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Amish Macaroni Salad is a potluck classic! This pasta salad combines cooked macaroni, hard boiled eggs, crispy veggies and a creamy dressing for a side dish your friends will ask for again and again.
This might sound a little strange, but one of my very favorite foods is macaroni salad.
Although it’s not necessarily something I make very often in the fall and winter, it’s a staple around here in the spring and summer.
If you’re having a barbecue and I’m invited, odds are I’m bringing the macaroni salad and chocolate chip cookies or a lemon cheesecake, that’s just the way things roll. And let’s be real, who is going to complain about any of those?
Years ago I fell in love with a sweet macaroni salad that I had in Amish Country and I scoured the web and tweaked a recipe until we thought it was perfect and I’m finally sharing it with you!
MY MACARONI SALAD DRESSING RECIPE
I’m going to just go ahead and get this out in the open:
My recipe for macaroni salad dressing uses Miracle Whip instead of mayonnaise.
Depending on where you grew up, you are probably either nodding at your screen right now or your jaw just dropped in shock.
Look, I definitely have recipes that use mayonnaise. My Amish Ham and Pea Salad and my French Onion Chip Dip both come to mind.
But I also grew up in the Midwest and around here, we aren’t afraid to grab a jar of Miracle Whip for certain recipes.
If you are unfamiliar, Miracle Whip uses a bit less oil than mayo and includes some sugar and spices that mayo does not. Because of this, Miracle Whip has a bit of a sweeter flavor than mayonnaise.
If you really don’t want to use Miracle Whip in this recipe, you can go ahead and use mayo instead. Just know that if you’ve ever eaten my Amish Macaroni Salad at a potluck or barbecue before, it won’t taste quite the same!
HOW TO MAKE MACARONI SALAD
Amish Macaroni Salad is a great side dish to take to a potluck or barbecue because you really do need to make it ahead of time for the best flavor. It just tastes better as it sits!
As you might guess, Amish Macaroni Salad starts with cooked and cooled elbow macaroni. While the pasta cools, go ahead and stir together your dressing.
A little Miracle Whip, dill pickle relish, mustard, vinegar and sugar make a creamy and tangy-sweet dressing that appeals to almost everyone’s tastes. I think the combo of flavors in the dressing are why everyone always goes crazy for this salad.
In addition to the pasta and the dressing, my macaroni salad recipe uses hard boiled eggs, chopped sweet onion, celery, and red bell pepper. It’s crunchy, cool, and creamy all at once.
Of course, you can get a little creative on your mix-ins if you like. You could leave out the eggs if you want or add green bell pepper instead of red. It’s really all about what you like!
I just happen to think the ingredients in my version of Amish Macaroni Salad are pretty traditional.
If you’re headed to a Labor Day cookout this year, bring along a batch of Amish Macaroni Salad. I know it’ll be a hit!
Amish Macaroni Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups uncooked elbow macaroni
- 2 cups Miracle Whip
- 2 tablespoons dill pickle relish
- 3 tablespoons yellow mustard
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¾ teaspoon celery seed
- 3 hard boiled eggs chopped
- ¼ cup diced sweet onion
- 3 stalks celery diced
- 1 large red bell pepper seeded and diced
Instructions
- Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add macaroni, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until tender. Drain, and set aside to cool.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the Miracle Whip, relish, mustard, sugar, vinegar, salt, pepper, and celery seed.
- In a large bowl mix together the cooked and cooled macaroni with the dressing. Gently fold in eggs, onion, celery and bell pepper.
- Cover and cool for at least 3 hours before serving.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Amish Macaroni salad sounds delious
Thanks so much for stopping by, Marilyn! I appreciate you taking the time to comment. Happy Baking!
-Jamie
I will make this potato salad in the next few days. It looks great.!
Thanks so much for stopping by, Donna! I appreciate you taking the time to comment. Happy Baking!
-Jamie
I love ❤️ this Amish Macaroni Salad! It’s the best!!
Thanks so much for stopping by, Judy! I appreciate you taking the time to comment. Happy Baking!
-Jamie
Can’t wait until I get a chance to try your recipes. I’ve always made my potato and macaroni salad with Best foods Mayonnaise because I like the taste of better. I’ll try the Amish recipe with Miracle Whip to see the difference. My family loves fruit salads, yours look yummy.
Thanks so much for stopping by, Kathy! I appreciate you taking the time to comment. Happy Baking!
-Jamie
Can’t wait to try this recipe.
I hope you love it as much as I do! Thanks for stopping by!
-Jamie
This sounds just like the macaroni salad my Mom used to make for family picnics in the park when I was a child growing up!! I can’t wait to taste it, I have a pot of water cooking as I text!! Thank you kindly for sharing!!
Thanks so much for stopping by, Terry! I appreciate you taking the time to comment. Happy Baking!
-Jamie
I think the only differences in your recipe and my moms is she used sweet pickles and mayo . I like it made your way and my moms. Both great !!
Oh saw your pumpkin roll recipe, gonna try that too
So happy to hear you enjoyed it Terrie! I appreciate you stopping by and taking the time to leave your feedback. Happy Baking!
-Jamie
Perfect timing! Going to make this for next weekend Labor day celebration. I do have a question though. Have you ever added shrimp or even tuna to this recipe? Or would I need a different recipe? Thank you!
I have added tuna, but never shrimp. It’s delicious! :)
@Jamie, My mother in law added sweet relish pineapple chunks and chopped chicken sometimez
That sounds absolutely delicious! :)
This is a similar recipe to my grandmother’s macaroni salad, which I love (and reminds me of summers at the beach). She added cooked shrimp to hers, and it’s divine!
What a great memory, Audra! Thanks so much for stopping by.
-Jamie
Bless you for mentioning the shrimp! That sounds so good! We’re deep into Covid And I’m frankly sure McKay to death of my usual dinners. My husband will love it! You’re the winner in my book!
@Audra, I was thinking crab leg bites would be awesome too
My mother always used Miracle Whip in her potato salad and coleslaw and I did for years, then at some point I used mayonnaise, Best Foods of course, and there’s no longer Miracle Whip in my fridge. I’m in California, a long way from Amish country! Thanks for the recipe.
Thanks so much for stopping by, Carol! I appreciate you taking the time to comment. Happy Baking!
-Jamie