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Chicken Macaroni Salad! It’s like the best of both worlds – creamy pasta salad meets chicken salad. Super easy to make and a delicious way to use up leftover or rotisserie chicken. Perfect for lunch, a quick weeknight dinner, or bringing to your next BBQ or picnic!
What Is Chicken Macaroni Salad?
Chicken macaroni salad is a type of creamy pasta salad. Just imagine if a chicken salad and a macaroni salad got together and had a delicious love child. This recipe would be the result! Loaded with chicken, lots of veggies and macaroni that all gets tossed together in a creamy and super yummy dressing. It’s so good!
6 Reasons You’ll Love This Chicken Macaroni Pasta Salad
- Easy to make: Super easy to throw together especially if you are using store bought rotisserie chicken or leftover cooked chicken.
- Perfect for meal prep: Keeps well in the fridge for a few days.
- Kid friendly: Most kids tend to like creamy pasta salads like this one. It’s also a great lunch box idea.
- Delicious way to use up leftover cooked chicken: Grilled, pan-seared, roasted… whatever you happen to have – it all works!
- Customizable: This recipe is basically a template so play with it! Check out the “Customize It” section below for some ideas.
- Versatile and perfect any time of year: Perfect for lunch or a quick and easy weeknight dinner any time of year. Also makes a great dish for a summer BBQ, potluck or picnic.
Ingredients Notes
Here’s what you’ll need to make this chicken macaroni salad recipe:
Detailed ingredient list and directions located in the recipe card below.
- Macaroni: Or your favorite short cut pasta instead.
- Chicken: Use shredded or chopped cooked chicken — grab a rotisserie chicken from the store to keep things super easy! Leftovers are perfect too! Whether it’s grilled, roasted, pan-seared, or poached, anything goes.
- Veggies: A variety of vegetables to add color, texture and taste. I like the combo of diced celery and red bell pepper, grated carrot, corn, chopped onion and fresh chives and parsley. The herbs are optional and any of the veggies can be substituted for whatever you like.
- Dressing: A creamy dressing made from mayo, sour cream, Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, seasoned with chicken bouillon powder, salt and pepper. I highly recommend using this delicious homemade bouillon powder – it adds incredible flavor to this dressing.
Customize It
This recipe is basically a template for a macaroni salad with chicken. Play with it to suit your tastes or what you have on hand. This is a fun salad to play with and customize. Here are a few ideas…
- Use a different pasta shape: Instead of macaroni, you can use any short cut pasta you like (e.g. rotini, farfalle, orecchiette, cavatappi, etc.)
- Use different veggies and herbs: Swap out the veggies and herbs for whatever you like or have around.
- Add in some fun stuff: Add fun ingredients like bacon, cheese, roasted red peppers, pickles, chopped hard boiled eggs, olives or something sweet like grapes or chopped apples.
- Make it gluten free: Simply use gluten free pasta
- Make it dairy free: Swap the sour cream for additional mayo.
- Replace chicken: Replace the chicken with tuna for a yummy tuna macaroni salad. Or make it vegetarian by replacing the chicken with chickpeas.
- Make it tangier: Adjust the vinegar to taste if you prefer it tangier.
How To Make Chicken Macaroni Salad
This pasta salad is so easy to throw together. Let’s walk through it step-by-step!
- Cook the macaroni: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook 1 pound (454 grams) of macaroni according to package directions. Drain and immediately rinse under cold water until the pasta is cooled. Drain well and set aside.
- Add salad ingredients to bowl: Grab a large mixing bowl and add in the cooked and cooled macaroni along with 3 cups shredded or chopped cooked chicken. Then add ½ cup grated carrots, 1 finely diced red bell pepper, 2 diced celery stalks, 1 cup of corn, ½ cup finely chopped sweet onion or some sliced green onions and ¼ cup of chopped fresh herbs like parsley and chives.
- Make the dressing: In a small mixing bowl, whisk together 1 cup mayonnaise, ¼ cup sour cream, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder and some salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
- Combine: Time to toss it all together now! Eat immediately or refrigerate for at least an hour first to help the flavors meld together.
STORAGE TIPS
Storage and Make Ahead Tips
- How long does chicken macaroni salad last? It will keep in the fridge for up to 3-4 days stored in an airtight container. Don’t leave it out at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
- Can it be made ahead? This is a fantastic make ahead salad! It actually tastes even better if it has had at least an hour of chill time in the fridge. This helps the flavors meld together. If you are making it more than a few hours ahead of time, you can also leave some of the dressing aside (or make some extra) to mix through before serving.
- Is it meal prep friendly? Definitely! Since it keeps well in the fridge, this is a fantastic salad for meal prep. You can portion it out in individual meal prep containers or store it in one large container. It is also great for lunch boxes!
FAQ
This salad can be served on its own as a lunch or light dinner any time of year. Also is a delicious summer salad recipe served alongside BBQ, grilled foods, or as part of a picnic or potluck spread.
Yes! Not only does it cool it off quickly but it also washes away the extra starch so it doesn’t stick together.
Definitely! You can replace the macaroni with any short cut pasta you like.
It’s not suitable for freezing.
There could be a few reasons for this. You might have undercooked your pasta which allows it to continue to absorb dressing. Or perhaps it is not being stored in an airtight container in the fridge. It will naturally absorb some dressing if it is stored in the fridge for a longer period of time. In this case, you could also make some additional dressing to mix through before serving if you like it extra creamy.
More Pasta Salad Recipes
Love salads? I’ve got lots of delicious salad recipes for you to try! Here are a few more pasta salads that you might like:
Did you make this chicken macaroni salad recipe? If so, I would love to hear about it! Please leave me a comment below.
Chicken Macaroni Salad
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 10 min
- Total Time: 25 min
- Yield: 8–10 servings 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: Mix
- Cuisine: American
Description
Chicken Macaroni Salad! It’s like the best of both worlds — creamy pasta salad meets chicken salad. Super easy to make and a delicious way to use up leftover or rotisserie chicken. Perfect for lunch, a quick weeknight dinner, or bringing to your next BBQ or picnic!
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 1 pound uncooked macaroni (454 g)
- 3 cups shredded or chopped cooked chicken (approx. 2 large chicken breasts)
- ½ cup grated carrots
- 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
- 2 celery stalks, finely diced
- 1 cup corn kernels
- ½ cup finely chopped sweet onion or sliced green onions
- Optional: ¼ cup chopped fresh herbs (e.g. chives and parsley)
For the dressing:
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (or white wine vinegar or red wine vinegar)
- 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder (or seasoning salt)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Cook macaroni: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the macaroni according to package directions. Drain and immediately rinse under cold water until the pasta is cooled. Drain well and set aside.
- Make dressing: In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients until smooth.
- Combine: Place the cooked and cooled macaroni in a large mixing bowl along with the remaining salad ingredients. Pour over the dressing and toss to combine. Adjust seasonings to taste and serve immediately or refrigerate for at least an hour first to help the flavors meld together.
Notes
- Chicken:Any type of cooked chicken works (roasted, poached, grilled, etc.). This salad is a fantastic way to use up leftover cooked chicken or grab a rotisserie chicken from the store to keep things easy.
- Bouillon powder: I like to use this delicious homemade bouillon powder. It’s a staple in my spice drawer and adds amazing flavor to this salad.
- Macaroni: You can swap the macaroni out for any short cut pasta you like (e.g. farfalle, orecchiette, cavatappi, rotini, etc.)
- Storage: Keeps in the fridge for up to 3-4 days stored in an airtight container. Don’t leave it out at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
What a great meal – I had never thought of adding chicken to macaroni, but it’s perfect!
I completely agree:) Glad you liked it!
Man, I haven’t had a good pasta salad in way too long – and this is a great pasta salad! I don’t know why I hadn’t ever tried chicken (or any protein really) in a pasta salad, but it’s a great flavour fit, and it makes this into more of a meal. Great stuff!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I definitely eat this as a meal sometimes – makes a great lunch or cold dinner in the summer!
Now I know exactly what to do with the leftover chicken in my fridge! This salad looks like a delicious and satisfying dinner.
Such a great way to use up that leftover chicken!