Hawaiian-style Mac Salad (Macaroni Salad)
This easy Hawaiian-style Mac Salad (Macaroni Salad) is the perfect side dish recipe for any plate lunch or bbq! This recipe only takes 30 minutes to prep and uses pantry ingredients to create a creamy, no-frills macaroni salad that is the perfect side dish.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Makes: 6 - 8 servings
Ingredients
- 12 oz elbow-style pasta
- 1 1/2 cups Hellman's or Best Foods mayonnaise
- 2/3 cup whole milk
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1/4 small yellow onion*
- 1 large carrot
- 1/3 cup thinly sliced green onion
- 1 1/2 teaspoons togarashi, optional
- 2 teaspoons furikake, optional
- kosher salt
- freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Grate the veggies. Using the medium or fine side of a box grater, grate the carrot and yellow onion and transfer to a mixing bowl. See below notes on reducing onion flavor, if desired.
- Make the dressing. In a mixing bowl combine the mayonnaise, milk, grated onion and carrot, green onion, vinegar, sugar, togarashi, furikake, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix until well-combined.
- Cook the pasta. Bring a pot of salted water to a rolling bowl. Add the pasta, stir well, and simmer until just barely past al-dente, but not overcooked.
- Drain and rinse the pasta. Drain the pasta in a colander and rinse with cold water until the pasta is cool.
- Mix and refrigerate. After rinsing, immediately mix the pasta with the dressing, cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours, tossing periodically to keep the pasta from drying out. Serve Hawaiian-style mac salad topped with more green onion, togarashi, and furikake, if desired.
Notes
I used Lumache (or shellbow) pasta for this recipe, and the shape was perfect! It held the dressing really well.
I love onion flavor and the grated onion definitely adds some. To reduce the onion-flavor, rinse the grated onion and wring out the liquid in a paper towel before adding it to the dressing.
If you are planning to make this recipe ahead of time: the pasta will continue to absorb the dressing as it sits. You may need to add a little extra milk and mayonnaise before serving to keep the pasta creamy.