Easy Hawaiian Macaroni Salad Recipe
This Hawaiian style macaroni salad is full of tangy flavor, soft macaroni pasta, and a handful of ingredients such as shredded carrots, celery, peas, and onion. The tangy dressing is thick, coating every inch of the cooked pasta - ready to be enjoyed as the perfect side dish for summer cookouts or family gatherings.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 cups mayonnaise
- ½ cup milk
- 1 ½ tablespoons brown onion, grated
- 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Black pepper to taste
- 1 pound elbow macaroni pasta or similar small pasta
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup green peas, fresh or frozen
- 2-3 tablespoon green onions for garnish
- 2 celery stalks, sliced
- 1 cup carrots, medium grated
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package directions adding a couple extra minutes until pasta is very soft and plump. This way it will absorb the sauce better. Rinse and let cool in colander for 10 minutes. Add the pasta to a large mixing bowl, drizzle with vinegar and let sit for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile prepare the sauce. In a medium bowl whisk together milk, cream, mayonnaise, onion, sugar, salt and black pepper.
- Add the sauce to the pasta.
- Add in the remaining ingredients: green onions, peas, celery, and carrots to the pot and stir to combine, and season with salt and pepper if needed.
- Let the pasta salad to cool completely at room temperature. After that cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours before serving.
- Decorate with green onions and more black pepepr on top.
Notes
- For a mayonnaise alternative, you could use yogurt or sour cream but the consistency may turn out too thin in the end.
- It’s essential to allow this macaroni salad to chill in the refrigerator so that all of the flavors infuse and blend well. 2 hours should be adequate to chill the Hawaiian mac before serving.
- It’s always advised to be generous when adding salt to pasta water before adding dried, uncooked pasta. It's the secret ingredient that makes a huge difference in the taste of this classic macaroni salad.
- If you don’t feel like making another batch of creamy dressing for leftover macaroni salad and the salad needs additional coating, simply mix in a little extra mayonnaise or even Greek yogurt.
- Is it better to make macaroni salad the night before? Macaroni salad always tastes better the day it is made since the extra time chilling the combined ingredients in the fridge allows all the flavors to infuse together.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!