The only mac salad recipe you’ll ever need for any backyard BBQ. Pinky Promise.

I love pasta salad. Give me a good proper deli pasta salad with just the right amount of everything & a bag of potato chips - I’m a happy camper. I’m sure I’ve made a dozen or so versions of pasta salad at home over the years, but I simply cannot remember anything beyond this version. It’s one of those - amazingly easy & simple, go-to classics that you need to have in your pot-luck go-to lists that will never fail.

What’s so great about this mac salad recipe, is it’s super versatile. You can use plain ‘ol box/bag $1.10 elbows, go for the good stuff & pick up an artisan dried pasta (any shape!), you can make it gluten free with any variation of dried pasta on the market, you can make it vegan with vegan-mayo or throw down your chefs hat & make a homemade mayonnaise (or buy it, no one is judging).

Go-To Classic Mac Salad

Yield: 8 C / Time: 25 min / Difficulty: 2/10

Ingredients:

1lb (16oz) Elbow macaroni (feel free to get creative here)

1 Small red onion, chopped fine or thinly sliced (based on preference)

2-3 small celery ribs, chopped fine

1/2 Red pepper, diced

2-3 carrots, shaved

1/2 C minced fresh parsley

2 Tbsp Fresh lemon juice

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 1/2 C Mayonnaise -or- Vegan mayo

Steps

1. Bring water to a boil in large pot. Add salt (at least 1 Tbsp) once at a rapid boil & toss in macaroni. Cook, stirring often until al dente.

2. Prepare all additional ingredients in a large bowl while pasta is cooking - onion, celery, red pepper, carrot, parsley, lemon juice, mustard, garlic powder & cayenne (basically everything else). Once pasta is cooked & drained, add to large bowl with ingredients. Let pasta sit until all flavors are absorbed & mingled - approximately 3-5 minutes. Fold in mayonnaise and let it sit until moisture is absorbed. Season with salt & pepper as you like!

**Pasta salad will keep in the fridge 2-3 days.