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This Hawaiian Macaroni Salad is truly island-style, from how it’s made to the ingredients used. This recipe uses pantry ingredients to create a creamy, no-frills macaroni salad that is the perfect side dish for any Barbecue or Luau.
Authentic Hawaiian Mac Salad
Hawaiian Macaroni Salad is one of my biggest guilty pleasures because it reminds me of my time on the North Shore of Oahu. When I lived there, I often frequented a restaurant called L&L Hawaiian Barbecue where I always ordered the same thing: a plate lunch with macaroni salad and rice on the side.
And If you follow a vegan or healthy diet, we’ve added alternate ingredients that will allow you to enjoy this macaroni salad recipe.
For the complete Hawaiian experience, be sure to try our other recipes, such as Malasadas (Hawaii’s version of donuts), Haupia (Hawaiian coconut pudding), and Huli-Huli Chicken (Hawaiian grilled chicken).
Mac salad when you can’t be in Hawaii
This past weekend, I had a flashback to my Hawaii days when we ordered food from Honolulu Grill in St. George, UT. Everything we had there was delicious and seriously the most authentic Hawaiian food I have had since leaving Hawaii.
The macaroni salad, especially, hit home and suddenly made me wonder why we haven’t gotten a good Hawaiian mac salad recipe here on Favorite Family Recipes yet!
Keep it simple
Authentic Hawaiian Mac Salad is ridiculously simple. It is a no-frills mac salad yet, it is so creamy and flavorful. I had a friend in Hawaii who was also a caterer there. He explained to me long ago that true Hawaiian macaroni salad is pretty much just macaroni, carrot, mayonnaise, and salt and pepper. This is the way the locals make it.
There are a few other ingredients you can add like celery, extra onion, potatoes, fresh crab, or relish, but the basic recipe is my favorite. Once you start getting into adding ham or pineapple, you are getting way off course.
Adding ham or pineapple to something does not make it “Hawaiian Food”. Pineapple and ham have no business being in a Hawaiian mac salad. EVER.
Healthy Hawaiian Macaroni Salad
This recipe may seem a little mayo-heavy, it’s true. That is what makes it so stinking good. If you are really concerned about the mayo-ness of it, you can substitute Greek yogurt in whatever amounts you would like (i.e. half mayo, half Greek yogurt).
You will get a likeness of mac salad but I am telling you, it won’t be quite the same. In Hawaii, it’s all about the mayo. As far as the BRAND of mayo, it has got to be Best Foods. Period. No other mayo will taste right.
Substitutions for a Vegan Hawaiian Mac Salad
We are so grateful for comments we get from our readers, especially when adapting recipes for special diets. We received a comment from Mimi that I thought would be helpful for anyone wanting to make this a vegan recipe. She substituted Hellman’s Vegan Mayonnaise for the regular mayo in the recipe, and Silk Unsweetened Cashew Milk for the regular milk. She said it turned out great. Thank you, Mimi!
How to make Hawaiian Mac Salad ahead of time
If you make this ahead of time and it seems a little dried out, add some mayo mixed with a little milk until you get the right consistency back. Fold it in with a large rubber spatula so you don’t tear the macaroni noodles. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
More Delicious Hawaiian Food
If you love this Hawaiian Macaroni Salad, try more of our other authentic Hawaiian recipes:
Authentic Hawaiian Macaroni Salad
Video
Equipment
- Stove Top
- Large Sauce Pan
Ingredients
- 1 pound macaroni
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 carrots, shredded
- ¼ cup shredded onion (optional)
- 2 ½ cups Mayonnaise Best Foods or Hellman's mayonnaise (no substitutes!)
- ¼ cup milk
- 2 teaspoon sugar
- kosher salt, to taste
- ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain well and place in a large bowl.
- While macaroni is still hot, sprinkle on vinegar. Add carrot and onion. Toss together until well combined. Refrigerate for 15 minutes, or until cooled.
- In a separate, small bowl, whisk together mayo, milk, and sugar. Fold the mayo mixture into the macaroni until all the noodles are evenly coated. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours (best if overnight). Gently stir before serving, add a little more milk if needed, no more than a tablespoon or two.
Notes
- I like to put my boiled macaroni and ingredients directly in a Tupperware bowl with a lid so I can easily refrigerate it.Â
- Make sure you use Best Foods or Hellmann’s mayonnaise-no substitutes!Â
My Beau and I grew up in Hawaii together (Kaneohe and Kailua), but we live in Florida now. This is the Mac salad I make for us! We love it!!!
can i use reg vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar??
This is a great recipe and it turned out perfectly, but as someone living alone even halving the recipe ended up making far too much to eat by myself before it got too old.
Next time I will make a 1/4 recipe.
Are you able to add 1/4x and 1/2x buttons to go with the 1x, 2x, 3x multiplier buttons? Would be convenient.
I added some teriyaki sauce and it was delicious.
Is the 1 lb of macaroni in the ingredients list the cooked weight or uncooked Mac weight?
Uncooked macaroni!
I live in Cali and my Son introduced me to L&L Hawaiian Barbeque, I was instantly hooked on the mac salad, I have made this recipe and now my family will only eat mac if it is made this way. I love the simplicity of it not to mention how GREAT it taste, will not go back to making mac salad any other way, when I saw L&L Hawaiian Barbeque in your post I knew this had to be the recipe I was looking for and I was right. Thanks for the best authentic Hawaiian Macaroni Salad.
L&L is the best, right?! I literally lived steps away from the L&L on Oahu. I’m glad you liked the recipe! Hope it brings back all the good memories 🙂
I don’t want to make 10 servings, and want to make 5. Can I do 1/2 lb of macaroni and split ingredients in half? Cause smallest serving size on recipe is 10 servings. Thanks
Yes you can half the recipe!
Delicious…..I cannot believe that people ask if this recipe can be cut in half, they must be novice cooks or can’t do basic math
Yasssss you got it right sistah. I grew up in Hilo, HI and Hilo Brand used to sell the best potato macaroni salad at the local KTA stores. Never any pineapple! Best Foods all da way.
Thanks for the nice comment! Yes 100% Best Foods!
I live in Phoenix Oregon which is 3 Mi out of Medford Oregon. There is a restaurant called No hose Hawaiian restaurant and make the best Mac salad trying to find the recipe for that.
I cannot believe I found this comment!! I live in SO too and LOVE that place!! I came here for the same reason!
I also lived in Hawaii for 5 years. I also loved plate lunch, and the mac salad was always the best part. Your recipe looks right to me. I have made this with Duke’s mayo and it works. The real difference using Duke’s is that it doesn’t have nearly the amount of air whipped into it as hellmans or best foods (which I don’t recall seeing anywhere here in Kansas City). It just takes a tad more milk. Good recipe though. Keeping a perfect side perfect without feeling the need to embellish it is excellent.
Not a big fan of Mac salad…the peppers are a turn off for me: I was making kalbi ribs and looked up a recipe for Hawaiian style and found this. Made it…delicious and will now be one of my favorites to use with everything!
Only Duke’s Mayo for me! 😎
Absolutely delicious, I did tweak a little. I took away 1/2 c mayo and added sour cream. It was a hit! Next time I think I’ll add a little garlic , green onion and crab. Thanks to previous commenters on the idea.
Sounds amazing! Thank you for sharing your variations!
This was a very good recipe. It was very quick and easy to put together. Thank you.
Everyone loved it.
Thank you for the 5-star review! I’m so happy you like the recipe!
Simple and refreshing!!!
Mahalo for the recipe! Nice to hear you lived on the islands for a while. I’m from Waialua now living in Cali.
I used to work at the plantation!
Omg it was great. Added garlic powder and paprika to it and used less mayo. I used 2 cups, but even then I thought it was a little too much mayo. But overall I lovveeee it.
This was a favorite at a dinner gathering. Seconds kept being dished up and my husband has asked me to make it again for another event we’re going to tomorrow. We love this macaroni dish.
Everyone absolutely loved it!!!
Yummy! I use dukes Mayo. I also make sure and add garlic and onion seasoning at the end. Just to give it a light flavor. Top with green onions. It’s perfect as is too!
Everyone in my family loves this salad.
I’m from Hawaiian and this brings back good memories of when my mom fixed it. Delicious
This is fantastic and I’ve been making Mac salad for over twenty years.The only thing I would do differently is mix the sugar with the vinegar to break it down to smooth consistency then do the other part of the recipe the same.