Macaroni Salad

With a pasta salad dressing made with a combination of mayonnaise and yoghurt, it’s still beautifully creamy with all the flavour and less guilt! For a healthier option, try this Macaroni pasta salad with a mayo-free Creamy Lemon Dressing or Ranch Dressing!

Macaroni Pasta Salad

It’s difficult to imagine a summer with Macaroni Salad. Like Coleslaw, it’s a summertime staple. The pasta salad you keep in your fridge for a quick side for meals and to put in your lunchbox. While it’s tempting to take the easy route and pick up a tub from the deli, too often they are overly mayo-heavy, too sweet, too sour, or dripping with watery dressing. So skip store bought and make your own – it’s so simple and tastes so much better!

Lighter, flavour packed Dressing for Pasta Salad

I like to have a lot of dressing because it makes pasta salads moist and juicy. But using just mayo is too oily. So I always lighten up mayo dressings with either sour cream or yoghurt, then add a nice amount of seasoning so no one would even notice that it’s got less fat in it! Here’s what goes in my creamy pasta salad dressing:

Equal parts mayonnaise and sour cream OR yogurt Cider vinegar – essential touch of tang! Dijon Mustard – flavour and thickening Seasonings – Sugar, garlic powder, salt and pepper

Regular readers know how much I love my sauces and that extends to salad dressings. No pasta salad recipe of mine will ever be lacking in Dressing! And that’s why this Macaroni Salad stays nice and moist – because there’s plenty of dressing! While you get some nutrition from the vegetables the reality is that Macaroni salad is heavy on carbs from the pasta and fat in the dressing. For a healthier option, try this with a mayo-free Creamy Lemon Dressing or Ranch Dressing!

Macaroni Salad Add-in options

I’ve kept this recipe classic. So as much as I was tempted, I resisted all my favourite add-in possibilities including:

bacon egg pickles roasted red peppers chicken (try my Chicken Pasta Salad recipe) olives

Make a great summer meal for your family and friends by serving this pasta salad on the side of BBQ Pulled Pork, BBQ Beef Brisket, some BBQ Pork Ribs or Sticky Country-style Chicken! – Nagi x

MORE SUMMER SALADS to take to gatherings

Italian Pasta Salad Coleslaw Potato Salad and Lemon Potato Salad Pearl Couscous Salad <– personal fave! Wild Rice Salad <– reader fave! 12 Minute Sun Dried Tomato Couscous Salad Browse all Pasta Salads and Rice Salad