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Stupid easy, stupid good classic macaroni salad – made with a creamy dreamy dressing and little pops of salty, briney green olive goodness. This is a summer cookout essential!
It’s not summer without a good macaroni salad recipe and we’ve got the one.
Your Summer Essential, Courtesy of My Mom
My mom makes the best macaroni salad recipe and I’m not just saying that because it’s the one I grew up with.
I’m saying it because:
- The dressing is easy, but flavorful.
- The mix-ins are simple but bold.
- Can be scaled up for a huge summer party or scaled down for a quick weeknight side dish.
We start with zippy, salty green olives as the big punch of flavor here. Olive haters, sorry, this one isn’t for you. Although, the cold macaroni and the creamy dressing do tone them down a bit so it’s still worth trying!
Picture it: Sunshine and birds chirping and kids screaming as they run around the backyard. You have a paper plate loaded with a smash burger (dripping in smash burger sauce, naturally), a slice of watermelon, and a pile of this old fashioned macaroni salad.
Summer can’t come soon enough!
More Pasta Salad Recipes:
Classic Macaroni Salad Ingredients:
Macaroni – You could really use any small shape of pasta, but it is called macaroni salad, so…that’s what we stick to. This is a great time to use our favorite protein pasta to add some oomph to your side dish.
Hard Boiled Eggs – Boil them yourself or buy the pre-boiled and peeled kind to keep this extra easy!
Onion – We mince this up really finely. I hate getting a giant chunk of onion.
Mayonnaise – You’ll want real mayo here, not Miracle Whip.
Mustard – Ballpark style yellow mustard is what we’re after.
Vinegar – We’ve always used white distilled vinegar here, but apple cider vinegar will also work.
Green Olives – They add the perfect salty, briny flavor to this salad. They’re a must!
Salt & Pepper
What Readers are Saying!
“Did make this for July 4th celebration. OMG-SOOOO good!!! So used to biting into pickles in regular mac salad, it was a real treat to be biting into mellow green olives instead. Was a hit with everybody-definitely a keeper!!” – Elizabeth
How to Make Classic Macaroni Salad:
Add the boiled macaroni to a mixing bowl and top it off with the sliced olives, chopped eggs, and minced onion.
Stir together the mayo, mustard, and vinegar to make the dressing.
Pour the dressing over the top and stir it all to coat. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Refrigerate for at least an hour or two to let everything meld together. Stir well, taste, and season with more salt and pepper if needed.
Helpful Tip!
The macaroni will soak up some of the dressing as it chills in the fridge. If the macaroni salad seems to dry, just stir in a spoonful of mayo after chilling. It’ll make it more creamy!
Serving Suggestions:
My mom has plenty of summer side dishes that she makes for cook outs, but this one is definitely a favorite of mine! It goes great with my turkey burgers, grilled teriyaki chicken, or some grilled chicken with white BBQ sauce.
Perfect with these air fryer brats too or this grilled halloumi burger!
Classic Macaroni Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound macaroni cooked and cooled
- 10 ounces sliced green olives drained
- 4 hard boiled eggs
- 1 small sweet onion
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon mustard
- 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place the cooked and drained macaroni in large bowl along with the green olives.
- Chop eggs into small pieces and mince the onion. Add to the macaroni.
- In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, mustard, and vinegar. Stir well and pour over the macaroni. Stir well to coat.
- Taste and add salt and pepper, as needed.
- Chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour. Stir before serving. Add an extra spoonful of mayonnaise before serving if macaroni seems too dry.
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Information:
This post was originally published in May 2016. It was updated with new photos and a video in June 2021.
Peggy Schelinski says
An olive lover’s dream! I love everything briny and salty, like capers, pepperoncini, but ESPECIALLY manzanilla stuffed green olives! So when this recipe came my way, I had to make it ASAP.
Wanted something to take to work for lunch that didn’t have me waiting in line for the microwave. Check!
This recipe is fantastic! So flavorful, easy to make, and inexpensive to boot. Highly recommended. If you love green olives, you will not be disappointed.
Karly Campbell says
So glad you gave this one a try! Thanks for the review, Peggy!
Barbara Anne McMahon says
I love this recipe too & my mom also put green olives in it but I love to add green bell peppers chopped & parsley
Karly Campbell says
Sounds like a great addition!
Meli says
Just like my grandmother’s!! Brought back memories. Thanks!
Linda Swoveland says
I add sweet pickle relish, mini cucumbers, and green onions rather than sweet onion to mine. And only half as much mustard.
Karly says
Sounds delicious!
Carla says
This recipe is great, but I added a can of tuna, too. Delicious.
Karly says
Sounds delicious!
Linda Swoveland says
Me too! I always add tuna to mine. But then I suppose we should call it macaroni tuna salad. I don’t like egg whites so I only use the yolks and always add about 6 egg yolks. It’s delicious!!!
Patricia says
Great macaroni salad. I have a little trick to share when i make mac salad. Drain the cooked pasta but do not rinse. Instead put in a large bowl while still hot. Then I add some bottled italian dressing. A fair amount to coat it but not as much as you would use like when you make a non-mayo salad. The hot pasta will absorb the dressing as it cools to room temp plus keeps the mac from sticking together. Then proceed with the rest of your mayo-based recipe recipe. I like to use Zesty Italian but any will do.
Karly says
That sounds delicious! I do that with pickle juice when I’m making pickle pasta salad and it’s amazing! 🙂