Awesome with Sprinkles

Classic Macaroni Salad with colored eggs for Easter

Heidi

This classic macaroni salad comes from my great grandmother’s recipe book. It’s simple, creamy and sweet without fussy ingredients. This macaroni salad was often a staple at family picnics and BBQs, but it was absolutely MANDATORY for Easter dinner. You didn’t have Easter didn’t without Granny’s Macaroni Salad. You just didn’t.[jumptorecipe]

It pairs well with ham sandies, burgers, and hot dogs or just a big bowl on it’s own. It’s perfect for those warm summer days when you can’t stand the idea of cooking in the kitchen and would rather be on the patio. I like to sprinkle a little Lawry’s Season Salt on top and eat it with BBQ chips. So yum!

For Easter, I like to make this macaroni salad with colored eggs to make it extra festive! My mom showed me a super cool trick for getting the eggs to be SUPER colorful. She peels the shells off first and then dyes them. Genius! Simply add 3 tbsp of white vinegar to 1/2 cup of water and a few drops of food safe (of course) food coloring. Then peel your eggs and drop them into your dye cups either whole, or you can cut them in half and remove the egg yolks to get even more colorful surface area!

Lookit all the colors!! Love it!

If you are like me and leave your regular Easter eggs soaking for a long time to get the darkest color, you might want to note that they only need about a minute in the dye for the color to take and be bright, so check on them a wee bit sooner! You can also use this trick for deviled eggs. How cool are those!?

Now a quick word about the ingredients: I know that there is this long time war between Miracle Whip lovers and mayonnaise lovers and usually if you like one, you hate the other. I get it. I like them both just fine, but to be honest, they both kinda creep me out, and I don’t eat either on a regular basis, so whatever. Don’t think that hard about it. Moving on…

So for those of you who saw Miracle Whip in the ingredients list and just cringed, just go for it. The tanginess of the Miracle Whip is well balanced with the sugar and milk and it is really the flavor that you want. Mayonnaise is really no substitute in this case, you guys. I promise you, it’s delicious.

Enjoy and Happy Easter!
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Classic Macaroni Salad
 
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Ingredients
  • 16oz macaroni or pasta noodles (I use the small shells)
  • 1½ cups chopped celery (about 3 stalks)
  • ⅓ cup chopped onion (1/2 large onion)
  • 6 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
  • 1 cup Miracle Whip dressing
  • ¼ cup white sugar
  • 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
  • ½ cup evaporated milk
  • 1 5oz jar Kraft pimento cheese
  • Salt + Pepper
Instructions
  1. Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cool water.
  2. In a large bowl, toss together cooked macaroni, celery, onion, and chopped eggs. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl whisk together Miracle Whip, sugar, mustard, evaporated milk and pimento cheese until smooth and creamy.
  4. Pour over macaroni mix and gently stir until incorporated.
  5. Place in the fridge to chill for about an hour before serving.
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