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Best Hawaiian Style Macaroni Salad Recipe

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Hawaiian macaroni salad makes a perfect summer meal or side. Sweet and tangy, this version of the popular picnic staple is a new, fresh take your friends and family will love. Plus, it is a great make ahead dish, which means you don’t have to stress putting it together the day you need it.

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Hawaiian Macaroni salad, Hawaiian pasta salad
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What is Hawaiian macaroni salad?

Hawaiian Macaroni Salad is a cold pasta side dish traditionally paired with Hawaiian meals, known for its sweet and tangy flavor. Unlike typical pasta salads, it beautifully balances subtle flavors using a less salty dressing. Hawaiian macaroni salad puts a tropical spin on the traditional macaroni salad. Mostly sweet with a hint of tang, our Hawaiian macaroni salad recipe uses pineapple chunks and juices.

We love macaroni salad Hawaiian style because it offers a refreshing and unique flavor, perfect for summer cookouts, picnics, and get-togethers.

What Ingredients do you need for Hawaiian Macaroni Salad

When you make this delicious macaroni salad Hawaiian style, you’ll need the following ingredients. For ease, we broke it down into what you’ll need for the macaroni and what you’ll need for the dressing.

Hawaiian Macaroni salad, Hawaiian pasta salad

The dressing

  • Dressing base - For the base of the dressing, you’ll want both Greek yogurt and mayonnaise. We use regular mayo for this and plain Greek yogurt.
  • Sugar - You can use either white or light brown sugar.
  • Black pepper
  • Salt
  • Juice from pineapple chunks can - You can use the juice from the can you use for the macaroni.

For the macaroni:

  • Elbow macaroni - You could use a similar sized noodle if you prefer.
  • Apple cider vinegar - If you don’t have apple cider vinegar, you could use another vinegar without issue.
  • Pineapple chunks - We use a can and then use the leftover juices for the dressing.
  • White onion - You could also use a yellow onion if you prefer.
  • Celery ribs - When you use these, make sure to cut them into small pieces.
  • Carrots - You’ll want to grate these.
  • Green onion chopped
Hawaiian Macaroni salad, Hawaiian pasta salad

Quick and Easy Hawaiian macaroni salad

Hawaiian style macaroni salad is really simple to make and doesn’t require any more steps compared to other forms of the famous macaroni salad. We use three additional ingredients to make this Hawaiian style, they include:

  • Pineapple chunks
  • Pineapple juice
  • White sugar

How to make

Here’s what you need to do when you are ready to make Hawaiian macaroni salad.

Hawaiian Macaroni salad step by step instructions
  • First, add 1 and 1/2 cups of water, sea salt, and the macaroni to the Instant Pot’s inner pot.
  • Next, stir gently and place the lid on with the vent knob turned to the sealing position. Once in place, select “pressure cook” on high for 3 minutes.
  • When the cooking cycle is complete, do a quick pressure release immediately and remove the lid.
  • Carefully pour the cooked pasta into a colander to drain any remaining water left in the pot and then stop it from cooking further by rinsing it with cold water until the pasta is cool to the touch.

Hawaiian Macaroni salad step by step instructions
  • As the pasta cooks, whisk together the Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, salt, pepper, apple cider vinegar ,pineapple juice, and sugar until smooth in a medium bowl. Refrigerate the dressing until needed.
  • Once the pasta has cooled, combine it with all remaining ingredients (onion, celery, carrots, and pineapple chunks) in a large mixing bowl.
  • Finally, add in the dressing and mix well, sprinkle the green onions, and cover with plastic wrap
  • Before serving, refrigerate the Hawaiian macaroni salad for at least 1 hour. Remove from the refrigerator 10 minutes before serving.
Hawaiian Macaroni salad step by step instructions

Pro tips and tricks

For best results, you’ll want to follow these tips when you make this macaroni salad Hawaiian style.

  • Make sure to not over cook the noodles by releasing the pressure immediately, draining quickly, and then running cool water over the noodles to stop the cooking process.
  • Once you put the salad together, allow it to rest at least an hour, though this is a perfect make ahead meal or side, so feel free to make it a day ahead of time.
  • You can make the dressing ahead too, just make sure to store it in an airtight container in the fridge until you are ready to mix with the rest of the salad.
Hawaiian Macaroni salad, Hawaiian pasta salad

FAQs

Can I make Macaroni Salad vegan?

Yes! You can use vegan style mayo and either make your own vegan version of Greek yogurt, purchase it at the store, or use only vegan mayo. The rest of the recipe follows a vegan lifestyle.

Can I make Macaroni salad ahead of time?

Yes! In fact, you may find it tastes even better the second day! Just make sure to cover tightly and store in the fridge when making ahead.

What makes Hawaiian macaroni salad different from other macaroni salad recipes?

The main difference is the use of pineapple, a very popular fruit that comes from Hawaii. The pineapple makes the macaroni salad Hawaiian style.

Hawaiian Macaroni salad, Hawaiian pasta salad

How to store

Once you have fully assembled the salad, you should transfer it to an airtight container. You can then place the container in the fridge and store for about 3 to 5 days. Since this is not cooked, the longer it sits, the more the flavors infuse, so it is great to make Hawaiian macaroni salad ahead of time.

How to serve

When you are ready to serve, we take the salad out of the fridge about 10 minutes before we are ready to use it. If you make a big batch, you may not want to take it all out at once to help preserve what you are not going to use. 

We serve this as a great picnic side dish, a light lunch, or as a side with some of our favorite sandwiches and wraps.

Can I freeze Hawaiian Macaroni Salad

Yes, you can freeze Hawaiian Macaroni Salad. Just ensure to place the assembled salad in an airtight container in the freezer. To use it, defrost in the fridge a day prior to eating. Keep in mind, leftover salad can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, but if it gets too stiff, add a splash of whole milk before serving.

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Let us know what you think

If you make this delicious recipe, let us know how it went! When you make this, be sure to take a pic and tag us on Instagram @dbellyrulesdmind or Facebook @thebellyrulesthemind!

About Soniya

Hello, I am Soniya, the cofounder of The Belly Rules The Mind.  Originally from Mumbai, India, I am settled in Virginia US with my husband.

I am a mother of 2 energetic boys, referred to as R2 (15-year-old) and R3 (10-year-old) on the blog. In case you are wondering who is R1, well that is my husband. 

My hubby and I were born in Mumbai, India, where we were spoiled by the wealth of food choices available to us. We could enjoy everything from yummy street food to multi-cuisine restaurants and we became very picky about what we like and what we don't. Read more

Hawaiian Macaroni salad, Hawaiian pasta salad

Hawaiian Macaroni pasta salad

Yield: 6 people
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 3 minutes
Additional Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 13 minutes

Hawaiian macaroni Pasta salad makes a perfect summer meal or side. Sweet and tangy, this version of the popular picnic staple is a new, fresh take your friends and family will love. Plus, it is a great make ahead dish, which means you don’t have to stress putting it together the day you need it.

Ingredients

FOR THE DRESSING:

  • 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon sugar or light brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 /2 teaspoon salt
  • use 4 oz juice from pineapple chunks can

FOR THE MACARONI:

  • 8 oz elbow macaroni /uncooked
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 cup pineapple chunks
  • 1/2 cup white onion / chopped finely
  • 1 celery ribs chopped into 1/4-inch pieces
  • 1/2 cup grated carrots
  • 1/2 cup green onion chopped

Instructions

Cook The pasta

  • First, add 1 - 1/2 cups of water, sea salt, and the macaroni to the Instant
    Pot’s inner pot. Hawaiian Macaroni salad step by step instructions
  • Next, stir gently and place the lid on with the vent knob turned to the
    sealing position.
  • Once in place, select “pressure cook” on high for 3 minutes.
  • When the cooking cycle is complete, do a quick pressure release immediately.
  • Carefully pour the cooked pasta into a colander to drain any remaining water left in the pot and stop it from cooking further by rinsing it with cold water until cool to the touch.
  • If you do not have an instant-pot, just boil the pasta in a pot as instructed on the box
  • Make the dressing

    • In a medium bowl whisk together the Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, pineapple juice , sugar, salt, and pepper until smooth. Refrigerate until needed.Hawaiian Macaroni salad step by step instructions


    Build the salad

    • Once the pasta is cooled, combine it with all remaining Hawaiian Macaroni salad step by step instructionsingredients (onion, celery, carrots, pineapple chunks) in a large mixing bowl.
    • Add in the dressing and mix well, sprinkle the green onions and cover with plastic wrap
    • Refrigerate the Hawaiian macaroni salad for at least 1 hour. Remove from the refrigerator 10 minutes before serving.

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    Kay

    Friday 24th of February 2023

    True Hawaiian macaroni salad does not have pineapple in it…just fyi.

    Wilma

    Wednesday 7th of September 2022

    The 1/2 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar is in with the ingredients for the macaroni, not the dressing. I hadn’t made this, but it does sound good.

    Jill

    Sunday 10th of July 2022

    My husband and I have heart disease. Do you have any of the nutritional info please? I think we would have to come up with a healthier dressing? Any suggestions? Sounds good other than the calories in the dressing and the fat.

    Jocelyn Panem

    Saturday 11th of June 2022

    Thank you for sharing your recipe

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