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This Creamy macaroni salad gets a cool, bright twist from cucumber, sour cream, and a splash of milk. Tender elbows, Sweet pickle relish, green pepper, and hard-boiled eggs make it a classic side that isn’t heavy. You’re going to love how the grated onion melts into the dressing for flavor without big crunchy chunks.
Why You’ll Love It
- Cool and bright — cucumber, sour cream, and milk give the creamy dressing a fresh edge.
- Classic macaroni salad flavor — tender elbows, mayonnaise, sweet pickle relish, green pepper, and eggs keep it familiar.
- Make-ahead friendly — the pasta absorbs the dressing as it chills, and the flavors settle beautifully.
- Serves eight — enough for a meal and leftovers.
Ingredient Notes
Use regular elbow macaroni here. Nothing fancy, no spirals, no little shells. The elbows hold the dressing in their curves, and there’s a reason they’ve been doing that job forever.
The cucumber adds a cool crunch that is honestly the whole surprise of this recipe. Dice it fairly small so you get a little in every bite. Leave the peel on if it looks nice and firm; if the skin is thick or waxy-looking, peel it. There are limits to the “use what you have” philosophy.
Green bell pepper is the right pepper for this particular salad. Red would be sweeter and prettier, sure, but it would change that old-school flavor. And sometimes old-school is exactly what you want. The grated onion should be grated, not merely chopped. Use the small holes of a box grater. Washing it afterward is the only downside.
For the mayonnaise, use one that tastes good, because there’s a full cup in here. Same goes for sour cream. This isn’t the moment to use the mystery jar in the back of the refrigerator.
And yes, sweet pickle relish. Not dill relish. This is a sweet relish salad, and that little sweetness plays nicely against the tangy sour cream.
Ingredients
- 1 pound elbow macaroni
- 2 cups diced cucumber, peeled or unpeeled depending on the cucumber and your patience
- 1 cup diced green bell pepper
- 2 tablespoons grated onion
- 1/2 cup sweet pickle relish
- 2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup milk
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste—I’m generous with the pepper, but you do you
Instructions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the elbow macaroni until al dente, following the package timing as needed. Don’t let it go soft and mushy; the pasta will keep softening a bit once it sits in dressing. Avoid macaroni salad that feels like it has given up on life.
Drain the cooked macaroni and rinse it well under cold water to stop the cooking. Let it drain thoroughly, then transfer it to a large bowl. Shake the colander around as needed, but do get rid of excess water.
Add the diced cucumber, diced green bell pepper, grated onion, and sweet pickle relish to the macaroni. Stir everything together until the vegetables are evenly scattered through the pasta. It already looks cheerful at this point—green bits, little shiny elbows, the whole deal.
In a separate small bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, sour cream, and milk. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. The dressing will seem thinner than you expect. Don’t panic and start adding extra mayonnaise; the salad will settle as it chills.
Pour the dressing over the macaroni mixture and stir until everything is coated. Add the chopped hard-boiled eggs last, then gently fold them in so they stay in soft pieces instead of getting smashed to bits. Cover and chill until ready to serve, preferably overnight, though a few hours in the refrigerator will still get you where you need to go.
Variations
The version with the listed ingredients has the best balance, and it’s best not to start tinkering before making it once. The cucumber, green pepper, relish, onion, creamy dressing, and eggs have a particular balance. It’s not trying to be fancy pasta salad with herbs and lemon and twelve things from the produce drawer.
Extra black pepper works well here, and chilling overnight makes the flavors even better. The first-day version is good, but the next-day version is where it becomes itself.
Draining the cucumber on paper towels won’t hurt anything, but it also doesn’t make enough difference to justify using half a roll of paper towels. Chop the eggs into larger pieces so they don’t vanish into the dressing.
This salad goes very nicely with plain grilled Chicken, but it also makes an unexpectedly good lunch with a handful of salty potato chips on the side. Not a recipe variation, exactly. More of a lifestyle decision.
Storage & Reheating
Keep the macaroni salad covered in the refrigerator. It’s best within three to four days, though day two is the sweet spot—the flavors have had time to settle in, but the cucumber and pepper still have some snap.
Give it a good stir before serving leftovers. The dressing may tighten up a little in the refrigerator, and that’s normal. Don’t add more milk unless it truly seems dry, which it usually doesn’t. The pasta absorbs the dressing, yes, but not in a sad way.
Do not reheat it. This is cold macaroni salad. No need to reinvent the wheel here.
Also, because it contains mayonnaise, sour cream, eggs, and milk, don’t leave it sitting outside forever in warm weather. Put it back in the refrigerator when it’s no longer being served.
Final Notes
There’s something quietly comforting about a bowl of macaroni salad in the refrigerator. It means there’s food ready, even if the rest of the day has gone sideways. It means a plate can be fixed without wondering what’s for dinner. It means there might be time to sit down for a minute with iced tea before the next thing needs attention.
This one has that familiar creamy, sweet-tangy flavor, but the cucumber keeps it from feeling stuck in the past.
Make it the night before if you can. Pull it out when the burgers are done, or when the chicken is still resting, or when sandwiches are dinner and that’s simply the plan. This salad works beautifully on the table.
Dolly Parton's Macaroni Salad
Ingredients Â
- 1 pound elbow macaroni
- 2 cups cucumber diced, peeled or unpeeled
- 1 cup green bell pepper diced
- 2 tablespoons onion grated
- 1/2 cup sweet pickle relish
- 2 hard-boiled eggs chopped
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup milk
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
InstructionsÂ
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the elbow macaroni until al dente, following the package timing as needed.
- Drain the cooked macaroni and rinse it well under cold water to stop the cooking.
- Let the macaroni drain thoroughly, shaking the colander as needed to remove excess water, then transfer it to a large bowl.
- Add the diced cucumber, diced green bell pepper, grated onion, and sweet pickle relish to the macaroni, then stir until evenly combined.
- In a separate small bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, sour cream, and milk, then season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
- Pour the dressing over the macaroni mixture and stir until everything is coated.
- Add the chopped hard-boiled eggs last and gently fold them in, then cover and chill until ready to serve, preferably overnight or for at least a few hours.