Hawaiian Macaroni Salad Recipe

This Hawaiian-style macaroni salad recipe is creamy and served cold.

It makes a perfect side dish for a hot summer BBQ. 

Growing up I wasn’t a fan of green vegetables or pasta salad.

These days though, I can’t get enough of either.

Macaroni salad is pure comfort food and as a result, I don’t eat it nearly as often as I would like but on a special occasion, we love to make this.

This Hawaiian-style pasta salad is wonderful for a potluck or holiday get together. 

There aren’t a lot of ingredients in this Hawaiian macaroni salad so it is super simple to put together.

Another aspect that makes this ideal for a gathering is that it is best if you make it the day ahead and leave it in the fridge for a day. 

What goes in Hawaiian macaroni salad?

Hawaiian macaroni salad is such a simple recipe that only requires a handful of ingredients.

It requires macaroni elbows, mayonnaise, milk, apple cider vinegar, onion, and carrots.

We also recommend salt and pepper to taste. 

Quick Tip: Learn how to know when pasta is done.

Recipe variations

While we keep this recipe simple and that is part of the appeal it is also fun to shake things up with variations.

• Add pineapple chunks. Cut these into tiny pieces. Pineapple is quite juicy so this may make your salad thinner than you like. Consider reducing the amount of mayonnaise used by a third. Mix it all together and add more mayonnaise as needed.
• Add green peas. Be sure to drain the peas prior to add them to the macaroni salad. Add them as the last ingredient and gently fold in.
• Add pancetta. Pancetta is a cured meat, which means that you don’t have to cook it. You can add this in right out of the package.
• Add in diced celery. Adding this in adds a nice crunchy texture to the salad. We recommend that you dice up the celery in small pieces.
• Add in crab. If you want to make this a truly special treat adding in chunks of real crab meat would make it delightful.