For a large group, this recipe can easily be tripled. My entire family begs me to bring this to our gatherings. Even for weddings, I create it. When I just have a small amount of one type or another of pasta, I occasionally combine multiple varieties together. More dressing might be necessary, depending on the kind of macaroni used. Red onion is called for in the recipe, but sweet onion works just as well.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 30 mins |
| Total Time: | 45 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 (16 ounce) package macaroni
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground mustard
- 2 tablespoons sweet pickle juice
- 2 tablespoons celery seed
- 1 cup chopped celery
- ½ cup chopped red onion
- ½ cup pimento-stuffed green olives
- ¼ cup chopped sweet pickle
- 2 carrots, grated
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
Instructions
- Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water until al dente. Drain; rinse with cold water. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, place eggs in a saucepan, and fill with enough cold water to cover eggs completely by about 1 inch. Bring water to a boil. Cover, remove from heat, and let eggs stand in hot water for 20 minutes. Immediately remove from hot water and cool in an ice water bath. When cool enough to handle, peel and chop eggs.
- In a medium bowl, mix together mayonnaise, sour cream, dry mustard, sweet pickle juice, and celery seed. Season with salt and black pepper.
- In a large bowl, combine drained pasta, celery, onion, olives, sweet pickles, carrots, green pepper, and chopped eggs. Stir in dressing, and mix well. Refrigerate before serving.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 689 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 67 g |
| Cholesterol | 146 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Protein | 16 g |
| Saturated Fat | 9 g |
| Sodium | 1120 mg |
| Sugars | 8 g |
| Fat | 40 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Big hit at last two BBQ’s I attended. Takes a while to make but is worth it. I buy pre-cooked eggs & use shredded carrots. I put the olives on the side b/c I’m not a fan. I also use a San Giorgio Tri Italiano pasta instead of elbows and guests were a fan of that.
I have made this recipe several times now and it is the most requested macaroni salad I have ever made! Everyone loves it!
Made some personal tweak’s, things I don’t eat were omitted but this is the best pasta salad I have every had.
Can’t believe I wasted so much time and ingredients making this bland dish. It was not worth the effort. Hard to believe all the positive reviews. Will definitely not make again.
Wow! The pickle juice and pimento stuffed green olives really jazzes up this recipe. This was a hit at our Memorial Day celebration!
great! easy, pickles give it a nice twang!
It’s bland. I used fresh sweet gherkins for both the juice & pickles. I don’t think the balance of elbows vs other ingredients is good. I had to add more Mayo as well. I won’t make it again.
Boiled eggs with pasta to save time. Missing ground mustard so had to use a couple teaspoons of prepared mustard. Added some fresh chopped tomato for color. Very, very good. Thank you for the recipe.
I made it and it’s perfect! I was looking for a side salad for company and this had just what I thought I might like. I’ve cooked for 50 years and could never find just what I wanted. I added pepperoni minis (1 cup) and a handful of mild shredded cheddar cheese just because I had it. Even more perfect! Or just exactly this recipe. Either one!
I’m already regretting putting the celery seeds in; in the future, I would, probably, use celery juice powder, IF you don’t think the celery is enough; and, yes, double the sauce; it’s super dry, after having been in the fridge just 8 hours prior.
Very good, made some mortifications for personal taste.
Very good but I left out the sour cream and green olives. Instead of chopping pickles, I use sweet pickle relish and a little dill relish. No need to add pickle juice because the relish is juicy. This pasta salad is really delish.
I liked this recipe. The only thing I had to take out was the olives. The wife would not eat it otherwise. Overall, a lot of good flavors in this recipe. I see a lot of other people changed the recipe to suite their tastes and preferences. Some day when I feel like eating a couple of pounds of macaroni salad by myself, I’ll make it as is, but not today.
I didn’t add the olives but otherwise made this to the recipe. I will definitely make it again but with less celery seed – maybe 1tbsp instead of 2 and more pickles.
Delicious!
This is very good. Because I was making it for two, I used 4 oz of macaroni, or 1/4 of the amount recommended by the recipe. Rather than use a 1/4 measure of the dressing, I made half the amount and I am pleased I did. 1/4 would not have been enough. I also added more olives, because I like them, but it would pay not to overdo this. This is a recipe you can easily make to your own specifications. I would perhaps use chunks of ham sometimes, or salami just to add a little more body if this was to be a main meal. Even so, just on its own, it is certainly worth making again.
Add a can of albacore tuna, and go from “yum”, to “WOW”!!
I can say its great, as its as I make it.!!!!!
I wrote my review and submitted it, it should be posted.
Great taste and visually appealing
In refridgerator cooling now. Haven’t tasted yet but just wanted to say (for those complaining about being TOO dry) I used 16oz, uncooked Macaroni with Miracle Whip (1 cup) & (1/2 cup) Sour Cream, It’s plenty moist & creamy for my tastes as I don’t like “soupy” Mac. salads. Left out olives & will update when I eat some.