The BEST Chicken Macaroni Salad

Name: Chicken Macaroni Salad
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 16 ounces elbow macaroni; 1 cup mayo; 4 teaspoons yellow mustard; 1 teaspoon seasoned salt; 1 teaspoon black pepper; 1/2 cup chopped onion; 1/2 cup sliced celery, about 1 large stalk; 2 ½ cups diced cooked chicken

Jump to Recipe 33 comments

4.98 from 48 votes

Chicken Macaroni Salad: An easy pasta salad recipe using pasta, mayonnaise, mustard, seasoned salt, pepper, celery, onion, and chicken to create a side dish or main course, favorite!

This chicken noodle salad is ready in 30 minutes and great for a summertime picnic, or even as a holiday side dish.

Whether it’s a special occasion or just a recipe to add to your favorite lunch recipes, this, along with our delicious shrimp macaroni salad will be a hit.

You may also love this curry chicken salad recipe!

Why You’ll Love This Chicken Macaroni Salad

This is one of the simple pantry staple side dish recipes and salad recipes that you’ll want to hang on to. With the chicken in it, it could also easily be considered one of the easiest and lightest main dish recipes you could make for summer! It’s similar to the Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad, that has gone viral and that everyone seems to love!

It’s a simple creamy dressing tossed with tender pasta, chicken, celery, and onion that’s done in a flash.

Hey Fantabulosity readers! It’s Meg from Meg’s Everyday Indulgence popping in with a delicious recipe to satisfy all your carb cravings.

How ready are you all for summer food? I adore any kind of pasta or macaroni salad, especially when the weather is warm, and I’m hoping you all feel the same way.

This recipe is incredibly easy so beginner cooks will love making it and experienced cooks will love how something so easy, tastes so delicious!

We know you’ll also love this cold tuna pasta salad recipe!

Ingredient Checklist

You only need a few ingredients to make this easy chicken macaroni salad recipe. Here’s everything you need:

Pasta (we use macaroni noodles but feel free to use whatever pasta you prefer!) You can also use elbow macaroni to make this macaroni and tomatoes recipe!
Mayonnaise
Classic yellow mustard
Seasoned salt – If you don’t have seasoned salt, don’t fret. You can use kosher salt in its place and it will still be delicious. I prefer the seasoned salt here because it just gives it that extra little interest and flavor.
Black pepper
Celery
Onion
Chicken (We use boneless chicken breast, but you can use canned chicken to make it even easier!) Or, you can even boil chicken breast ahead of time, use leftover chicken or use a rotisserie chicken!

I’m betting you already have everything you need on hand to make this macaroni salad.

What Kind of Pasta to Use for Macaroni Salad

I chose to use elbow macaroni to keep it looking classic but you can use whatever short cut pasta that you have in your pantry. This could be made with pasta shells or even rotini.

How to Make Easy Chicken Macaroni Salad

Mixing up this Chicken Macaroni Salad couldn’t get easier.

First thing, cook the pasta according to package directions. While the pasta is cooking, whisk together the mayo, mustard, seasoned salt, and pepper. Set that aside while you prep the onion and celery.
Thinly slice a large stalk of celery and dice ½ cup of onion. You can use a sweet onion for a milder flavor or a red onion if you love that pop of color. Any variety will work here. Mix the chopped veggies into the dressing and it’s ready for the pasta.

Dressing mixture in one photo and chicken and veggies added to dressing in 2nd photo.

Once the pasta is cooked to al dente, rinse it with cold water and drain it well. You don’t want to add hot pasta to a cold, mayo-based dressing.
You can serve it right away or refrigerate it and serve later. However, it’s recommended to make it the day of, so that creamy mayonnaise dressing won’t soak in too much!

Two images: one showing the cooked macaroni being added to bowl of dressing, and then the other photo showing it all mixed.

What to Serve with Chicken Macaroni Salad

Macaroni salad pairs really well with so many dishes but here are some of our favorites:

Pasta Varieties

If you want to experiment and add in other items to this pasta salad, here are some great ideas to try:

chopped bell peppers
cheddar cheese
chopped carrots
chopped hard boiled eggs made in the Instant Pot
sweet pickle relish
sour cream
chopped green onions
Fritos (Yeah! Wouldn’t that add a fun crunch?)
Sriracha
liquid smoke (but just a drop! It’s very overpowering if you add too much.)
fresh basil leaves or fresh parsley

Chicken macaroni salad in round serving bowl.

Recipe FAQs

How do I keep macaroni from absorbing mayonnaise?

Cold pasta will help keep the mayonnaise from absorbing in to the noodles. So a good thing you can do is either refrigerate the pasta after cooking, or you can simply run cold water over the noodles while in a colander until the past has cooled off.

How long does macaroni salad last?

Macaroni salad will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, if stored in an air-tight container.

Do you eat macaroni salad cold or hot?

You can eat it cold or hot but most of the time it’s served cold.

If you need more ideas of what to add to your barbecue, keep this Amish Potato Salad, Summer Side Salad, Easy Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad, crab salad recipe and Tomato Mozzarella Avocado Salad in mind.

Pro Tip

If you make a batch of shredded chicken in the slow cooker, you can use it in this recipe, along with other chicken recipes here on the blog!

Did You Make This?
Snap a pic and hashtag it #Fantabulosity — I love to see your creations on Instagram and Facebook.

Originally published: March 2020
Republished and updated: 2025

Recipe

Chicken Macaroni Salad

Jessica Burgess

Chicken Macaroni Salad: An easy recipe using pasta, mayo, mustard, seasoned salt, pepper, celery, onion and chicken to create a side dish favorite!

4.98 from 48 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Servings 10 servings

Calories 356 kcal

Video

Ingredients

Instructions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook elbow macaroni according to package directions.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix together the mayo, mustard, seasoned salt, black pepper, onion, celery and chicken. Set aside.
Rinse elbow macaroni in cold water and drain very well. Add to the bowl of the mayonnaise mixture and stir until well coated. Serve or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Notes

How to keep pasta from absorbing the mayonnaise:

How long does macaroni salad last?

Macaroni salad will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, if stored in an air-tight container.

Do you eat macaroni salad hot or cold?

You can eat it cold or hot but most of the time it’s served cold.

Nutrition

Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Comments

4.98 from 48 votes (40 ratings without comment)