Perfect Creamy Macaroni Pasta Salad
The key to the best creamy pasta salad is to rinse the cooked pasta under cold water before tossing it with the dressing. Skipping this step means the dressing will be sticky. We also “de-flame” the onion, which tames the raw onion flavor so that it does not take over the salad. A quick bath in cold water does the trick. Use elbow macaroni for macaroni salad or other small pasta shapes (like small shells or ditalini).
Ingredients
- 8 ouncesdry elbow macaroni or small pasta shape
- ¼ mediumred onion, finely chopped, about 1/4 cup
- 1 mediumbell pepper, seeds removed and chopped
- 2celery stalks, finely chopped, about 1/3 cup
- 3radishes, trimmed and finely chopped, about 1/3 cup
- 1 mediumdill pickles, finely chopped, optional
- ½ cupsour cream
- ¼ cupmayonnaise, try our homemade mayonnaise
- 1 ½ tablespoonsyellow mustard, substitute dijon or whole grain mustard
- 1 tablespoonapple cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoonfine sea salt, plus more to taste
- ¼ teaspoonfresh ground black pepper, plus more to taste
- 1 tablespoonshoney, optional for sweet version
Directions
- 1
Cook macaroni according to the package directions. Drain and rinse well under cold water to remove starch from the outside of the pasta.
- 2
Meanwhile, add the chopped onions to a small bowl and cover with cold water. Set aside for 5 minutes and then drain. This tones down the raw flavor of the onion so that it won’t overpower the salad.
- 3
Make the dressing in the bottom of a large salad bowl. Whisk the sour cream, mayonnaise, mustard, apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper.
- 4
For a sweeter macaroni salad, add honey or maple syrup to taste. I typically add half a tablespoon, but try one to two tablespoons if you enjoy sweeter macaroni salads.
- 5
Add the rinsed macaroni, drained onions, bell pepper, celery, radish, and the pickle to the bowl with the dressing. Mix well. Taste, then adjust with additional salt and pepper.