Hawaiian Macaroni Salad Recipe

Bring a taste of island tropics with with Hawaiian Macaroni Salad. Creamy and light, it is perfect for cookouts and pitch-ins. This recipe makes plenty to feed a crowd! Tender elbow macaroni, crispy carrots and celery mixed in with a light dressing. This traditional Hawaiian Dish is simple yet delicious!

Contents hide

1 Why You Will Love Hawaiian Macaroni Salad

2 What Is Hawaiian Macaroni Salad?

3 What Ingredients Do You Need For Hawaiian Macaroni Salad

4 Storing the Hawaiian Macaroni Salad

5 Notes, Tips and Variations

6 Hawaiian Macaroni Salad

6.1 Ingredients 1x2x3x

6.2 Instructions

6.3 Nutrition

Why You Will Love Hawaiian Macaroni Salad

UNIQUE – Bring this to your next cookout or pitch in to really wow your friends or guests. From the great State of Hawaii, t’s a little different, but also very familiar!
EASY – With just a handful of common pantry staples for ingredients, and a couple of minutes to throw together, this recipe is a breeze. Just make sure you give yourself enough time for this recipe to chill out in the fridge before serving.
DELICIOUS – Tender pasta, crunchy vegetables and the sweet and zesty dressing make this a symphony for your taste buds!

What Is Hawaiian Macaroni Salad?

So, what is a Hawaiian Pasta Salad? This “Hawaiian Mac Salad” is classic dish that has been made for generations down there in the Pacific Ocean. And, no, it doesn’t have ham and pineapple in it. Don’t even ask that question from a Hawaiian, you’d be kicked out of the restaurant. But it’s served A LOT of restaurants and is a common side dish (along with some white rice) on any traditional hawaiian lunch plate you’ll find down there.

What I love about this salad is how simple it is. At it’s basic, it is just Macaroni, Carrots, Mayonnaise, Salt and Pepper. There are a couple things that I think you can get away with adding, and I’ve pushed the envelope a little to add some color, flavor and texture. Most notably, I added some diced celery and green onions. I also made a couple other additions, such as adding a little brown sugar and tossing my macaroni in Apple Cider Vinegar.

What Ingredients Do You Need For Hawaiian Macaroni Salad

For step-by-step instructions, check out the printable recipe card below. But here are the ingredients that you will need to get started:

ELBOW MACARONI – Cooked, rinsed well and drained. Using Elbow Macaroni is the traditional way to make this, but you can substitute for a different pasta if you really want to.
APPLE CIDER VINEGAR – Adds a zestiness to this recipe.
WHOLE MILK – We like whole milk because it gives a creaminess to the pasta salad. But you can go with 2% if you’d like to lighten it up.
MAYONNAISE – Use light Mayo to shave some calories.
BROWN SUGAR – Working with the Apple Cider Vinegar, it gives this Macaroni Salad it’s unique flavor.
GREEN ONIONS – Chopped.
CELERY – Chopped.
CARROTS – Peeled and shredded carrots.
SALT AND BLACK PEPPER – To taste

Storing the Hawaiian Macaroni Salad

Store in your refrigerator covered tightly with Saran Wrap or another plastic cling wrap. Or in a tupperware. It should be good in your fridge for up to 5 days.

I wouldn’t freeze this Pasta Salad Recipe. I just don’t think the pasta would hold up very well to being thawed out.

Notes, Tips and Variations

I was so surprised at how delicious this turned out even after just a few, simple and common ingredients. I really wouldn’t tweak this at all. But I do have a couple tips and suggestions:

Easy But Not Fast– While this recipe is super simple, that doesn’t mean that it’s “quick and fast”. Pasta Salads take at least 2 hours to “set” and have all the flavors infuse with the noodles. I’d actually aim for more than 2 hours if possible. So make sure you are giving yourself time to prepare this side dish.
Stick With Macaroni?- It seems that the traditional way to make this dish is always been with Elbow Macaroni. So, could substitute a different kind of pasta? Sure, I don’t see why not. I’m not sure if you could legitimately call it a Hawaiian Pasta Salad or not, but who cares? I think a Bow Tie Pasta or Rotini would be delicious!
Add A Protein? – To make this more of a main dish, you can add diced chicken, ham or even some tuna to this dish.
Cook The Pasta Thoroughly- As with many Pasta Salad Recipes, you want to make sure your pasta is cooked well enough to stand up to the dressing it will be soaking in for the next couple days. Don’t take it out until it is nice and firm! Rinse it well and drain it before adding it to the recipe.
Apple Cider Vinegar– Some recipes call for this, some don’t. Some use only 2 tbsp and some as much as half a cup. I think our 1/4 cup measurement is the perfect amount. It adds a nice dimension to the flavor and helps the pasta absorb the dressing. Don’t be shy, stir it in right after the pasta is done cooking and is strained.
Healthy Hawaiian Macaroni Salad?– If you want to shave some calories off, you can substitute the Mayo for Greek Yogurt. It won’t be the same, but it will still work. Or you could do have mayo and half yogurt.

I hope you enjoy this Hawaiian Macaroni Salad Recipe. Please let me know how it turns out in the comments below. Enjoy!