The Pioneer Woman's Macaroni Salad
The Pioneer Woman's Macaroni Salad is a creamy, tangy make-ahead side dish loaded with roasted red peppers, black olives, pickles, and green onions. It chills into a smooth, flavorful macaroni salad that is perfect for cookouts, easy dinners, and summer meals.
Ingredients
- 4 cups elbow macaroni cooked, rinsed, and drained well
- 1 cup diced roasted red peppers drained well and blotted if wet
- 1/2 cup black olives chopped
- 6 sweet or spicy pickle slices diced
- 3 green onions chopped, including some tender green tops
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon pickle juice straight from the jar
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 3 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the cooked and rinsed elbow macaroni, diced roasted red peppers, chopped black olives, diced pickles, and green onions, then gently toss, making sure the macaroni is well drained and not sitting in rinse water.
- In a smaller bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, milk, pickle juice, red wine vinegar, sugar, salt, and black pepper until smooth; the dressing should look thinner than a typical mayonnaise dressing.
- Pour the dressing over the macaroni mixture and toss until everything is evenly coated, using a spoon or rubber spatula to reach the bottom of the bowl so no pasta is left dry.
- Cover the bowl and chill the macaroni salad for at least 2 hours before serving it cold.
Notes
Keep the macaroni salad covered in the refrigerator and serve it chilled. It keeps well for a couple of days and is especially good the next day; if it thickens after sitting overnight, stir it well before serving. For outdoor meals, set out only what people will eat and keep the rest cold.
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