Simple Macaroni Salad

  4.2 – 115 reviews  • Macaroni Salad Recipes

A simple macaroni salad that’s great for gatherings, picnics, and those barbecues on summer days.

Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 10 mins
Additional Time: 2 hrs
Total Time: 2 hrs 30 mins
Servings: 8

Ingredients

  1. 1 (16 ounce) package macaroni
  2. 2 red bell peppers, chopped
  3. 1 green bell pepper, chopped
  4. ½ cup chopped green onions
  5. 1 stalk celery, chopped (Optional)
  6. 1 tablespoon olive oil
  7. 1 cup mayonnaise
  8. 1 packet dry vegetable soup mix

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water until no longer hot. Transfer noodles to a large bowl.
  2. Stir in red bell peppers, green bell peppers, green onions, celery, and olive oil. Mix in mayonnaise and soup mix. Refrigerate for a few hours before serving.

Nutrition Facts

Calories 436 kcal
Carbohydrate 46 g
Cholesterol 10 mg
Dietary Fiber 3 g
Protein 8 g
Saturated Fat 4 g
Sodium 180 mg
Sugars 4 g
Fat 25 g
Unsaturated Fat 0 g

Reviews

Meredith Armstrong
So delicious and easy and fast will be making this again. I added chopped black olives to this turn out so delicious. Thanks for a great recipe.
Tristan Bates
I love this recipe! I use 1 1/2 cups mayo and 1/2 cup sour cream. Mix those two with the soup mix and put in the fridge while you prepare the rest to soften the dried veggies in the soup mix. I substituted red onion also.
Erik Livingston
My family loves this recipe!! I make it all the time.
John Keller
I just add a ham in all that mixture.
Donna Ross
I usually don’t love macaroni salad, but I love this. I usually add pepper to my salad and sometimes extra mayonnaise or sour cream because it can occassionally be a bit dry. It’s a very popular potluck salad and I often get asked for the recipe.
Wesley Flores
I think this is a great, simple recipe and always receive compliments. I use the Knorr vegetable soup mix. It has great flavor. But because of the dried veggie bits, I recommend letting the soup and mayo sit overnight to make sure the bits are soft.
Christy Le
I have made this a couple of times now. It is always inhaled where ever I bring it. I used a light mayo with olive oil and Knorr Vegetable dip mix. It is incredible!
Kayla Hunt
this was like a pepper salad! there was simply too much pepper in this and it really fought with the mayonnaise when mixing; it kind of separated. it was also quite dry and I added an extra ¼ cup of mayo and ½ cup of sour cream which helped with the texture but the flavor was still a little odd. I’m thinking perhaps the soup mix does not go well with the mayonnaise, though the almost chewy/crunch of the dried veggies in it was good. I also added ½ tsp of black pepper and ½ tsp of garlic salt which it really needed! IF I were to make this again, I would cut back on the amount of peppers, both red and green, and try adding sugar and vinegar to the mix to add some flavor and to thin out the mixture a little.
Justin Martin
Made this salad for a recent Baby Shower and everyone said it was the best Macaroni salad they had ever had and everyone wanted the recipe. Very simple to make, as well. 🙂
Christopher Coleman
I’ve made this dish twice for big family/friend gatherings, and every time I went home with an empty bowl and several requests for the recipe. Make sure you let it sit in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours before serving.
Denise Roy
Went according to the recipe, but did not have dry vegetable soup mix, instead added 1 can of cream of celery soup. Really tastes great.
Mrs. Sandra Cannon DDS
This came out pretty good. I used whole wheat pasta, light mayonnaise, and used peas instead of green bell pepper. Make sure to use a little bit more mayonnaise because otherwise it seems a little dry.
Shane Wells
This recipe is delicious! I like the blend of flavors and it was super easy to make. I added 2/3c. sour cream as other reviewers suggested and I also added a large grated carrot and about 1 cup of peas. I tried it right after I had finished mixing everything and I was wonderfully surprised at how fantastic it was! The recipe suggests refrigerating it for a few hours before serving and I was excited to see how all the flavors would end up setting up. A few hours later I dished it up for dinner and my boyfriend and I both agreed that it had gotten a bit on the dry side and more bland while it had been chilling. I’ll definitely make this again but this time I’ll serve it up just after I finish making it. If I have to make it ahead of time then I think I might try doubling the mayo and sour cream and adding another packet of soup mix.
Kellie Russell
Very Tasty! I added some Peas and a little Mustard. I also did 1/2 Mayo and 1/2 Sour Cream and a touch of horseradish. YUMMY!
Christina Hale
this was easy and had a great taste. I did add the tomatoes to it. Everyone loved it . This will be my salad to take to parties from now on.
Thomas Escobar
Delicious. I never thought of using the veg. dip before. I added fresh veg, so I removed the dried veg from the dip & used only the seasoning portion. A huge hit. Will def. be my go to mac salad from now on.
Jennifer Chavez
This was a very tasty macaroni salad.I added cucumbers and tomato to mine and it turned out really well.
Cynthia Davis
Not too bad, definitely lighter than most macaroni salads. I’d make again. However, be forewarned, this makes a TON. It’d be a good bet for a potluck dish.
Brandon Arnold
This is the first macaroni salad I have ever made and it came out great. It was cheap and easy.
Steven Jordan
This was pretty good, but made the following changes: I used elbow macaroni, 1 green pepper (would have loved to use red, just didn’t have one), and used mayo AND sour cream (cup total). I used the Knorrs vegetable soup mix, which gave it nice flavor & color. I also added frozen peas. Next time, I will add little shrimp. Will take to a summer party!
Alejandro Mcgee
I like this recipe as it is so simple and usually have items on hand. It’s a delicious change from the usual mac salad with eggs, pickles etc. One may add green olives, peas, shredded carrots lemon juice, garlic, whatever you like to add more flavor, however is is quite tasty as is.

 

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