Sweet Deli Macaroni Salad Recipe

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This sweet deli macaroni salad recipe is a creamy delicious side dish to serve at a BBQ, cookout, or potluck. Classic deli-style flavor with lots of added vegetables for a bright and fresh crunch. This simple recipe is great to make ahead for your next gathering.

Just like the deli counter, but you can enjoy this anytime when you make it at home!

If you’re looking for the perfect side dish for a cookout, this is one of the best pasta salad recipes!  It tastes exactly like the kind you’d get from the deli counter, but much more cost effective to make at home.

Macaroni salad is so yummy served with anything coming off the grill.  Its awesome with veggie burgers, hot dogs, fresh grilled corn, or any salad.  This deli-style salad is actually loaded with tons of vegetables in it, so it has a nice refreshing crunch in eat bite.  It’s similar to store-bought macaroni salad, but made at home with simple ingredients.

This Deli Style Macaroni Salad Recipe Is:

• Creamy
• Tangy
• Savory
• Loaded with Fresh Vegetables
• Versatile: you can use any vegetables you have on hand, or swap in your favorites.
• Vegetarian and gluten free, and very easy to make vegan.

What’s In This Deli-Style Macaroni Salad?

Be sure to visit the recipe card below for full ingredient amounts and recipe instructions!

• Onion, Celery, Carrots – I used a yellow onion, but you can use green onions or red onion too.
• Ridged Macaroni Noodles – I love the light springy texture of elbow macaroni pasta, they are perfect for creamy vegetable salad like this!
• Hard-boiled Eggs:  These make a nice addition and make the macaroni salad high-protein, but you can skip if you don’t like or eat eggs. 
• Classic Mayonnaise: I like to use this classic mayo for the creamy dressing.
• Red Bell Pepper – I love sliced red peppers for a little sweetness and crunch in each bite.
• Sweet Relish – to give this dish a little extra sweetness. You can also chop up sweet pickles or even dill pickles for crunch.
• Yellow Mustard  – while I normally like cooking with whole grain or Dijon mustard, sometimes a good classic yellow mustard is exactly what you need.
• Apple Cider Vinegar, which gives this dressing a little extra tang which is really fantastic! You can also use white vinegar or even a bit of lemon juice too.
• Sea salt & black pepper

Creamy Macaroni Salad – A Favorite Pasta Dish

This creamy pasta salad is the tastiest, simplest side dish recipe. It’s perfect to serve with a hearty meal for the family, and also great to make for company if you are having guests for a pot luck.

It makes a great summer cookout pasta dish as well – a simple vegetarian recipe to serve with a salad. It takes only 20 minutes to cook, so you can enjoy extra time to prep sides or a salad. Browse all our pasta recipes here!

How Do I Make This Deli Macaroni Salad Recipe?

1. Cook macaroni noodles al dente according to package directions.  Drain, rinse in a colander under cold water until noodles are room temperature.

2. In a large bowl, add the macaroni noodles, onion, carrots, celery, bell pepper, hard boiled eggs, mayo, relish, mustard, apple cider vinegar, and sugar.  Mix well to combine all ingredients.  Taste and add salt and pepper if desired.

3. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. Store leftover macaroni salad in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.

Make Ahead Macaroni Salad Option

This sweet deli macaroni salad is great to make ahead for a BBQ, party, or potluck.  Make it the day before, cover and let it rest overnight, and it’s ready to go the following day!  Like traditional pasta salad or coleslaw, this macaroni salad tastes even better the next day after making.

Dietary Modifications

• This recipe is vegetarian, and contains no meat in the macaroni salad.
• To make gluten free, make sure to use certified gluten free pasta or any bottled ingredients (like relish, mayo, etc.)
• To make this refined sugar free, just substitute a natural sweetener for the sugar in this recipe, and make sure there is no added sugar in the relish.

More Easy Side Dish Recipes You’ll Love

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