Amish Macaroni Salad
This recipe for Amish macaroni salad is a summertime cookout and picnic classic. The sugar lends a sweetness that acts as a nice counterpart to the vinegar.
By Yankee Magazine|Jun 13 2022|
Coffee By Design | Portland, Maine
Photo Credit : Katherine KeenanThis recipe for Amish macaroni salad is a summertime cookout and picnic classic. The sugar lends a sweetness that acts as a nice counterpart to the vinegar.
Yield:
6Ingredients
1 1 lb. box elbow macaroni
4 hard boiled eggs, plus 2 hard boiled eggs for garnish (optional)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 tablespoons pickle relish
2 cups Miracle Whip or mayonnaise
3 tablespoons yellow mustard
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon celery seed
Instructions
Bring a pot of water to boil. Add macaroni and cook until al dente according to package directions. Drain and set aside to cool.
In a large bowl mix together 4 of the hard-boiled eggs, onion, celery, pepper, and relish.
In a small bowl stir together the salad dressing, mustard, sugar, vinegar, salt, and celery seed. Pour over the vegetable, and stir in macaroni until well blended.
Cover and chill for at least an hour before serving, preferably overnight. Slice last 2 hard boiled eggs and garnish.
Miracle whip contains corn syrup. I avoid all corn syrup. Can I substitute something else in the macaroni salad.
Mayo
What kind of vineger should I use?
Hi Sandra. Since the recipe doesn’t specify and it’s only 2 teaspoons, I’d say you can use any vinegar you have on hand. In the Amish Macaroni Salad pictured, we used apple cider vinegar.
Looks good
This is a your run of the mill Pasta Salad. Nothing Amish here
Yup, not an Amish recipe. I lived next to a vibrant Amish Community in Missouri… and have collected the cookbooks from Penn, Ohio and MO and nobody would ever use Miracle Whip… they are the original “make it yourself or go without” group. But it’s a good recipe for a salad that no one will hate at your next picnic !
I live in Maine many around here use Miracle Whip including everyone in my family EXCEPT ME can’t stand the stuff and the worst thing is some use it for lobster rolls I consider that a sin
Is the pickle relish sweet or dill? I love Amish Recipes…they are delicious, easy to prepare, & the ingredients are basic & readily available. My family considers them ‘comfort food’.
Would love to see comment from people who actually made this.
Regarding the relish question, I think I’d go with dill considering recipe calls for 1/4 cup sugar..seems a lot.
This is a delightful truly Amish recipe. The Amish use bell peppers in their version. For a delicious twist, just add some chopped chicken (and maybe some extra mayo,or not) and you’ve got lunch. That’s my take from Amish country, PA.
I love the looks of this salad and all the ingredients except one … the mayo or salad dressing. I hate both so finding a substitute is a recurring problem for me in many recipes I see. Can you suggest a substitute? I sometimes use sour cream when making potato salad. Thank you for your suggestion.
You can substitute Italian salad dressing or simply oil and vinegar. Olive oil and white wine vinegar is what we often use but any vinegar but red will work. Red wine vinegar may color the ingredients in a way that is not as pleasing. We use oil and vinegar dressing with potato salad too.
Yes this is a recipe from the PA Dutch Country. Amish but so much more. I learned to make this as a child. It may vary a bit from household to household. A little mustard here or celery salt there. Pickle relish?? Not always but when you do use the sweet. Apple cider vinegar is what’s used in all the old time kitchens. We often used the juice from the sweet gerkins and chopped up the pickles. Miracle whip doesn’t separate and keeps better than mayo. Yes the Amish shop in grocery stores along with Mennonites, Brethern, and everybody else here in PA. They just don’t buy as much and are often selling their baked goods and re!ish back to the store. Great Place to grow up!
I grew up in Pennsylvania and Miracle whip was our key ingredient. I still bring it to picnics and it’s a hit. My big advice is do me t over cook the macaroni.
I made this and I loved it…Will be making it for Easter…Thank you so much
Debbie; It’s SUPPOSED to be sweet!
I hated anything with mayo in it when I was growing up, I figured out why when I moved out on my own, I like REAL mayonnaise, Miracle Whip is disgusting, and the only time mayonnaise and pickle relish should be combined is for target sauce, otherwise no relish and mayonnaise together ever. Is dessert? 1/4 cup of sugar? Not me I will stick with my own recipe. I’m in Maine thankfully Mac salad is made way different here.
YAY! You and I think alike. I grew up on the cape, ut lots of relatives in Kittery! Please send me your recipe- I bet it will bring back memories with that taste!
You need to try it before you criticize it. It’s delicious…..even my husband likes it and that’s saying something. One change I make is using Cain’s mayo. I’ve never used Miracle Whip so don’t know how bad it tastes. I’ll take your word for it.
Hi…I’m curious, how does your recipe differ? Thanks
I’am also from Maine and the only way my Mother made it was with Miracle Whip and also added a can of tuna fish delicious
Everything but the miracle whip and sugar
Dukes Mayo
Miracle whip is terrible !!!!! Mayo is the best and HELLMANN’S is the only one I have always used!!!!!! Try it all of you Miracle whip users — Oh I can’t believe you people use Miracle whip for what ???? can’t think of a thing it is used for. Shame on you ! Sincerely PEGGY
Yes I agree! Miracle Whip is terrible! Hellman’s is the best! Used Hellman’s my whole life and would never use anything else!
How dare you judge us Miracle Whip Lovers. I think mayo is terrible!!!
ya’ll r funny
I think it is a “shame” to not use Miracle Whip if the recipe requires it. We only had Miracle Whip growing up. I do prefer Hellman’s mayo. I’m going to try this recipe soon. I have a red potato salad that calls for Miracle Whip and it’s great!
My mother always used pimento in the macaroni or potato salad, (as do I), not red pepper (fresh) though that sounds good. I think maybe a tad of sugar is a good idea and not so darned much mayo as recipe calls for.
We use ranch dressing in place of mayo and a sprinkle of paprika.
I was skeptical about this using Miracle Whip and sugar too until I made it. Delish!! Has become a summertime favorite here.
Shirley… If I substitute Ranch dressing for mayo how much do I use?
My macaroni salad is similar but add more chopped celery, shredded carrot, and less onion. To use less mayo, I thin the dressing with evaporated milk.
A MORTAL sin!
This i will try sounds good !
This is how I made macaroni salad for the past 60 years but I use mayonnaise
I agree with patriciaw3 – Duke’s mayo is the only one to use! It is a staple on grocery shelves from VA on down South, but you can order it on the Duke’s website. Once you try it, you’ll never use another brand!
Duke’s Mayo is also available in Ohio!
Love duke’s tried it once and never used Hellman’s again
I love miracle whip. Regular mayo tastes greasy to me!
Amish?
Amish
mayo and miracle whip alone or mixed is good. Splenda instead of sugar works too for the no sugar crowd. GREAT Mac salad!! Similar to our Mennonite recipe!
I’ve lived in New England for 20 years now, but grew up in Michigan where EVERYTHING was made with Miracle Whip- tuna and egg salad, ham sandwiches, potato & mac salads. I never knew differently until college in Ann Arbor where my Boston roommate used Hellman’s for her tuna and egg salad sandwiches and I could not believe what I had been missing all those years! I loved the rich not sweet flavor that just lets the main ingredients shine. I was never able to eat Miracle Whip again! If you are someone who likes sweet pickles, sweet relish, and those flavor profiles then you like Miracle Whip. I prefer something where you can add fresh herbs, vegetables and seasonings for variety and no sweetness overpowering. And believe it or not you can use Hellman’s as a substitute for butter on the outside of the bread when making a grilled cheese sandwich! I read that and thought it seemed crazy but my son tried it recently and said it was pretty good :-))
I make it this way all the time with sweet relish / mayo ( Hellmans) but only 2 TLB spoons of sugar not a quarter cup./ Also cut the recipe mayo by 3 TLB and use 3Tlb spoons of sour cream. Other than that it is the exact same recipe I have made for over 60 yrs. Definitely Apple Cider Vinegar,