Do you remember back to your child hood when your aunt used to make that incredible macaroni salad to bring to all the family potlucks? This is THAT macaroni salad recipe. The recipe that you know you really shouldn’t grab a third scoop but keep coming back for more. This is THE Classic Macaroni Salad that will bring you back to a time and place. A time where grandma pinching your cheeks, and uncle chasing the kids around the back yard, trying to grab you and the cousins and tickle you until you were going to pee your pants.
I often reminisce of the fun I had as a child. The back yard BBQ’s with my cousins where I usually got into trouble – but only because my older cousins told me to do something and they told me was ok. I swear! My parents and aunts and uncles would all head over, usually to my grandmother’s house, with bowls filled with salads or other side dishes easily kept cold in her second fridge downstairs until it was time to eat. Another favourite was potato salad. Yum!
We would grab our Styrofoam plates (when we didn’t realize how horrible Styrofoam was for the environment) and fill our plates with hamburgers and hot dogs and cut up veggies with dip. And this macaroni salad. This recipe makes A LOT of salad. I still remember the vintage green Tupperware container with the lid my aunt used to carry her macaroni salad in.
So if you’re looking for the classic macaroni salad recipe from your child hood, or if you’re just looking for a super delicious salad, this is the recipe for you. P.S. This salad tastes even better the next day, so if you do happen to have leftovers, it’s a good thing. A very, very good thing.
Classic Macaroni Salad
Ingredients
- 4 cups Uncooked macaroni
- 1 cup Mayonnaise
- ¼ cup White vinegar
- 2/3 cup White sugar
- 2 ½ tbsp Yellow mustard
- 1 ½ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Ground black pepper
- 1 Medium onion , finely chopped
- 2 Stalks celery , finely chopped
- 1 Green pepper , finely chopped
- ¼ cup carrot , finely chopped
- ½ cup Dill pickles , finely chopped
Instructions
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Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the macaroni, and cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Rinse under cold water and drain.
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In a large bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, mustard, salt and pepper. Stir in the onion, celery, green pepper, carrot, dill pickles and macaroni.
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Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving, but preferably overnight.
I didn’t see pimentos in list of ingredients, but saw them in directions. Did I miss something? Also, in the picture it shows what looks like pieces of cheese or yellow pepper.
Thanks for catching that Mary! My mom’s recipe called for pimentos. I like to use dill pickles myself. I like to switch up the green pepper sometimes with red, yellow or orange peppers – what ever you happen to have on hand. Hope you enjoy the recipe!