A classic homestyle macaroni salad with a light, creamy dressing and the tasty addition of diced ham, red bell pepper and tomato.
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When my dad requests macaroni salad for his retirement party, you bet I'm going to scour the Interweb for the best homestyle macaroni salad recipe. I refuse to buy store-bought macaroni salad when we're talking my dad's heard-earned retirement.
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After doing a bit of browsing (and pinning), I settled on this macaroni salad from Favorite Family Recipes. Wanting an excuse to taste test the recipe, I served it alongside steak for our family Father's Day dinner.
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It was a huge hit. Like, HUGE.
When I made it, I chose to leave out the carrots (kind of wish I'd left out the peas) and added diced ham, red bell pepper and tomato. Next time I think I'll add in some diced dill pickle too. Heck, I may even throw in some diced avocado just before serving.
Sometimes I get crazy like that.
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But I'm totally going to leave the dressing as is. It was perfect.
Printable recipe for homestyle macaroni salad below.
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- 1 (16-oz.) package elbow macaroni
- 1½ c low-fat mayo
- 2 T mustard
- ¼ c low-fat sour cream
- 2 T apple cider vinegar
- 2 T sugar
- 1 cup diced ham
- 1 cup diced cheddar cheese
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 cup chopped celery
- ½ tsp kosher salt (or to taste)
- Freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
- Optional:
- ⅔ cup frozen peas, thawed
- 2 carrots, grated
- ½ cucumber, peeled and diced
- ¼ to ½ cup chopped dill pickle
- 1 to 2 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
- Prepare macaroni al dente. Drain and rinse in cold water. Set aside.
- Combine mayo, mustard, sour cream, apple cider vinegar and sugar in a small mixing bowl.
- Combine macaroni with ham, cheese, bell pepper and celery (and any optional additions) in a large bowl. Add mayo mixture and toss until pasta is evenly coated. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
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Corn salad with tomato, basil & feta
Pistachio pudding salad (my mom's specialty)
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Looking for more yummy recipes? Try browsing my best of Is This Really My Life Pinterest board. I guarantee you'll find quite a few!
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Angie @ Friday Cake Night
We've got a lot of camping coming up. I'll be trying this for sure!
Emily Hill
I hope you like it! It makes a lot so it's perfect for a crowd of campers. :)