Creamy Macaroni Salad

Our Creamy Macaroni Salad recipe is a crowd-pleaser! It’s a great side dish to make for summertime cookouts, potlucks, game days, and family get-togethers.

This macaroni salad recipe is another amazing salad that my ex-mother-in-law used to serve at her little diner in Los Angeles. It’s made with ditalini pasta, maple glazed turkey lunch meat, cheddar cheese, celery, red pepper and green onion all tossed in a delicious creamy dressing.  

Why You Will Love This Recipe

• It’s Completely Addictive! This macaroni salad is completely addictive!
• Quick and Easy. It comes together in about 20 minutes with little fuss.
• Great For Sharing. This is a great dtialini salad to serve with grilled chicken, fish, kebabs, burgers or sandwiches at your next cookout, potluck, and family get-together. I have taken this salad to many potlucks over the years, and I have never taken home any leftovers! 

Creamy Macaroni Salad Recipe Ingredients

• Ditalini Pasta. We really like using ditalini pasta for this salad instead of elbow macaroni, but you can use elbow macaroni if you like.
• Deli Turkey Lunch Meat. We use Boar’s Head Maple Glazed Honey Turkey lunch meat. It adds a great flavor to this salad. Cut the lunch meat into small cubes in similar size as the ditalini. If the lunch meat is sliced, then stack the slices and cut them into strips first then cut the strips into cubes.
• Cheddar Cheese. We use sharp cheddar cut into small cubes similar in size as the ditalini.
• Celery. Celery adds flavor and crunch to the mix.
• Green Onion. We like using green onion the best for this salad. It has a more mild flavor. 
• Red Pepper. Cut away the core and seeds of the red pepper before dicing it.
• Mayonnaise. Use a good mayo like Duke’s (which our preferred mayo for this salad), Best Foods or Hellmann’s.
• Sour Cream. We use full fat sour cream for this recipe.
• White Wine Vinegar. We add just a little white wine vinegar. It adds a little flavor and thins the dressing a bit.
• Seasoning. For the seasoning, we use onion powder, garlic powder, salt and black pepper. That’s it.

Find printable recipe with the measurements below.

How To Make Macaroni Salad

1. Make Dressing. Whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar and seasonings in a bowl. Taste test to see if you want to add more salt or pepper to the dressing.
2. Cook Pasta. Cook the ditalini pasta according to the instructions on the package. The pasta should be al dente (soft but still firm enough to hold shape). 
3. Prep Ingredients. Chop the lunch meat and cheddar cheese into cubes. Dice the celery and red pepper. Slice the green onion.  You want all of the salad ingredients to be similar in size as the ditalini. 
4. Toss Salad. Put the salad ingredients in a large bowl and pour the dressing over them and toss.  
5. Chill Salad. Place plastic wrap over the salad bowl and refrigerate up to 1 hour before serving.  This gives the salad time to chill and for the flavors to meld together.

Tips For Making The Best Macaroni Pasta Salad

• Don’t overcook the noodles. Al dente are best.
• Chop the ingredients similar in size as the ditalini. This is a salad you could eat with a spoon if you wanted to.
• Adjust the dressing by adding more mayo or sour cream to achieve desired taste and consistency. 
• Add more lunch meat if you want more protein in the salad. 
• The ditalini MUST be completely cooled before adding the dressing or you can end up with an oily macaroni salad instead of a creamy one. Drain the macaroni and toss with a teaspoon or two of olive oil to keep them from sticking together. After the ditalini comes to room temperature, you can put them in the fridge (cover the bowl with plastic wrap) to chill while you prep the rest of the ingredients. 
• Chill the salad up to 1 hour before serving to give the salad a chance to chill and for the flavors to meld together. 

Can Macaroni Pasta Salad Be Made Ahead Of Time?

Yes. This is a great meal prep recipe. We like to prep the dressing and the salad ingredients ahead of time and then store them separately in the refrigerator until you’re ready to toss and serve the next day. 

Storing Leftover Ditalini Salad

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If properly stored, it should last up to 1 week.

More Pasta Salad Recipes

• Rotini Pasta Salad
• Summer Pasta Salad
• Tortellini Pasta Salad
• The Best Tuna Pasta Salad
• Italian Pasta Salad
• Greek Orzo Pasta Salad

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Print

Yield: 8 Servings

Creamy Macaroni Salad

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Additional Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Our Creamy Macaroni Salad recipe is a crowd-pleaser! It's a great side dish to make for summertime cookouts, potlucks, game days, and family get-togethers.

This macaroni salad recipe is another amazing salad that my ex-mother-in-law used to serve at her little diner in Los Angeles. It's made with ditalini pasta, maple glazed turkey lunch meat, cheddar cheese, celery, red pepper and green onion all tossed in a delicious creamy dressing.  

Ingredients

• 3 cups cooked ditalini pasta
• 1-2 teaspoons olive oil
• 3/4 pound turkey lunch meat, cut into small cubes
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, cut into small cubes
• 1/2 cup celery, diced
• 1/2 cup red pepper, diced
• 5 green onions, sliced

For the Dressing

Toggle ingredient group

• 1 cup real mayonnaise (Dukes, Best Foods or Hellmann's)
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

1. To prepare the dressing, in a bowl whisk together the ingredients for the dressing (the mayonnaise, sour cream, white wine vinegar, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and black pepper). Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate to chill while you prepare the salad.
2. Prepare the diitalini pasta according to the instructions on the package. Drain the pasta in a colander and rinse immediately under cold water. Drizzle 1-2 teaspoons olive oil and toss. This will keep the noodles from sticking together.
3. Chop the lunch meat and cheddar cheese into cubes. Dice the celery and red pepper. Slice the green onion.  You want all of the salad ingredients to be similar in size as the ditalini. 
4. Add the macaroni, turkey, cheese, celery, red pepper and green onion to a large bowl. Drizzle the dressing over the salad ingredients and toss so all of the ingredients are coated with the dressing.
5. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 1 hour before serving so the salad is nice and chilled. This gives the salad time to chill and for the flavors to meld together.

Notes

Tips For Making The Best Macaroni Pasta Salad

• Don't overcook the noodles. Al dente are best.
• Chop the ingredients similar in size as the ditalini. This is a salad you could eat with a spoon.
• Adjust the dressing by adding more mayo or sour cream to achieve desired taste and consistency. 
• Add more lunch meat if you want more protein in the salad. 
• Cool the ditalini completely before adding the dressing or the salad can end up oily rather than creamy.
• Chill the salad up to 1 hour before serving to give the salad a chance to chill and for the flavors to meld together. 

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 612Total Fat: 41gSaturated Fat: 12gUnsaturated Fat: 28gCholesterol: 100mgSodium: 603mgCarbohydrates: 33gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 26g

theharvestkitchen.com attempts to provide accurate information, however, this nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. The nutritional information provided comes from online sources and calculations. See full disclaimer on About page.