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This macaroni salad is the one people ask for every single summer. What makes it different is the dressing — mayo and sour cream mixed together with a packet of Knorr vegetable mix, which gives it that savory, tangy flavor you can’t quite put your finger on but absolutely can’t stop eating.
Why You’ll Love This
The dressing is unlike any other — mixing mayo and sour cream with Knorr vegetable mix creates a flavor that’s rich, tangy, and completely addictive
The peas are a game-changer — their little pop of sweetness is a perfect contrast to the savory dressing and crunchy vegetables
It gets better overnight — the flavors deepen in the fridge, so making it ahead actually works in your favor
Easy to customize — stir in shrimp, ham, or crumbled bacon and it becomes a whole meal
Travels and holds up well — no sad, watery mess by the time you get where you’re going
A Note on the Ingredients
The Knorr vegetable soup and dip mix is the whole thing, so don’t try to substitute it. I’ve seen people online say you can use the onion soup mix instead and — look, I’m sure that’s fine, but it’s a different salad at that point. The vegetable mix has a specific flavor that the onion mix just doesn’t replicate. You can usually find it near the regular onion soup mix, in that little packet section. It sometimes hides. Check a few spots.
For the mayo, I use full fat. I’ve tried the light version a couple of times when I was trying to be good about something and both times I could tell the difference and it annoyed me. Life’s short.
The sour cream — same story. Full fat. You’re already making macaroni salad. Just commit to it.
For the peppers, I really do chop them finely. Not like a rough chop. Fine. It matters for the texture. If the pieces are too big they kind of dominate every bite, and you want the vegetables distributed evenly throughout, not landing in big chunks every third forkful.
What You’ll Need
- 1 pound elbow macaroni (I’ve used rotini and small shells and they work fine too — the elbows just feel right somehow)
- 1 package Knorr vegetable soup and dip mix
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped fine
- Half a green bell pepper, chopped fine (I actually sometimes use the whole thing — it depends on how big the pepper is and how I’m feeling)
- 8 ounces frozen peas, thawed
- 1 stalk of celery, finely chopped
- About a cup of green onions, sliced thin
- Black pepper to finish — don’t skip this
How to Make It
Start by boiling the macaroni according to whatever the box says, which is usually somewhere around ten to eleven minutes for elbow macaroni. You want it fully cooked — not al dente. This is not that kind of pasta salad. Al dente pasta in a cold salad is chewy in a way that doesn’t work. Cook it all the way through.
When it’s done, rinse it under cold water. Really rinse it — let the water run through until the pasta is genuinely cold, not just cool. Then drain it well. I usually let it sit in the colander for a few minutes, even shake it a couple of times to get the extra water out. If there’s too much moisture clinging to the pasta it’ll thin out your dressing.
While the pasta cools, make the dressing. Open the Knorr packet and mix it with the mayo and sour cream in a big bowl — you need a big bowl, trust me, do not try to do this in a medium bowl, I’ve made that mistake — and stir until it’s smooth. Taste it. It’s going to taste pretty intense right now, which is fine because it’s about to be distributed across a pound of pasta and all those vegetables.
Now chop your peppers and celery, slice your green onions. Thaw the peas if you haven’t already — I usually just run cold water over them in a strainer for a few minutes. Add all the vegetables to the dressing and stir them in. Then add the cooled, drained pasta.
Mix everything well — really well, making sure the dressing coats all the pasta. Sprinkle with black pepper.
Then, if you can, cover it and put it in the fridge for a few hours. Overnight is better. I know that requires planning ahead and I am not always capable of that, but when I manage it, the salad is noticeably more flavorful the next day.
Variations I’ve Tried
Greek yogurt works in place of sour cream — it lightens things up a bit and still holds the dressing together. I’ve made versions of this with bay shrimp stirred in — just small cooked shrimp, nothing special — and that’s actually really good if you’re bringing it somewhere as more of a main dish situation. Diced ham works too. Crumbled bacon stirred in was maybe the best version, honestly. Though I feel a little guilty admitting that.
Leftovers
This keeps well in the fridge for a few days — three or four, probably. By day three the dressing has really soaked into everything and it gets a bit denser, which some people like even more. I usually give it a stir and maybe a tiny dollop of mayo if it seems dry.
Don’t freeze it. Just… no. The texture of the pasta gets strange and the vegetables get sad and it’s not worth it.
One more thing I keep meaning to mention — if you want to add a little paprika on top when you serve it, it looks nice. I don’t always bother, but sometimes presentation counts for something and the orange-red against the white and green is pretty. Or it was when I did it that one time. I think I also used a nicer serving bowl that day. Maybe that was the difference.
Best Creamy Macaroni Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound elbow macaroni or rotini/small shells
- 1 package Knorr vegetable soup mix
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 red bell pepper finely chopped
- 1/2-1 green bell pepper finely chopped
- 8 oz frozen peas thawed
- 1 stalk celery finely chopped
- 1 cup green onions thinly sliced
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook the macaroni according to package directions until fully tender (not al dente).
- Rinse the cooked pasta thoroughly under cold water until completely chilled. Drain well and let sit to remove excess moisture.
- In a large bowl, mix together the Knorr vegetable soup mix, mayonnaise, and sour cream until smooth.
- Add chopped red and green bell peppers, celery, green onions, and thawed peas to the dressing. Stir to combine.
- Add the cooled macaroni and mix thoroughly until all the pasta is evenly coated.
- Season with black pepper to taste and mix again.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least a few hours, preferably overnight, before serving for best flavor.
