I even asked everyone if they can tell the ingredients in the sauce, but they couldnt exept for mayo ! hehehe
Thanks chef ! You and your recipes are the best  <3 :D

Unknown said...

Made this tonight, taking to family cookout tomorrow. Looking forward to the results! Will post comments and feedback from fam. Thanks Chef John, the wife and I look forward to your videos every week!

Unknown said...

Many compliments from the fam Chef John! Was a hit!

Unknown said...

How about adding some crumbled bacon!!!!

Unknown said...

How do I print recipes?

Military MaMa said...

Been Looking for a Macaroni Salad Recipe to Make for My Dad & This One Rocks With the Jalapenos!!!
...I Made it for Easter & Used Orange, Red & Yellow Peppers for The Colors & It Was GREAT!!!
...I Call it My Mac~Daddy Salad!!!
THANK YOU!!!

Unknown said...

So tasty! Have made it twice already. First time for my relatives and they loved it, had my aunts and cousins asking for the recipe.2nd time was for my boyfriends relatives and they loved it as well. Now his cousin wants me to show her how to make it :D :D

Cherio said...

Have made this, absolutely awesome! Making it again adding shrimp to it. Thanks chef John!

cookinmom said...

Ohhh man! I keep coming back to this good old faithful every summer! I just adlib and still can't go wrong. I love that recipes are a reference point and not written in stone. I dumped my fridge of all veggies and added brocoli, peas, parsley, basil, yogurt, ww pasta... All veggies & herbs were from the garden! Tks John...keep um' comin'!

Orcophant said...

Made this for the second time around. And it is unfucking belivably good!
Best. Pasta salad. EVER. EVER!

Unknown said...

The technique is what makes this salad standout. Thabks for the great vid, always funny and informative. I do have a request but have you ever made Hawaiian mac salad? Like the one served at Ono or L&L. I've tried to make it dozens of times but I'm definitley missing ingredients. Thanks.

Unknown said...

Great recepi but I find it very difficult to print off the page. Can you put a print button on the page somewhere? Thank you.

Unknown said...

I have tried this today with rotini pasta. IT TURNS OUT SO GOOD. I used canned corns, bell peppers and onions.
Thanks Chef for sharing the recipe. ITS REALLY GOOD.
I wonder if I can add boiled eggs in it?
I hope you will make an instagram account soon so I can share with you my pictures of my cooking using your recipe!

Unknown said...

Chef John, I made this pasta to bring to my mom's birthday party, and it was a major success!! Thank you from my heart! XXO

Unknown said...

I have never seen a salad quite like this.The dressing is so unique and looks so delicious.
Can't wait to try.
Thanks John.

New Sister said...

EXCELLENT!!
I used apple cider vinegar; increased all the vegetables... only half a jalapeno this time; next time will use a whole one & pack that 1/8 teaspoon cayenne.
Used the curly-Q pastas (Dececco). It's refreshing, light, & crunchy. Bravo

Unknown said...

I have made this and LOVE it! I am careful of the amount of vinegar and cayenne pepper. I like that he uses a moderate amount of sugar! This is tasty!

gchip said...

Best macaroni salad ever......well done.

Unknown said...

Best pasta salad EVER! Seriously, really very very good. The cool and stir the pasta trick is critical.

cookinmom said...

I again made this except I Pressure Cooked 16oz pasta with 2 cups water for 4 min., layed it out on a tray to cool. I made the dressing as it cooked, doubled the sauce and added a bunch of veggies. My hubby added his leftover smoked chicken! Mmm...complements to the chef

Unknown said...

Oh my, you gotta love the commenters that change every ingredient in the chef's recipe and then say "thanks for the recipe". LOL I made this "as written" and it turned out wonderful and I'm making it again for a party this week. Also, for the commenter who requested a print button--you don't need one just copy and paste the text into a word processing app. Now how easy is that!

Shim Farm said...

This salad is perfection, every time I make it. I also sub the white vinegar for apple cider vinegar. I bring this to every BBQ and summer get together, and no one tires of it.

As much as this is a recipe, it's also a technique. Thank you so much for teaching is how to make a pasta salad properly!

Tom_MacIver said...

Hmmm, ok I think it will be good with about 1-2 lbs of shrimp.

Unknown said...

Just a compiment. Your recipes are consice and easy to follow. Always come out well.
Just made your macaroni salad, modified it slightly, blanched the veg first and added a 1/2 teaspoon of tumeric to the macaroni while cooking, gave the pasta a very pleasant yellow tinge.
Also added some green peas to the veg, very nice.
Thanks for the recipe. Keep it up. Enjoyed your interview on U Tube.
Regards,
Lincoln Beck
South Africa

Godly Homemaker (Andrea) said...

i've actually done this recipe (new subscriber to your channel and all that... :D )

Unknown said...

This is amazing and always disappears when i take a bowl to events! thank you from Australia!

bouche said...

I've come to not even hesitate to check Chef John's feed first when looking for a recipe or method.

I had a tasty jalapeño macaroni salad at a bbq joint recently and wanted to recreate it with which to use some jalapeños that I've grown. Turns out, this method was pretty much it but superior tasting. Only now I have a massive bowl of it rather than a tiny scoop of a $3 side dish.

Angie Marie Feliz said...

Thank you!!! I made it today. The store didn’t have Dijon so I used Honey Mustard. Came out delicious!!

moo said...

Just made it for a big potluck tonite. I'm certain it'll go over well. Love all the veggies and the dressing is as tasty as can be! I roasted my poblano first and then pealed it. Thank you again. This one is a keeper.