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The Best Macaroni Salad doesn’t make you choose between ham or bacon. Use both in this easy pasta salad recipe, along with a creamy, classic Midwest salad dressing. This big-batch macaroni salad is perfect for potluck and party menus.
My first macaroni salad memories are all about the one from Al’s Town and Country Market in Oxford, Wisconsin. My grandparents lived nearby, and my grandpa would often grab a small plastic container of our favorite pasta salad and stash it in the fridge for our visits. I looked forward to a big scoop of this macaroni salad every trip.
This easy macaroni salad recipe reminds me of that rendition, except it’s even better. (Hence the name, The Best Macaroni Salad!) Sorry, Al. When it comes to macaroni salad, in my opinion, more is more. The Best Macaroni Salad has everything you think you want, including a classic Midwest salad dressing, and more that you didn’t know you needed, like ham and bacon.
More is more in terms of the portion size, too. Since it serves 20(!), this pasta salad recipe is perfect for parties, potlucks, tailgates, and beyond.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Elbow macaroni: Or substitute rotini, farfalle, penne, or any other small cut pasta.
- Cheese: Since we’re not melting it, feel free to pick up a package of pre-shredded cheese. If you prefer, you can also dice up cubes of cheddar to mix into this pasta salad.
- Ham: Leftover ham works great; just dice it up into bite-sized pieces. Or buy an 8-ounce package of diced ham at the store.
- Bacon: To quickly and cleanly crisp up 6 strips, I swear by oven-frying it.
- Broccoli: If you’d like to blanch the broccoli (optional), bring 2 quarts water and 1 tablespoon salt to boil. Add broccoli and cook until just tender and bright green, about 3 to 4 minutes. Drain and immediately plunge into an ice bath to stop the cooking.
Step by step instructions
- To make the dressing, in a small bowl whisk together mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste (I like ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper).
- In a large pot, bring 4 quarts of water and 1 tablespoon salt to a boil. Add pasta and cook until tender, about 10 to 12 minutes. Drain well, rinse with cold water, and drain again.
- In a large bowl, add pasta, cheese, ham, bacon, eggs, celery, broccoli, pepper, and scallions.
- Drizzle with dressing to taste and stir to combine.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: The Best Macaroni Salad recipe makes a party-sized batch; about 20 servings, depending on what else you’re serving this alongside.
- Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container or a bowl covered with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: The dressing can be made up the day before and stored covered in the refrigerator. (I like to shake it up in a mason jar, then simply twist on the lid and it’s ready to chill out.) The pasta can be cooked, drained, rinsed, and cooled up to 1 day in advance. The ham, bacon, and vegetables can be prepped the day before and stored separately in the refrigerator.
Recipe FAQs
Way to embrace the “more is more” mindset! Get creative (or clean out your fridge and freezer) by adding or swapping in ingredients like diced tomatoes, frozen peas, julienned carrots, black olives, diced cucumbers, rotisserie chicken, or leftover turkey.
According to the FDA’s food safety guidelines, mayonnaise-based pasta salads should be refrigerated within 2 hours after serving at room temperature. If you’re serving macaroni salad at an outdoor party where it’s 90 degrees F or warmer, refrigerate it within 1 hour. Anything mayo-based potato salad or pasta salad out longer than that should be discarded, just to be on the safe side.
Feel free to halve the recipe, if desired, starting with 8 ounces of macaroni. Or stock up on deli containers and ask guests to help themselves to a serving to-go.
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The Best Macaroni Salad
Ingredients
For the dressing:
- 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons white vinegar
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the pasta salad:
- 1 pound elbow macaroni or other small pasta (see note 1)
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (see note 2)
- 8 ounces ham diced (see note 3)
- 4 hard-boiled eggs sliced
- 6 slices cooked bacon chopped
- 5 ribs celery sliced
- 1 cup broccoli chopped (see note 4)
- 1 red bell pepper stemmed, seeded and diced
- 4 scallions sliced
Instructions
- To make the dressing, in a small bowl whisk together mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste (I like ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper).
- In a large pot, bring 4 quarts of water and 1 tablespoon salt to a boil. Add pasta and cook until tender, about 10 to 12 minutes. Drain well, rinse with cold water, and drain again.
- In a large bowl, add pasta, cheese, ham, bacon, eggs, celery, broccoli, pepper, and scallions. Drizzle with dressing to taste and stir to combine.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Elbow macaroni: Or substitute rotini, farfalle, penne, or any other small cut pasta.
- Cheese: Since we’re not melting it, feel free to pick up a package of pre-shredded cheese. If you prefer, you can also dice up cubes of cheddar to mix into this pasta salad.
- Ham: Leftover ham works great; just dice it up into bite-sized pieces. Or buy an 8-ounce package of diced ham at the store.
- Bacon: To quickly and cleanly crisp up 6 strips, I swear by oven-frying it.
- Broccoli: If you’d like to blanch the broccoli (optional), bring 2 quarts water and 1 tablespoon salt to boil. Add broccoli and cook until just tender and bright green, about 3 to 4 minutes. Drain and immediately plunge into an ice bath to stop the cooking.
- Yield: The Best Macaroni Salad recipe makes a party-sized batch; about 20 servings, depending on what else you’re serving this alongside.
- Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container or a bowl covered with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: The dressing can be made up the day before and stored covered in the refrigerator. (I like to shake it up in a mason jar, then simply twist on the lid and it’s ready to chill out.) The pasta can be cooked, drained, rinsed, and cooled up to 1 day in advance. The ham, bacon, and vegetables can be prepped the day before and stored separately in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
Easy to make, lots of options (e.g. I used Paul Newman’s Peppercorn Ranch dressing in lieu of mayo-based described in the recipe).
Thanks, Robert! So glad you loved it! – Meggan