Pioneer Woman's Macaroni Salad

Pioneer Woman’s Macaroni Salad with egg, sweet pickles, and creamy dressing is a delicious side dish that is perfect for summer barbecues and potlucks. This delicious macaroni salad recipe is quick and easy to make with just a few simple ingredients.

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Pioneer Woman Macaroni Salad — Pioneer Woman’s Macaroni Salad

Why You’ll Love This Salad:

Quick: Pioneer Woman’s Macaroni Salad can be on your table in 30 minutes or less.
Easy: You can make Pioneer Woman’s Macaroni Salad if you know how to stir and chop. It really is that easy to make.
Make Ahead: Prepare Pioneer Woman’s Macaroni Salad in advance for stress-free entertaining, lunch, or dinner without the last-minute rush.
This salad is a meal the whole family can enjoy!

How to Cook Pasta For Pioneer Woman’s Macaroni Salad

For your salad, you should flavor the pasta right from the beginning. Cook the pasta in salted water to achieve this. It is important not to overcook or undercook the pasta. It should be al dente, which means it should be soft but still have some bite to it.

Ingredients That You’ll Need:

Pasta: Ditalini pasta works well in Pioneer Woman’s Macaroni Salad. Any type of short pasta, such as elbow macaroni, will do.
Red Bell Pepper: Red bell pepper adds color, flavor, and crunch to the macaroni salad. However, you can use any color of bell pepper.
Celery: You will love the crunch that celery brings to Pioneer Woman’s Macaroni Salad. The celery should be chopped finely so that you get some in every bite.
Red Onion: Adding a few red onions contrasts nicely with the sweetness of the pickles and dressing. Chop up the onion really fine because big chunks of onion can be unappealing in macaroni salad.
Sweet Pickles: Sweet pickles are a classic macaroni salad ingredient and complement this dish perfectly. If you don’t like pickles, you can leave them out.
Hard-Boiled Eggs: Like potato salad, I always put eggs in my macaroni salad.
Dressing: I make my macaroni salad dressing with mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, sugar, salt, and pepper. There is just enough mayo in the salad to coat the pasta without making it too creamy. Make 1 1/2 times the dressing recipe if you prefer a really creamy macaroni salad.

How to Keep Macaroni Salad From Drying Out

If you don’t cook the pasta enough, it won’t hold onto the dressing and will dry out. You will end up with soggy, unappealing pasta if you overcook it. Your Pioneer Woman Macaroni Salad will stay perfectly creamy if the pasta is cooked just right.

How to Make Pioneer Woman’s Macaroni Salad

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook it according to the package instructions for al dente.
Transfer the pasta to a colander, rinse it with cold water, and drain it thoroughly.
Set the pasta aside to cool as you prepare the remaining salad ingredients. Stir the pasta periodically to prevent it from sticking together.
Combine the red bell pepper, celery, onion, pickles, and hard-boiled eggs in a large bowl.
Combine the mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, sugar, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth.
Once the pasta is completely cooled, combine it with the rest of the ingredients in the salad bowl. Add the dressing and stir until everything is well combined.
Cover and chill macaroni salad in the refrigerator for at least two hours before serving.
You can store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days if you keep it in an airtight container.

What to Serve With Pioneer Woman’s Macaroni Salad

Pioneer Woman’s Macaroni Salad goes with just about everything, but we love it with all our favorite summer dishes:

Chicken Souvlaki
Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes
BBQ Beef Brisket Sandwiches
Beef And Snow Peas
Philly Cheesecake Sandwiches
Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs
French Dip Sandwiches
French Bread Pizza
Italian Beef Sandwiches
Zucchini Cakes
BBQ Chicken Sandwiches
Chicken Enchilada Soup
Roasted Lemon Garlic Butter Shrimp

How Long Does Pioneer Woman’s Macaroni Salad Last?

In The Fridge: When you store Pioneer Woman’s Macaroni Salad in an airtight container in your refrigerator, it will last for 3 days. It tastes best the second day, so I recommend making it ahead of when you plan to serve it.
In-Room Temperature: You should not leave macaroni salad out at room temperature for more than two hours for food safety reasons. On a hot day, I wouldn’t even leave it out that long if you are serving it outside. This applies to all salads with mayo-based dressings.

Can I Freeze Pioneer Woman’s Macaroni Salad?

I don’t recommend that you freeze the pasta salad because of the mayonnaise as when you thaw the salad, the mayonnaise will separate and lose its creaminess.

Recipe Tips

Allow the pasta to cool completely before combining it with the other salad ingredients and dressing. You can keep the pasta from sticking together by rinsing it under cold water and stirring it occasionally as the pasta cools.
Add a little sweet pickle juice to the salad dressing for some complexity. I recommend replacing half of the apple cider vinegar with sweet pickle juice.
I prefer avocado mayo over regular mayonnaise because it is healthier.
You can use chopped green onion instead of red onion in this recipe.
You can garnish your homemade macaroni salad with chopped fresh parsley or paprika.

FAQ Section

How Do I Keep Macaroni From Absorbing Mayonnaise?

Drain the macaroni well and let it cool completely before mixing in the dressing. This will prevent the macaroni from absorbing all of the dressing. As the pasta cools, stir it occasionally to prevent it from clumping together.

You can spread the pasta in a 9×13-inch baking dish to speed up the cooling process. When it’s spread out thinly, it will cool faster. You can also chill cooked pasta in your refrigerator to help it cool completely. Make sure the pasta is mostly cool before putting it in your refrigerator to avoid heating it up.

Should You Rinse Macaroni After Cooking?

Yes, the noodles need to be rinsed to remove any starch that may prevent them from soaking up the delicious dressing.

Can Macaroni Salad Be Made in Advance?

This is a great dish to prepare the night before serving. When you cook the macaroni ahead of time, it will have time to absorb all of the flavors in the dressing.