Sometimes macaroni salad can get a little monotonous. I simply started adding extra ingredients one day, and the result was this. The entire family enjoys it! The flavors in this ranch macaroni salad recipe are perfectly balanced, making it even delicious the next day. Enjoy!
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 20 mins |
| Additional Time: | 4 hrs |
| Total Time: | 4 hrs 40 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
Ingredients
- 6 slices bacon
- 1 pound elbow macaroni
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ½ small red onion, diced very small
- ½ small green bell pepper, diced very small
- 1 (1 ounce) package ranch salad dressing mix
- 1 (8 ounce) package Cheddar cheese, cut into small cubes
Instructions
- Cook bacon in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat until crisp, about 10 minutes; drain on a plate lined with paper towels until cool. Crumble bacon and set aside.
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook elbow macaroni in boiling water, stirring occasionally, until cooked through but firm to the bite, 8 minutes; drain.
- Rinse macaroni with cold water until cool; drain.
- Mix cooled macaroni, crumbled bacon, mayonnaise, red onion, green bell pepper, ranch salad dressing mix, and Cheddar cheese together in a large bowl.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 583 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 48 g |
| Cholesterol | 47 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Protein | 18 g |
| Saturated Fat | 10 g |
| Sodium | 736 mg |
| Sugars | 2 g |
| Fat | 35 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Following the recipe it came out very dry. I doubled the dressing/mayo and it helped but still drier than what we prefer. If I make this again I would triple the dressing, leave out the bacon and add more veggies such as celery and cucumber. I would also add hard boiled eggs.
I was finishing up a box of macaroni so I used 9 oz., adjusting all other ingredients to the half recipe amounts. Even so, it took the full recipe amount of dressing . A good alternative to my standard macaroni salad.
The resident Korean woman shoveled it down eagerly and my discerning Chinese friend enjoyed it immensely. I did add some kick to this recipe with spicy ranch seasoning, some minced jalapenos & dusting of a paprika/cayenne. I also believe the handful of peas added a wee bit of color to the dish. Solid side dish –
This is probably the simplest macaroni salad I’ve ever made- for those who hate frying bacon, you can always use microwaveable bacon cooked extra-crisp or substitute real bacon pieces available in the salad sections of stores. It was very creamy and tasted so wonderful! Make sure to do as the recipe instructed and cut your veggies into very small pieces, as well as using cubed, not shredded, cheese. On my second go-round, I added a little celery, some red bell pepper in addition the the green pepper and some diced fresh tomatoes. These were to my own taste and to make it more colorful, but not needed unless you want to. Thanks for such a great recipe!
Made half of the recipe since it was only for two. Omitted the onion since hubby doesn’t care for raw onion, used 1/2 of a finely chopped orange bell pepper instead, added about a 1/4 cup of frozen peas after they were thawed and used shredded cheddar instead of cubed. Oh, and I used 1/2 cup chopped bacon that I buy from Costco. Pretty darn good.
better than expected
I made this a couple hours ago for our bbq dinner tonight, and I just snuck a taste! I had to force myself to put the lid back on before I ate it all! Changes I made based on what I had on hand; 8 slices of bacon, rotini pasta, broccoli (tossed into the pasta during the last few minutes of boiling), and green onion. I probably put in more cheddar than called for and I doubled the ranch dressing because the rotini really sucks it up. I substituted 1 cup of mayo for 1 cup of sour cream. I didn’t use the full 2 cups, so i reserved the rest to add as need be. Lastly, i have a bag of those colorful baby bell peppers, so i sliced 4 or 5 into rings, and they look so pretty! It’s going to be so good with our pork chops and corn on the cob! Thank you! Edit: I did in fact need the extra dressing, as the rotini completely sucked it up. And it was a huge hit!
Made this 2 weeks ago to see if my would like it. He loved it. sent some home with my daughter and she loved it. I did send the recipe to her also. Made again today for our trip. This is our new go-to recipe for macaroni salad. Thank you for sharing. 🙂
I am logging my modifications for this recipe more as notes to myself so I can recreate my experiment again. We tend to eat things with a little more fire and extra spice, so I made changes that fit our tastes. I used 16 oz. large shell pasta. I used 1 pkg of Hidden Valley Spicy Ranch dressing mix to add a kick. I used Olive Oil mayo, and added an extra large dollop, maybe a 1/3 cup to the 1 cup. I did use the green bell peppers and red onions. I also added sliced black olives. I used packaged bacon pieces for ease and speed. I used 8 oz of sharp cheddar cut into chunks. I added about 2 Tablespoons of Mezzetta Sweet Bell Pepper Relish to the dressing before folding it into the salad.
This recipe is just what I was looking for. I did make a few alterations because of what I had on hand. For the crunch I used celery instead of the bell pepper. I only had shredded sharp cheddar, so I used that. I had frozen green peas so I threw in a couple handfuls of those. Also, cut the mayo with about 1/4 cup sour cream and added a bit of salt and black pepper. Delicious!!! Tonight’s dinner is leftover macaroni salad with leftover ham bits. We’re looking forward to this meal. Thanks for a great recipe.
I made it with Quinoa macaroni for a Gluten free pasta salad. This come out very good!
I enjoyed this quick simple macaroni salad. I exchanged green pepper for peas as I don’t like green pepper and added a little sour cream to thin the mix out a little. It is a very good quick salad!
I will definitely make this again. It was soooo good. The only change I made was to substitute early green peas for the green peppers (only because I don’t eat them) and I added another cup of mayo. It seemed to be a lot of macaroni as it made a huge amount, so maybe if I cut back on the amount of macaroni then the 1 cup of mayo will be enough.
I am in LOVE with this macaroni salad! ? I made this for a big family gathering, but, I am normally not a big macaroni salad fan (because of the onions, which I dislike, and are always a main ingredient), so, because I was making it, I just added some onion powder, to accommodate the taste buds of the onion lovers; and, the bell peppers still give the perfect amount of crunchiness in each bite. When I finally ate my “taste test” bite; I was floored! With all the flavors, mixed with the bacon, bell peppers and small cubes of tillamook sharp cheddar cheese, I LOVED it, and will continue to make, even with the onion powder! It was a big hit at the family gathering, and was happy that I made enough to set some aside to save at home… 😉
Like others, I found this salad to be too dry, I made it the night before, and the next day, all the dressing had been absorbed into the pasta. (I did add about 1/2 cup sour cream that I had on hand) I did double the bacon as others suggested, and the flavor was very good. It doesn’t have enough vegetables and the texture was poor.
used bowtie and rotini, doubled recipe for 15 people. added sour cream and peas to other ingredients. the bacon makes it!
Good, simple summer side dish. I’ve substituted boiled potatoes for pasta, ham for bacon and 1/2 sour cream, 1/2 mayo dressing plus add green onions. I think a good pantry cleaner type of recipe. No fuss. Definitely let it sit for awhile before serving, let those flavors get to know each other!
I added peas and celery along with some sweet pickle relish.
I am new to cooking and found this recipe the be easy and delicious! I followed some other reviewers’ advice and added some extras, including green onions, sour cream, salt, pepper, and double the amount of bacon. Very simple recipe and easy to add things you like!
Love this skipped the onions but will be adding it today. So simple and amazing.
This was great and really easy to make. I added some garlic powder, pepper, and chipotle seasoning to it, gives it a nice kick without overpowering the other flavors. We had seconds and thirds of this!