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Creamy macaroni salad with vegetables in a glass bowl

Creamy Macaroni Salad

Classic deli style macaroni salad with elbow pasta, hard boiled eggs, celery, bell pepper and onion in a creamy, tangy mayo and mustard dressing. An easy make ahead side for picnics and BBQs.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Marinate 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Calories: 330
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Salad
  • 1 lb elbow macaroni
  • 4 large hard boiled eggs chopped
  • 2 ribs celery finely diced
  • 1/2 red bell pepper finely diced
  • 1/4 cup onion finely minced
  • 2 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
Dressing
  • 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
  • 2 tbsp yellow mustard
  • 3 tbsp rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
  • 1 1/2 tbsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp celery seed
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper

Method
 

  1. Cook the macaroni in well salted boiling water 1 minute past al dente. Drain, rinse with cold water and drain well.
  2. Hard boil the eggs for 11 minutes, chill in ice water, peel and chop.
  3. Finely dice the celery, bell pepper and onion.
  4. Whisk the mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, sugar, celery seed, salt and pepper. Set aside 1/3 cup of the dressing.
  5. Stir the macaroni, eggs, vegetables and parsley into the remaining dressing.
  6. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Stir in the reserved dressing just before serving.

Notes

Pasta absorbs dressing as it chills, so the reserved dressing keeps it creamy. Store covered in the fridge for up to 4 days. For a lighter version, replace half the mayo with Greek yogurt.