The Best Healthy Macaroni Salad (Deli Style!)
User Reviews
5
The Best Healthy Macaroni Salad (Deli Style!)
Description
The Best Healthy Macaroni Salad features elbow macaroni that is cooked until al dente, then rinsed with cold water to stop cooking and prevent sogginess. The salad combines diced celery, red bell pepper, red onion, and diced gherkin pickles for variety in texture and flavor. The creamy dressing is made from light mayonnaise and plain Greek yogurt, balanced with pickle juice, Dijon mustard, sugar, and red wine vinegar, and lightly seasoned with salt and pepper.
The salad is mixed thoroughly to coat evenly and refrigerated for at least an hour to allow the flavors to meld and the pasta to absorb the dressing slightly. The inclusion of vegetables offers freshness and crunch, while the dressing adds a tart and creamy element typical of deli salads. This dish can be easily adjusted with additional ingredients such as cheese or protein for variation.
Tips suggest stressing proper pasta doneness and rinsing to keep the noodles firm. Salt in the cooking water adds flavor to the pasta. The salad can be made gluten-free by swapping pasta and can be made dairy-free by adjusting the yogurt and mayonnaise. Variations include adding cheese, more vegetables, protein, or spices for heat.
Ingredients
Macaroni Salad:
- 8 oz. elbow macaroni
- 1 cup celery 140g
- 1 red bell pepper diced small, 150g
- 1/2 cup red onion diced small, 60g
- 1/2 cup gherkin pickles or any pickles, diced small, baby, (70g
Dressing:
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise light
- 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt 60g
- 2 Tbsp pickle juice 30g
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp red wine vinegar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- black pepper freshly cracked
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Generously salt the water, then add the pasta. Cook according to package instructions. Then rinse with cold water and drain well.
- Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the diced celery, peppers, red onion and gherkins to the bowl. Add the pasta and the dressing and toss well to evenly coat. Taste and add more salt, pepper, pickle juice, etc to taste.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour. Best if refrigerated for 24 hours.
Notes
- Cook pasta al dente; overcooked noodles become soggy in the salad.
- Rinse cooked noodles thoroughly with cold water to stop cooking and cool them.
- Add salt to the pasta cooking water to flavor the noodles from within.
- Use gluten-free pasta to make the salad gluten-free.
- For dairy-free or vegan options, replace Greek yogurt with dairy-free yogurt or omit it and use all mayonnaise.
- Enhance the salad by adding cheese cubes, extra vegetables, diced protein, or spices like jalapeños or paprika.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 8Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 164 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Serving | 1 cup (143g) | |
| Calories | 164kcal | 8% |
| Carbohydrates | 27g | 9% |
| Protein | 5g | 10% |
| Fat | 4g | 6% |
| Saturated Fat | 0.7g | 4% |
| Fiber | 2.3g | 9% |
| Sugar | 4.9g | 10% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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