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If I’m invited to a cookout, a BBQ, or a potluck, odds are that I am bringing the macaroni salad because my macaroni salad is hands-down the best you’ve ever tasted.
Why This Macaroni Salad Is So Good
- Having lived in Amish country in PA for over 20 years, I’ve tasted and made my share of macaroni salads so I know what’s good. I’ve perfected this recipe over the years to get it just right with the perfect combination of sweet and tangy.
- Everyone who tries this recipe loves it.
- It’s creamy, sweet, and tangy from Miracle Whip dressing and extra crunchy from the vegetables. One bite and you’ll be hooked!
Ingredients
- Cooked Elbow Macaroni
- Hard-Boiled Eggs
- Red, Yellow, and Green Bell Peppers
- Miracle Whip Salad Dressing – this is the most important ingredient in the macaroni salad dressing and I do not recommend using any other type of salad dressing base or regular mayonnaise
- Sugar – I have cut back on the sugar over the years because the Miracle Whip is sweet enough
- White Vinegar
- Yellow Mustard
- Ground Black Pepper
Let’s Make Sweet Tangy Amish Macaroni Salad
- Cook the macaroni according to the box directions.
- Rinse the cooked noodles under cold water and pat them dry with a paper towel.
- Place the noodles into a large bowl, cover them with plastic wrap, and refrigerate them for 1-2 hours.
- Chop the bell peppers, and hard-boiled eggs and set them aside.
- In a separate dish, mix the Miracle Whip, sugar, vinegar, mustard, and black pepper. Set aside about 4-5 tablespoons of the dressing mixture to use later.
- Remove the noodles from the refrigerator and gently fold in the bell peppers and hard-boiled eggs.
- Add the dressing, saving the reserve 4-5 tablespoons for later.
- Place both the macaroni salad and the reserved dressing in the refrigerator covered with plastic wrap.
- When ready to serve the macaroni salad, stir in the 4-5 tablespoons of reserve dressing.
Reader Questions
1) If you’re an onion lover, you can add those onions. Both white onions and red onions will add an extra crunch.
2) Cheddar cheese cubes are a great addition to macaroni salad. If you do add cheese, I recommend a medium cheddar.
3) My Mom used to add peas to macaroni salad which is a traditional ingredient for a lot of American-style macaroni salads. Just thaw a bag of frozen peas and add them to the salad with the other ingredients. Peas will definitely give it a fresh spring flavor.
4) BACON! Need I say more? Small diced ham also goes very well with this macaroni salad.
5) Want even more crunch? Add
5) You can never go wrong with fresh herbs. I’d recommend fresh chopped parsley or fresh chopped dill for this recipe.
If I am making a hot pasta dish I NEVER rinse the pasta. The reason is that I want the starchiness of the pasta to meld with the entire dish.
But for cold pasta and pasta salads, I always rinse my pasta. I want the dressing to sit on top of the salad and not to be absorbed so I recommend rising the pasta before you dress it.
I rinse the pasta and then I make sure it is fully cooled before I add anything.
If I’m not in a hurry I let the cooked pasta sit on the counter, uncovered, until it is room temperature and then I place it in the refrigerator until it is fully cooled.
Once it’s cooled, I add the dressing. If I am in a hurry, I put it right into the refrigerator, I take it out every 15 minutes and stir it so the cooler noodles fold into the warmer ones. I do this for an hour and then dress it.
Amish Macaroni Salad Goes Great With Almost Anything
You can serve almost anything with this macaroni salad. I think it’s the perfect summertime cookout or picnic food. Here are some of my favorites:
- Any type of sandwich
- Grilled hot dogs and hamburgers
- Italian sausage sandwiches
- BBQ pork
- Sloppy Joe’s
- Italian sub sandwich
- Nothing at all; it’s good just by itself
I can definitely say this macaroni salad is a guilty pleasure for me and I have even been known to eat a big bowl of it from breakfast.
Krazy Kitchen Mom Tips
- If you decided to add raw onions to this recipe, soak the slices in water for 15 minutes before you use them which removes some of the bitter taste. This works especially well for red onions.
- I find that any pasta salad tends to soak up some of the dressing when it’s refrigerated, so make sure you reserve 4-5 tablespoons of the prepared dressing to add back to the macaroni salad right before you serve it. This will make it fresh and creamy.
- If you have an Instant Pot or pressure cooker, try my easy perfect hard-boiled eggs. They turn out perfect every time!
Sweet Tangy Amish Macaroni Salad
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb elbow macaroni I buy the 1lb. box and use half of it
- 3 hard boiled eggs – diced small
- 1 small red bell pepper – diced small
- 1 small yellow bell pepper – diced small
- 1 small green bell pepper – diced small
- 1 cup Miracle Whip salad dressing
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Cook the macaroni according to the box directions.
- Rinse the cooked noodles under cold water and pat them dry with a paper towel.
- Place the noodles into a large bowl, cover them with plastic wrap, and refrigerate them for 1-2 hours.
- Chop the bell peppers, and hard-boiled eggs and set them aside.
- In a separate dish, mix the Miracle Whip, sugar, vinegar, mustard, and black pepper. Set aside about 4-5 tablespoons of the dressing mixture to use later.
- Remove the noodles from the refrigerator and gently fold in the bell peppers and hard-boiled eggs.
- Add the dressing, saving the reserve 4-5 tablespoons for later.
- Place both the macaroni salad and the reserved dressing in the refrigerator covered with plastic wrap.
- When ready to serve the macaroni salad, stir in the 4-5 tablespoons of reserve dressing.
Notes
- If you decided to add raw onions to this recipe, soak the slices in water for 15 minutes before you use them which removes some of the bitter taste. This works especially well for red onions.
- I find that any pasta salad tends to soak up some of the dressing when it’s refrigerated, so make sure you reserve 4-5 tablespoons of the prepared dressing to add back to the macaroni salad right before you serve it. This will make it fresh and creamy.
- If you have an Instant Pot or pressure cooker, try my easy perfect hard-boiled eggs. They turn out perfect every time!
Thanks! This is perfect for my Memorial get together this weekend!
It really is Amy. True confessions – I could eat this for breakfast I love it so much 🙂
My husband loves macaroni salad, and this recipe looks like a classic. This will be on our table soon and I’m sure it won’t last long!
I love a good macaroni salad. We don’t put eggs in ours (we put them in potato salad). Curious to try this.
I learned how to make this when I lived in PA. Now I can’t eat it any other way.
Wow – this sounds like a fantastic macaroni salad – love the mustard and can’t wait to make it for a picnic this summer!
I like it because it’s sweet and tangy.
I really like Macaroni salad and I enjoy reading your post. I should definitely try this recipe pretty soon.
Let me know if you do.
This is such a delicious macaroni salad and the tip to keep a bit the dressing to add right before serving, awesome idea.
I can’t wait to try this macaroni salad for our next cookout. Such a great combo of flavors!
Is it suppose to be 1tbl of pepper?
It’s actually 1 teaspoon – I’ve updated the recipe. Thanks! Hope you enjoy it as much as we do.