Description
This classic macaroni salad is creamy, crunchy, and loaded with veggies! It’s the perfect easy side dish for potlucks, picnics, or summer BBQs.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 2 cups cooked macaroni (about 1 heaping cup of dry pasta)
- 1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
- 1/4 cup chopped red onions (optional)
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 1/3 cup shredded carrots
- 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
- 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Stir in the pasta and cook 1 minute past al dente. Drain the pasta in a colander and rinse with cool water for 30 seconds to stop the pasta from cooking.
- Add the drained and cooled pasta to a large bowl. Add the green peas, red onions (if using), celery, shredded carrots, and chopped bell pepper.
- In a medium bowl, add the sugar and red wine vinegar. Stir together to dissolve the sugar. Add the mayonnaise, mustard, salt, and black pepper. Stir to combine.
- Add the prepared dressing to the pasta salad and mix until evenly coated. Cover and store in the fridge for at least 1 hour before serving.
Notes
- I use Green Giant Frozen Sweetlet Green Peas. They are tender, young green peas and are smaller than regular green peas.
- The red onions are optional. I like to add them for their sharp taste, but you can omit them if you’re not a fan. To tame red onions, you can soak the diced onion in a bowl of ice water for 10 minutes. Drain well before adding them to the salad. This helps them taste milder.
- Leftovers? This recipe tastes best the day it has been made. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- To prevent dryness: The macaroni will continue to absorb the dressing as it chills. Add only half of the dressing initially, then add the remaining dressing (or a couple of tablespoons of extra mayo) before serving.
- How long can macaroni sit out? Since this is a chilled, mayo-based salad, it shouldn’t be left out of the fridge for more than 2 hours (or less if the weather is hot).
- Nutritional information is a rough estimate based on 5 servings.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Method: Chopped
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 147g
- Calories: 346
- Sugar: 3.3g
- Sodium: 391mg
- Fat: 25.4g
- Saturated Fat: 3.9g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5.6g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 23.7g
- Fiber: 2.8g
- Protein: 5.3g
- Cholesterol: 14mg