Macaroni Salad

A recipe for Macaroni Salad

Macaroni salad is popular in the USA, at least the areas I have lived.

Like most good dishes, there is no one right way to make it. The following is a basic guide to making it 'the way I like it'.

Please feel free to experiment on your own.

Also, as a safety reminder, anything made with mayonnaise is a potential time bomb! Keep it chilled, in the refrigerator when not being used and if you even THINK it may be going bad, remember my dear Dad's saying:

"If in doubt, throw it out!"

The following is for family or small group of, say about 10 to 15 people.

Ingredients:

Basic recipe:

  • 500 grams1 (uncooked weight) Macaroni cooked according to package directions
  • 1 - 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Garlic and/or onion salt to taste
  • 1 large or 2 small cucumbers
  • 3-4 hard boiled eggs
  • sprigs of parsley, if desired
  • paprika, if desired
  • 1 cup* cooked chicken, meat, fish, seafood or vegetables

    • 1 As I am now a 'citizen of the world', my units are metric. The following notes are for my less knowledgable fellow Americans:

    500 grams is just a little more than a pound, but a pound bag/box would work just as well.

    Tsp. = one US teaspoon, or one 5 ml spoon.

    Tbs. = one US tablespoon or one 15 ml spoon.

    *Feel free to add any of the ingredients below:

    about a cup of cut vegetables and meat, chicken or seafood. Examples:

  • whole baby corn
  • diced red, green or yellow peppers
  • radishes
  • chopped broccoli
  • sliced shallots
  • sliced mushrooms
  • chopped onion
  • others veggies in season
  • cooked chicken or turkey
  • canned tuna
  • canned, fresh or frozen shrimp
  • canned or fresh crab, lobster, etc.
  • in Japan, the neat little pack of frozen mixed seafood (shrimp, octopus, squid, etc.)
  • I guess things like cooked beef, pork and clams, but I have never tried them!

    Directions:

    1. Cook macaroni according to the directions on the package. If you want a richer taste, cook the macaroni in chicken broth. Drain and cool (and I MEAN COOL!)

    2. Prepare the added ingredients. Slice the eggs carefully. Make sure meats are cooked and veggies washed, dried and then cut/chopped/etc. Special note on the cucumbers. My family ALWAYS peeled them, but I hear the skin has some vitamins, too! Consider just washing, or for a fancier look, peel away alternate strips (i.e. when cut the cuke will be white, green, white, green, white, etc.)

    3. In a large bowl, put half the mayonnaise and the other ingredients (except for about half of the eggs - save the nicest slices for the top, parsley and paprika!) Mix thoroughly. Add the macaroni and most of the rest of the mayonnaise. Mix well. If the pasta looks too dry, add more mayonnaise. EVERYTHING should be nicely covered with the mayo!

    4. Cover the top with the last bit of mayo, and carefully lay the nicest egg slices on the top. You can also garnish with parsley and some sprinkles of paprika.

    5. Cover, and place in a cold refrigerator until ready to serve.

    6. When served, make sure it stays cool as long as possible. Replace in the refrigerator when not in use.One year for our annual 4th of July Picnic I made three versions. I dyed each version of the macaroni a different color (or should I say TRIED TO - I wanted Red, White and Blue, got more like a Pink, White and Green!) Then, I selected the ingredients to match the color;

  • Pink (Red?) was the sea food version, with the above mixed seafood pack (if I recall correctly, it had shrimp, octopus, squid and maybe some clams)
  • White was chicken, with extra eggs, and just cucumbers as vegetable, and
  • Green (Blue?) was vegetarian style (for a special friend who came from Tokyo), with several types of peppers, radishes, onions, cucumbers, broccoli, and I can't recall what all.

    So, as you see, please feel free to experiment, try what YOU like in it, and see what happens.

    Bon Appetite!

    | Top page | Encyclopedic Index | Back to Recipe Index | Feedback

    Copyright © 1996, 2002 by Nick Miller.

    See notes for information on navigating, links, copyright (my own as well as any possible inadvertant infringement on my part) and photo usage, etc.