This Hawaiian Macaroni Salad Recipe is a delicious blend of creamy, sweet and tangy flavors that makes it a great side dish for summer cookouts and picnics.
This Hawaiian Style Macaroni Salad was a long time in the making.
The husband is kind of a freak about Hawaiian Mac Salad. Evidently there was some Hawaiian restaurant near his college campus that had THE BEST Hawaiian macaroni salad EVER.
I’ve made macaroni salad for him a few times over the years, but got sick of tired of hearing about this fabled best ever mac salad.
When I made a big batch of my Hawaiian Shoyu Chicken earlier this week, I decided that it was finally time to nail down my Hawaiian style mac salad recipe.
I can’t remember when exactly this was, but I was leafing through a magazine in the waiting room of my dentist’s office and came across an interesting tip.
The recipe said to toss the hot cooked macaroni with vinegar before letting it cool. I’d never heard of this trick before, but it made total sense to me so I decided to give it a shot.
Well, I’m here to report back that this MUST be the secret trick used by the college campus Hawaiian restaurant because the husband ate his weight in mac salad over the past few days.
It made me a believer, too; I’ll never making mac salad any other way!
How to Make Hawaiian Macaroni Salad
Assemble the ingredients for this recipe. For the exact amounts, see the recipe card at the end of this post.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a roiling boil. Add macaroni and cook until very soft, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain, return the pasta to the pot and immediately toss with vinegar. Let cool ten minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk together 1 cup of the mayonnaise, 1 1/2 cups of the whole milk, the brown sugar, salt, and pepper.
Once the macaroni has cooled for 10 minutes, toss with the mixed sauce and let cool to room temperature.
Once cool, fold in the scallion, carrot, and celery. Whisk together the remaining 1 cup mayonnaise and 1/2 cup whole milk and pour over macaroni salad. Toss well to coat. Taste and add more salt or pepper as needed.
Chill in the refrigerator until cold.
I absolutely love bringing a huge bowl of this Hawaiian pasta salad to summertime barbecues. If you’re looking for some other fun side-dish options, try my 10 Minute Veggie Ribbon Salad, my Mediterranean Orzo Pasta Salad, or my Warm Israeli Couscous Salad with Roasted Vegetables.
Okay, I know you just can’t wait any longer to start making a HUGE batch of this stuff, so…
Here’s the Hawaiian Macaroni Salad Recipe!
Hawaiian Macaroni Salad
This Hawaiian Macaroni Salad Recipe is a delicious blend of creamy, sweet and tangy flavors that makes it a great side dish for summer cookouts and picnics.
Ingredients
- 1 pound elbow macaroni
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups mayonnaise, divided
- 2 cups whole milk, divided
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- 1 bunch scallions, sliced thin (about 5-7 scallions)
- 1 1/2 cups shredded carrot
- 1 1/2 cups minced celery
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a roiling boil. Add macaroni and cook until very soft, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain, return the pasta to the pot and immediately toss with vinegar. Let cool ten minutes.
- In a large bowl, whisk together 1 cup of the mayonnaise, 1 1/2 cups of the whole milk, the brown sugar, salt, and pepper.
- Once the macaroni has cooled for 10 minutes, toss with the mixed sauce and let cool to room temperature.
- Once cool, fold in the scallion, carrot, and celery. Whisk together the remaining 1 cup mayonnaise and 1/2 cup whole milk and pour over macaroni salad. Toss well to coat. Taste and add more salt or pepper as needed.
- Chill in the refrigerator until cold.
Nutrition
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 525|Total Fat: 44g|Saturated Fat: 8g|Trans Fat: 0g|Unsaturated Fat: 35g|Cholesterol: 29mg|Sodium: 814mg|Carbohydrates: 26g|Fiber: 2g|Sugar: 7g|Protein: 6g|
Nutrition information has been auto-calculated for your convenience.
June 13, 2014 | Last Updated on August 17, 2021 by Linda
Should i make this day of or is it better next day?
Hi Christine,
I think the flavors are better the next day. If it gets a little dry, mix in a little more milk and mayo to get the right consistency back before serving.
– Linda
My husband LOVES Mac Salad! My additions:
White pepper instead of black
A scant tsp of MSG*
A hefty tsp of garlic powder**
If you aren’t a vinegar freak, this recipe might be too much… personally I absolutely am. And adding the bare, hot noodles to the vinegar is crucial! And full fat mayo. If I am up for burning money, Kewpie mayo is the BOMB in this, but the strong ACV does make the difference somewhat subtle. (Oddly, I didn’t love homemade mayo in this- it just was not the “right” flavor profile.)
*Don’t fear a small bit of MSG! Promise, it is safe and delicious in small quantities.
**probably not “authentic” but very yummy! Don’t overdo it tho. I add it and the MSG to the vinegar.
Hi Kitty,
Thanks for loving this recipe and sharing your additions.
– Linda
The ACV taste was wayyyyyyy too strong! Had to throw out the whole pot because my family didn’t like the taste. Maybe next time I’ll try 1/4C of ACV and up the amount of sugar and salt as they said it was bland despite the strong taste of ACV.
I found your recipe a couple years ago. It is the only one I use. I make it about once a month for my husband. He is pretty picky about Hawaiian Mac but he loves this one. Thank you for an awesome recipe!!!
Im from Hawaii and this recipe is by far the BEST. Thank you for sharing!
I have to admit, I’m pretty wary of “Hawaiian Style” mac salad recipe that has vinegar in it. I was born and raised in Hawai’i and NEVER in my entire 55 years did my mom, aunties, uncles, cousins, not ONE of my ‘ohana ever added vinegar. But, I’m going to try this tonight, and I’ll get back to you.
I was just looking up your recipe again for your Fantastic Mac Salad! Every time my children come for a barbecue they request Huli Huli chicken and your Macaroni salad. They used to request my potato salad, not anymore. This weekend I’m adding your Israeli Salad. That looks simple and amazing. Thanks for the recipes 🙂
OOPS, Jerusalem Salad not Israeli Salad.
I’ve been meaning to thank you for this recipe. I’m from Southern California and grew up eating Hawaiian food. My cousins run a busy Hawaiian restaurant and ever since moving to Canada, I miss it dearly! I’ve been coming to this site for a year now, looking it up everytime I make it. My husband and son also go nuts whenever I make this, and have to kick them out of the kitchen because they love to “sample”!!!! So thank you! It’s amaaaaazing! It’s up there with one of the best Hawaiian mac salad I’ve ever had!!! I’m off to make a huge batch now, it’s become a holiday side dish!
You make fantastic cocktails too! Happy Thanksgiving!
Wow, what a great comment!! Thanks for making my day, Janna 🙂
Very flavorful macaroni salad. I like the use of milk to thin out the mayonnaise. I was thinking that the addition of tuna could take this to a different level. Thanks for sharing.
Ooh, that’s a great idea! Definitely let me know how it turns out. Yum!
Anetta, since you live in Portland as well, you need to try the mac salad at Ate-Oh-Ate http://www.ate-oh-ate.com/ . These are the same guys from Simpatica Dinning Hall and Laurelhurst Market. The owners are from the Big Island (BI….the Island of Hawaii) and make the best plate lunch outside of Hawaii. Their Korean fried chicken wings are the best wings in town, and their Kalbi ribs crush it. Fantastic spam musubi and fried saimin! They have Happy Hour and serve cocktails!
Wow, thanks for the tip! I’ll have to head over there this weekend. I LOVE plate lunch 🙂
I shouldn’t be giving out family secrets, but with seven generations in the islands, sharing is aloha.
A tsp of curry powder adds a level of spice. For this size of recipe 1/2 to 1 can of tuna is classic local style. The real trick is 3 or 4 hard boiled egg yokes in the mayo. It gives the mayo a better texture and prevents it from being absorbed into the pasta as much. Some families chop up the egg whites and add them in as well.
I’m going to have to try this!!