Hawaiian-style Macaroni Salad Recipe

What You Need

• 2 cups whole milk
• 2 cups mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp light brown sugar
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt, plus more for pasta water
• 1 pound elbow macaroni
• 1/3 cup white vinegar
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 large carrot, peeled and shredded
• 1 celery stalk, finely diced

Make Your Dressing

Whisk milk, mayo, sugar, pepper, and 3/4 teaspoon salt until smooth.

Take out 1 cup of dressing and set aside. Refrigerate both portions. This reserved cup is key – adds fresh creaminess at the end.

Cook the Pasta

Bring 4 quarts water with 1 tablespoon salt to a rolling boil.

Add macaroni and cook ~15 minutes until really soft. You want it past al dente – trust me on this.

Drain well and dump into a large bowl. Pour vinegar over the hot pasta and toss. The pasta absorbs it all. Let sit ~10 minutes to cool slightly.

Mix Everything

Pour the larger portion of dressing over the pasta. Stir until coated.

Fold in scallions, carrot, and celery.

Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour. The pasta keeps absorbing dressing as it chills.

Finish

Stir in that reserved cup of dressing. This brings back the creaminess.

Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Serve cold.

Use whole milk and full-fat mayo – low-fat versions make it watery. The overcooked pasta is on purpose – it holds the dressing better than al dente. This keeps for 3 days but gets eaten way before that.

Hawaiian-style Macaroni Salad

The vinegar trick is what makes this better than grocery store macaroni salad. Hot pasta soaks it up like a sponge and adds tang without making it soggy.

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Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 15 minutes mins

Chill Time: 1 hour hr

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 cups whole milk
• ▢ 2 cups mayonnaise
• ▢ 2 tbsp light brown sugar
• ▢ 1 tsp black pepper
• ▢ 3/4 tsp kosher salt plus more for pasta water
• ▢ 1 pound elbow macaroni
• ▢ 1/3 cup white vinegar
• ▢ 4 scallions thinly sliced
• ▢ 1 large carrot peeled and shredded
• ▢ 1 celery stalk finely diced

Instructions

• Whisk milk, mayonnaise, brown sugar, pepper, and salt until smooth.
• Reserve 1 cup dressing; refrigerate both portions.
• Cook macaroni in salted water until very soft, about 15 minutes.
• Drain pasta, transfer to bowl, toss with vinegar, let cool 10 minutes.
• Mix pasta with larger portion of dressing until well coated.
• Fold in scallions, carrot, and celery.
• Refrigerate at least 1 hour.
• Stir in reserved dressing before serving.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve cold.