My Grandma has been making macaroni salad for as long as I can remember. I associate it the most with spring and summer family gatherings, where it was served alongside slices of juicy watermelon salad, grilled chicken and pork chops, and more than a few takes on Ambrosia Salad. The enormous vat of macaroni salad, though, was the pièce de resistance: My cousins and I would sneak into the refrigerator before lunch was even ready just to eat it directly out of the huge green plastic Tupperware with spoons—and sometimes we’d sneak into the kitchen to find that someone else had beat us to it.
As I got older and helped my grandma in the kitchen, I started to understand why her macaroni salad was so good. There were a few reasons, including the addition of two surprising ingredients: yellow mustard and granulated sugar.
My Grandma’s Macaroni Salad
Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
To this day, I make my grandma’s macaroni salad for potluck gatherings, because it’s simple, effortlessly cooling on a hot day, and it’s always a hit. At her insistence, I always prepare it at least a day beforehand to allow the flavors to meld. Second, I always used a modest amount of Hellmann’s mayo (never Duke’s, much to my own chagrin).
But Grandma knows best: Every time I bring her her special version of this nostalgic elbow pasta dish with me to the function, I leave with an empty bowl. More than a few folks have asked for the recipe, but they never guess the two secret ingredients—and it sure is fun to have them try!
The 2-Ingredient Trick to My Grandma’s Macaroni Salad
Other than the necessary mayonnaise dressing base, which includes salt, black pepper, and a little vinegar, there are two specific additions that aren’t expected but make all the difference in the world. They are yellow mustard and white granulated sugar—it’s an unlikely pair of ingredients that work together in tandem to season the creamy dressing to coat both pasta and veggies.
- Yellow mustard: The yellow mustard acts a lot like the vinegar, but because it’s a thick condiment rather than a liquid, you can add more of it without sacrificing the creaminess of the dressing. Yellow mustard also has a mild heat and depth of flavor that vinegar alone can’t contribute. Yellow mustard, balanced with the mayo base, is ultimately rich and ever-so-slightly nutty as well as tangy.
- Granulated sugar: Just like salt balances and enhances flavors, a pinch of granulated sugar does the same. Have you ever heard of adding a bit of sugar to red spaghetti sauce? It’s the same principle. The sugar mellows out the acidity, and it works in tandem with the salt, which draws out the flavors of the vegetables, to tie up loose ends, sealing in the flavor of the dish so that each bite is irresistibly good.
How to Make My Grandma’s Macaroni Salad
It couldn’t be more simple:
- Prepare the pasta. Cook the pasta and allow it to drain and cool—but not completely—before tossing it in with the dressing. Leaving the macaroni a little bit warm, my grandma insists, helps the dressing emulsify and enhances the flavors.
- Stir together the pasta and the dressing. While the macaroni is still a little warm, add the mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper, until the creamy dressing mixture is smooth.
- Add veggies. Toss the creamy coated macaroni pasta with celery, onion, green pepper, carrot, and pimentos.
- Refrigerate and wait. This is the most important step! The salad should chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours for the flavors to meld, but ideally up to 24 hours. The longer the better—if you can resist!
Get the recipe: Classic Macaroni Salad
