I swear the minute the temps hit 80 degrees my girls start begging to go swimming and my husband starts talking about firing up the grill.

Summer is almost HERE and that means one thing in our house…my Hawaiian macaroni salad is back in regular rotation!

This mac salad is seriously the tastiest side dish for those poolside days when the kids are splashing around and I’m trying to keep everyone fed without spending the whole day in the kitchen.

This Hawaiian salad is so good with burgers grilled chicken or honestly just by itself with a cold drink.

And bonus its super easy to make ahead!

So, if you want a quick and easy mac salad recipe, check my Hawaiian Macaroni Salad recipe!

Ingredients for Easy Hawaiian Macaroni Salad

Here’s what you’ll need for my Hawaiian mac salad:

Elbow macaroni noodles
Mayonnaise (has to be the real stuff not light mayo trust me on this)
Milk
Apple cider vinegar
White sugar
Salt
Black pepper
Shredded carrot
Green onions

Super simple ingredients!

Nothing fancy that requires a special trip to the store. You probably have most of this in your pantry already.

How to Make Your Hawaiian Macaroni Salad Recipe

Step 1: Boil your elbow macaroni according to the box directions but here’s the thing – for mac salad you actually want them a bit harder than you would for a hot pasta dish.

So cook your pasta al dente. While you mix the salad, the macaroni will soften.

Once they’re done cooking drain them but don’t rinse with cold water like some recipes tell you to.

The warm pasta will actually absorb more of the dressing which is what you want.

Step 2: For the dressing mixture you want a big mixing bowl cause this gets messy.

Whisk together the mayonnaise milk apple cider vinegar sugar salt and pepper until its super smooth.

The dressing should be pretty thick but still pourable.

If the dressing seems too thick just add a tiny splash more milk.

Step 3: Add your still-warm pasta to the dressing and stir stir stir.

The pasta will soak up so much of that creamy goodness.

Then fold in your carrots and green onions.

Step 4: The most important part is letting it sit covered in the fridge.

An hour is the absolute minimum but honestly overnight is when this salad reaches its full potential.

The pasta soaks up all that flavor and gets extra creamy.

I usually have to make extra because so much disappears during “taste testing” before it ever makes it to the table.

Oh and a little tip – save a bit of the dressing mixture in a separate container in the fridge. Right before serving I stir in that extra bit of dressing to make it super creamy again since the pasta absorbs so much overnight.

Make-Ahead & Storage Tips

Can you make this Hawaiian Macaroni Salad the night before?

Make-Ahead: Yes, I prefer making it ahead because sitting overnight in the fridge makes it taste even better.

The flavors have time to really blend together and the macaroni soaks up all that yummy dressing. This is my go-to for those tournament weekends when I know we’ll be at the soccer fields all day.

Storage: As for keeping leftovers (if you actually have any lol) just pop it in a container with a tight lid and it’ll stay good in the refrigerator for about 2 days.

No fancy storage needed!

When we have family over for BBQ I just cover my big serving bowl with plastic wrap if it doesn’t all disappear.

Freezing: don’t try freezing this mac salad.

I tried that once when the oldest was in kindergarten and had to bring a dish to their end-of-year party. Big mistake! The pasta gets all weird and mushy when it thaws out and the mayo separates.

Nobody wants to eat sad soggy pasta. Not worth the effort.

Prepping: One thing I do sometimes is prep all the ingredients separately when I know we have a busy week coming up.

I’ll cook the macaroni chop the veggies and mix the dressing but store them all separately in the fridge.

Then I can combine everything about an hour before we need it.

This works great for those nights when we have back to back practices for all three girls and I’m basically an unpaid Uber driver until bedtime.

Hawaiian Macaroni “Mac Salad” Recipe

I swear there’s a reason I make this mac salad practically every weekend from May to September and it’s not just because it tastes amazing (though it definitely does)!

First off its the perfect make-ahead dish for those chaotic summer days.

When the girls have swim lessons in the morning soccer practice in the afternoon and friends coming over to play I don’t have time to be cooking all day.

I can make this the night before while catching up on my shows after the kids go to bed.

The heat is another reason!

Our summers get so hot that nobody wants to stand over a stove or turn on the oven.

This salad needs just one quick boil for the pasta and then everything else is just stirring. The kitchen stays cool and I stay happy.

Have you ever tried feeding a bunch of hungry kids coming out of the pool? They turn in.

Its also super budget friendly which matters when you’re suddenly feeding extra kids all summer long.

The ingredients are basic pantry staples and it stretches really far.

The versatility is another huge plus.

We serve it with grilled chicken burgers hot dogs or even just on its own.