Deli Style Macaroni Salad or Cold Pasta Salad is a colorful, delicious salad recipe prepared with grated carrot, onion, and bell pepper tossed in a creamy mayonnaise-mustard dressing.
I love this classic American macaroni salad with mayo. This homemade pasta salad is better than the Deli salad available at the store. It is perfect for a meal or a side dish for BBQ, summer potlucks, and picnics.
Try choosing the pasta shape, that will hold onto the dressing. Elbow macaroni, small shells, or even spiral-shaped pasta work great. You can also add more healthy and colorful veggies like red radish, celery, and red cabbage.
Check out more Macaroni recipes from my blog Mac and Cheese (Instant Pot), Macaroni puliyogare, Vegan Macaroni and Cheese.
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Ingredients for Macaroni Salad
How to Make Classic Macaroni Salad Recipe
Cooking Macaroni Pasta
Stovetop Pot Method
- In a large pot, bring the water to a boil. Stir in the salt.
- Add the macaroni to the water, and stir a few times to prevent the pasta from sticking together.
- Cook the pasta according to the package instructions (about 10-12 minutes), occasionally stirring, until al dente or softer according to the desired texture.
- Once the pasta is cooked, drain the excess water and keep it aside.
Instant Pot Method
- Add dry macaroni, water, salt to the Instant Pot. Most of the pasta should be covered in water. If it is not, add some more water.
- Furthermore, close the lid on the pot. Pressure Cook (high pressure) for 4 minutes. Note: I am using elbow macaroni pasta in this recipe which has 10 minutes for cooking on the stovetop. So to cook on Instant Pot – Divide the cooking time by half and minus one for al dente pasta. So it's 4 minutes. For softer pasta, do 5 minutes.
- When the instant pot beeps, wait for 5 minutes and Quick Release the remaining pressure manually. Then open the lid, and drain if there is any extra water.
Mix together the mayonnaise, yellow mustard, white vinegar, red chili powder, sugar, salt, and ground pepper in a large bowl.
Stir in the carrot, onion, celery, colored bell pepper, and cooked macaroni. Mix well.
Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving, but preferably overnight. Deli Style Homemade Creamy Macaroni Salad is ready to serve.
Tips & Variations
- You can add vegetables of your choice, like jalapeños, celery, lettuce, zucchini, and cucumber.
- Add an extra 1-2 tablespoons of mayonnaise to the salad before serving if you want deli-style macaroni salad to be more creamy.
- You can also add some shredded cheese.
More Salad Recipes
- Chickpea Salad with Yogurt dressing
- Boiled Peanut Salad
- Chickpea Cucumber Salad
- Avocado Cucumber Tomato Salad
- Creamy Cucumber Salad
- Thai Salad with peanut dressing
More Pasta Recipes
Classic Macaroni Salad (Cold Pasta Salad)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 oz elbow macaroni (about 2 cups), uncooked
- ¼ cup onion finely chopped
- ½ cup celery chopped
- ¼ cup red bell pepper finely chopped
- ¼ cup yellow bell pepper finely chopped
- ¼ cup green bell pepper
- ¼ cup carrot grated
Macaroni Salad Dressing
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- ⅛ teaspoon red chili powder
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Optional Garnishes
- 2 tablespoons spring onion
Instructions
Cooking Macaroni Pasta
- Stovetop Pot MethodIn a large pot, bring the water to a boil. Stir in the salt.Add the macaroni to the water, and stir a few times to prevent the pasta from sticking together.Cook the pasta according to the package instructions (about 10-12 minutes) occasionally stirring, until al dente or softer according to the desired texture. Once the pasta is cooked, drain excess water and keep it aside.
- Instant Pot MethodAdd dry macaroni, water, salt to the Instant Pot. Most of the pasta should be covered in water. If it is not, add some more water.Furthermore, close the lid on the pot. Pressure Cook (high pressure) for 4 minutes. Note: I am using elbow macaroni pasta in this recipe which has 10 minutes for cooking on the stovetop. So to cook on Instant Pot – Divide the cooking time by half and minus one for al dente pasta. So it's 4 minutes. For softer pasta do 5 minutes.When the instant pot beeps, wait for 5 minutes and Quick Release the remaining pressure manually. Then open the lid, and drain if there is any extra water.
- Mix together the mayonnaise, yellow mustard, white vinegar, red chili powder, sugar, salt, and ground pepper in a large bowl.
- Stir in the carrot, onion, celery, colored bell pepper, and cooked macaroni. Mix well.
- Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving, but preferably overnight. Deli Style Homemade Creamy Macaroni Salad is ready to serve.
Notes
- You can add vegetables of your choice like jalapeños, celery, lettuce, zucchini, cucumber
- Add an extra 1-2 tablespoons of mayonnaise to the salad before serving if you want the salad more creamy.
- You can also add some shredded cheese.
Nutrition
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