Tuna Macaroni Salad Like Mom Made

Watch my “mom’s best tuna macaroni salad web story” here.

This is my favorite kind of macaroni salad; it’s sweet, but not too-sweet, tangy, crunchy, savory, and filling, but still light. It’s truly a lovely and delicious salad with everything in great proportion. I made it for Memorial Day weekend and it’s just perfect to go with grilled meats. I skipped the tuna this time, but would use it unhesitatingly another time for a main dish meal with bread/rolls and other veggies.

Reader Kate

The Difference Between Macaroni Salad and Pasta Salad

I do enjoy a good pasta salad (see my Mediterranean couscous salad):  crisp, blanched vegetables and yummy al dente pasta shapes all drenched in a homemade vinaigrette and spiked with whatever herbs and spices strike my fancy.

Macaroni salad or retro pasta salad is the less fancy version of modern pasta salad.

Classic, workhorse pasta shapes like shells or elbows are the order of the day here, and maybe rotini if you’re feeling fancy. The dressing is usually mayonnaise-based and not vinaigrette based.

When trying to decide whether a dish is pasta salad or macaroni salad, ask yourself these questions, which are admittedly subjective, but it’s my list, s there you go:

• Are there tons of vegetables in it? (It’s probably pasta salad)
• Do I see any black olives? (It’s definitely pasta salad)
• Is all the pasta slathered in creamy, mayo-based sauce? (It’s probably macaroni salad)
• Is there pickle juice in the dressing? (It’s probably macaroni salad)
• Is there cheese in it?
  • Is it feta cheese? (It’s probably pasta salad)
  • Is it Parmesan cheese from a can? (It’s probably macaroni salad)
  • Is it Velveeta or American cheese or maybe cheddar? (It’s probably macaroni salad)

So maybe some of those questions are broad generalizations and are based on my own personal preferences. Maybe.

My Mom’s Macaroni Salad

My mom’s macaroni salad is definitely not pasta salad.

This is the macaroni that you take to the covered dish Wednesday night supper.

The one that you make for the little league end-of-season party. The Dish of Choice for the swim team party, the block party, the I’m-sorry-your-aunt-died get-together.

I grew up eating this stuff, and when I make it for myself, I stay pretty true to Mom’s way of making it. And now, I’m going to share it with you.

Use this as a basic recipe template, and feel free to add/substitute to your Heart’s Content. But do try it The Original Way at least once. Especially if you are a fan of celery seed and tuna. You won’t be sorry.

Ingredients and Equipment for This Recipe

Here’s what you’ll need to make mom’s tuna macaroni salad (and yes, you can leave out the tuna if you don’t like it).

If you don’t need the rundown, you can jump straight to the recipe.

Here’s what you need to make the dressing:

• Duke’s mayonnaise (or a half-and-half mixture of mayo and sour cream if I’m feeling righteous)
• yellow mustard
• sweet pickle juice or apple cider vinegar and a touch of sugar
• sweet or dill pickle relish (mom always used sweet)
• Parmesan cheese (green can here is just fine)
• salt & pepper
• celery seed

Here are the Mix-Ins:

• Medium shell pasta, or use another short shape such as pipette or regular elbow macaroni
• sweet onion
• celery
• shredded carrot (my mom uses it, but I generally don’t because I am not a Carrot Fan)
• canned tuna
• little cubes of cheddar cheese, about 1/4″ dice

Why Cubes of Cheese?

Why cubes? Because I add the cheese while the pasta is still somewhat warm. If you use shredded cheese, it could melt.

While that’s not the worst thing, I like to find little bites of cheese in my macaroni salad, so even if the outsides of the little cubes melt some, they generally stay intact.

And who doesn’t like to bite into a substantial cube of cheese every once in a while? Or in every bite?

Equipment Recommendations

As with most mom-style recipes, you don’t need a lot of fancy equipment or ingredients to make a retro pasta salad. Here’s a checklist to make sure you have what you need (and you probably do):

• large pot for boiling pasta
• a colander or strainer (I use my over-the-sink strainer all the time)
• a large bowl for mixing up the salad
• a large spatula for folding everything together without smashing the macaroni

And if you’re feeling shoppy, you can check out all my kitchen shopping recommendations.

How to Make Macaroni Salad

There are plenty of ways to make macaroni salad, and probably no one right way, but this is how I do it.

1. Mix up all the dressing ingredients in a bowl.
2. Cook the pasta, drain well, and rinse so it’s not boiling hot.
3. Mix the dressing with the still-warm pasta so it can soak in.
4. Chop/mince up additional ingredients.
5. Fold them into the salad with a spatula.

Macaroni Salad Q & A

Make It a Meal

Wondering what to serve with mom’s macaroni salad? It makes a great side dish for an old-fashioned burger like a Double Polar Burger with Everything (from Grease!) or a smashed bacon double cheeseburger.

Since the macaroni salad is already pretty carby, you could also choose to serve it with this chicken with mushrooms and thyme. Or you can stick with the salads theme and serve it with coronation chicken salad.

And of course, round out your meal with a retro classic double chocolate cheesecake. You’ve earned it!

More Family Recipes

I love the recipes my mom made as I was growing up back in the 70s, so I have quite a few on the blog.

If you’re a fan of easy, mom-style retro recipes, you may like some of the following:

• My favorite casserole, beefy and tomato-y and creamy Hamburger Macaroni Casserole Supreme
• My favorite Christmas cookie, the perfect pecan slices or Angel Slices. These have a shortbread-type crust, coconut pecan filling, and thin, crunchy lemon glaze. They are perfect.
• My family’s English trifle is the one we grew up eating from the time we were little. It was always an option for Thanksgiving and Christmas dessert, and the simple combination of pound cake, raspberry jam, a little cream sherry, and homemade vanilla custard is still my favorite.

Questions?

If you have any questions about this or any other recipe or post on the site, there are a few ways to get in touch.

You can leave a comment on the post, and I’ll be back in touch within 24 hours.

If your question is more pressing, don’t hesitate to email me, and I should be back in touch within 4 hours (unless I’m asleep) or often much more quickly than that.

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I really hope you love my mom’s tuna macaroni salad, friends.

It’s one of my favorites, and it’s so comforting and filling and delicious.

Thanks for spending some time with me today.

Take care, and have a lovely day.