In particular, church picnics from my childhood bring back fond memories of cold salads like macaroni salad. For me, the best part was seeing what people came to share. My all-time favorite food was, and still is, Sweet Amish Macaroni Salad, which I make whenever I need a quick side dish for a potluck or picnic, or when I just have a taste for it.
Something about the contrast in textures between the crunchy veggies, the tender spaghetti, and the soft eggs makes this dish particularly appealing to me. This macaroni salad is sweeter than the traditional one, but you can always reduce the amount of sugar if you like. Before tossing the salad with the dressing, I always give it a quick taste to make sure it’s just how I want it.
Luckily, my loved ones share my enthusiasm for this salad; while I prefer Miracle Whip, the traditional recipe calls for mayonnaise because that’s what most people prefer. If you want to use Miracle Whip instead of mayonnaise in the dressing, you may do so with only a few tweaks.
Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS:
Salad
Macaroni for a salad, 1 pound
Ingredients: 1 small onion, coarsely diced 4 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
Diced small: 3 celery ribs
1 tiny sweet pepper, seeded and finely diced (red or orange)
Dressing
2-cups of light mayonnaise; if using Miracle Whip, see notes.
Sugar, 1/2 cup
mustard, either Dijon or yellow
two tablespoons of dill pickle relish
ONE TABLESPOON OF VINEGAR (either white or apple cider)
There should be about 3/4 of a teaspoon of celery seed
A pinch of salt and paprika (to garnish)
DIRECTIONS:
The water in a big pot should be brought to a boil over medium heat.
Pasta should be prepared as directed. When done, transfer to a wide bowl and thoroughly drain before rinsing with cold water.
While the pasta is cooking, mix together the dressing ingredients. Putting aside.
Prepare the salad and hard-boiled eggs by chopping them. Putting aside.
When the macaroni has cooled, add the veggies and chopped hard-boiled eggs and then fold in the dressing.
If you want a really creamy salad, add it all. Save 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of the dressing in the fridge if you don’t want a sloppy salad. Remember that the salad will absorb some of the dressing as it chills. If, after chilling, you find that your salad is too dry, you can add some of the dressing you set aside.
Store in the fridge for at least an hour, the longer the better for flavor.
The tastes will improve dramatically if you let them sit overnight.
Before serving, sprinkle some paprika on top.
NOTES
The sugar can be cut down to a quarter cup if you like a less sweet dressing.
If you like less mustard, that’s fine.
• Splenda is a wonderful sugar substitute.
The sugar content of Miracle Whip must be lowered if it is to be used. If I’m using Miracle Whip, I’ll sometimes omit the sugar, but I always give the dressing a taste before I toss it with the salad ingredients to make sure everything is in harmony.
• PICKLES: If you want to use sweet pickle relish instead of dill, that’s fine with me, but dill is my personal preference.
Bell peppers are an optional vegetable, so feel free to omit them if they’re not to your liking. A good alternative or complement is shredded carrots.
Keep leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container. It has a 3 day shelf life.
Ingredients
- Salad
- Macaroni for a salad, 1 pound
- Ingredients: 1 small onion, coarsely diced 4 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
- Diced small: 3 celery ribs
- 1 tiny sweet pepper, seeded and finely diced (red or orange)
- Dressing
- 2-cups of light mayonnaise; if using Miracle Whip, see notes.
- Sugar, 1/2 cup
- mustard, either Dijon or yellow
- two tablespoons of dill pickle relish
- ONE TABLESPOON OF VINEGAR (either white or apple cider)
- There should be about 3/4 of a teaspoon of celery seed
- A pinch of salt and paprika (to garnish)
Instructions
The water in a big pot should be brought to a boil over medium heat.
Pasta should be prepared as directed. When done, transfer to a wide bowl and thoroughly drain before rinsing with cold water.
While the pasta is cooking, mix together the dressing ingredients. Putting aside.
Prepare the salad and hard-boiled eggs by chopping them. Putting aside.
When the macaroni has cooled, add the veggies and chopped hard-boiled eggs and then fold in the dressing.
If you want a really creamy salad, add it all. Save 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of the dressing in the fridge if you don't want a sloppy salad. Remember that the salad will absorb some of the dressing as it chills. If, after chilling, you find that your salad is too dry, you can add some of the dressing you set aside.
Store in the fridge for at least an hour, the longer the better for flavor.
The tastes will improve dramatically if you let them sit overnight.
Before serving, sprinkle some paprika on top.
Notes
The sugar can be cut down to a quarter cup if you like a less sweet dressing. If you like less mustard, that's fine. • Splenda is a wonderful sugar substitute. The sugar content of Miracle Whip must be lowered if it is to be used. If I'm using Miracle Whip, I'll sometimes omit the sugar, but I always give the dressing a taste before I toss it with the salad ingredients to make sure everything is in harmony. • PICKLES: If you want to use sweet pickle relish instead of dill, that's fine with me, but dill is my personal preference. Bell peppers are an optional vegetable, so feel free to omit them if they're not to your liking. A good alternative or complement is shredded carrots. Keep leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container. It has a 3 day shelf life.