Deli Style Macaroni Salad

Hand holding a small bowl of deli Mac salad in a small wooden bowl

Craving a creamy, tangy side dish that pairs perfectly at your next BBQ or picnic? This Deli Style Macaroni Salad recipe is just the thing—easy to make, full of flavor, and always a crowd-pleaser!

Course Lunch, Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine American, Barbecue

Prep Time 25

Total Time 25

Servings

Calories 421kcal

Author Teri

Cost $15

Ingredients

1 pound elbow macaroni with ridges (Barilla brand makes this)
2 tablespoons dried parsley
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon white pepper
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon dill pickle juice

Creamy Mayo Dressing

1½ cups mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon white vinegar
2 tablespoons sweet relish
1 tablespoon dill pickle juice
1 teaspoon salt

Veggie Add Ins

½ cup red onion diced
½ cup celery diced
½ cup carrots shredded

Instructions

Cook macaroni noodles in a large pot of salted water according to the package directions. Drain when pasta is al dente. Immediately rinse with cold water to stop the cooking of the pasta. Make sure the pasta is cold or room temperature.
To a large mixing bowl, add the cooked and cooled pasta, all seasonings (dried parsley through the white pepper). Add the Dijon mustard and dill pickles juice. Stir until pasta is well coated. Cover bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Don’t skip this step, as it helps the flavor to soak into the pasta.
Mix the creamy mayo dressing. To a mixing bowl, add the mayo, sugar, white vinegar, sweet relish, dill pickle juice and salt. Mix until well blended.
To chilled pasta, add the red onion, celery and carrots. Add the mayo dressing and mix until pasta is fully coated with the dressing. Chill until ready to serve.

Notes

Tips:

If you chill the noodles while it’s marinating before adding the mayo, you’ll prevent the creamy mayo sauce from soaking into the noodles. This is helpful if to do this a day in advance, then complete the salad the next day.

Pre-chopped and shredded veggies can be found in your produce section if you rate looking to save some time.

To keep this macaroni salad cool while serving, place a larger bowl filled with ice underneath the serving bowl. Any mayo-based pasta salad should be kept as cold as possible.

To ensure the most creamy deli-style macaroni salad when making this in advance, make the marinated pasta, mayo sauce and chopped veggies all in advance and store separately. Mix all together right at the time of serving.

Storage:

Store leftover macaroni salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-5 days.

Freezing:

Freezing the completed macaroni salad is not a good idea. The mayo based creamy dressing will separate when thawing and will not have the same creamy texture. If you really want to freeze this, you can make the recipe all the way up until you make the mayo dressing. Freeze the seasoned pasta and chopped veggies, then make the mayo dressing and add it to the thawed pasta and veggies.

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