Macaroni Salad

Macaroni salad, a cookout favorite, doesn’t take much to be great — just the right amount of moisture and seasoning. This version draws its inspiration from the macaroni salad at the Kennedy Fried Chicken restaurants. For the perfect balance, use a more savory brand of mayonnaise here, since the recipe gets its sweetness from a bit of sugar and shredded carrots. Make sure the macaroni salad is cold when you serve it; the only time macaroni has to be served hot is when it’s covered in mounds of cheese, like this Southern Macaroni and Cheese.

Ingredients

• Kosher salt
• 1 pound elbow noodles
• 2 celery ribs, finely diced
• 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
• 0.5 cup shredded carrots (from 1 medium carrot)
• 0.5 cup finely diced red onion
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 0.5 cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
• 0.25 cup apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon or yellow mustard
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
• 0.5 teaspoon black pepper, plus more as needed

Steps

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook noodles until a little past al dente, then rinse under cold water and drain. Once the noodles are cool enough to handle with your hands, transfer them to a large bowl.
2. Add the celery, bell pepper, carrots and onion to the cooled noodles; toss to combine.
3. Prepare the dressing: In a medium bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar, sugar, mustard, salt and pepper.
4. Pour dressing over the pasta mixture and toss until everything is well coated. Taste and season with more salt and pepper, if desired. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour before serving.