Instant Pot Best Macaroni Salad Recipe

Instant Pot Best Macaroni Salad is perfect for picnics, pot lucks, barbecues and gatherings! This Southern style creamy pasta salad is made with cheese, with additional add ins such as eggs and ham. It’s flavorful, easy to make using a pressure cooker and ready for the fridge in under 15 minutes! 

Instant Pot Best Macaroni Salad Recipe

The Summer is here and everyone is always scrambling to find a really good Macaroni Salad recipe that they can bring to picnic.

This Instant Pot Best Macaroni Salad recipe will become your go to macaroni salad.

Why is Instant Pot Macaroni Salad the Best?

• Instant Pot Macaroni Salad is quick because it cooks in the Instant Pot, Mealthy MultiPot or Pressure Cooker and is best when made the day before your event, which gives you time to enjoy your time with friends and family.
• Ingredients like cheese, pickles and olives make this a flavorful pasta salad.
• It’s creamy thanks to the mayonnaise and yogurt.
• It’s a versatile side dish that is easy to transport to gatherings.

Cast of Ingredients for Pressure Cooker Best Macaroni Salad Recipe

The recipe card will give you all the details but to wet your appetite here is the list of ingredients

Ingredients for Instant Pot Macaroni Salad

• Elbow Macaroni
• Mayonnaise and Yogurt – use your own homemade yogurt, or use yogurt from the store.
• Chives
• Black Olives
• Cheese
• Carrots
• Pickles
• Worcestershire Sauce – kicks up the flavor a notch.

Some people like hard boiled eggs in their macaroni salad. Check out my Instant Pot Egg Loaf recipe for the easiest way to prepare eggs at the same time you prepare the macaroni.

What Goes with Macaroni Salad?

Always an important question when planning a menu.

Pressure Cooker Best Macaroni Salad Recipe is a great side dish to my Pressure Cooker Carolina BBQ Spare Ribs. Don’t forget the Pressure Cooker Summer Picnic Potato Salad.

BBQ Baby Back Pork Ribs with Sauce

Instant Pot Best Macaroni Salad goes great with Air Fryer Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwiches and my Air Fryer Crispy Honey Garlic Chicken Wings too!

Pressure Cook the Macaroni

What’s the Best Pasta for Instant Pot Best Macaroni Salad Recipe?

If you can get De Cecco Elbow Macaroni, I suggest using it, as in this case, brand does made a difference.

The cook time in my recipe is for the De Cecco brand, so if you use a different brand, remember to check the package directions and cook your macaroni, according to the formula in the recipe below.

Pro Tip: Salt the water well, as it’s the only chance to nicely season the macaroni.

Use a Food Processor to Grate Carrots

Shredded carrots are sold in packages at the grocery store. However, if you have a food processor with a shredder attachment, you can easily make your own shredded carrots.

It’s so much cheaper too. Zip zip, Done! Use as much or as little carrots as you like.

The Shredded Carrots will soften overnight in the dressing.

Pro Tip: If you can’t find sweet n’ spicy pickles, use either gherkins or bread and butter Pickles.

As they are both sweet pickles, add a sprinkling of garlic powder, a pinch extra of True Lemon or a teaspoon of red wine vinegar if you use sweet gherkin pickles instead of the sweet n’ spicy pickles.

Pro Tip: Chop up the Sweet N Spicy Pickles in the food processor too.
 

Mix Together Sauce Ingredients

How to Make Pressure Cooker Best Macaroni Salad Recipe

• Prepare the macaroni salad in the pressure cooker.
• Mix the dressing together while the macaroni is cooking.

Run the Macaroni Under the Water

Macaroni Salad with Yogurt

Macaroni salad should be nice and creamy and also light and refreshing. 

Therefore, to keep it light and refreshing, I love to use a combination of mayonnaise and fresh Homemade Yogurt. As my  Instant Pot Greek Yogurt recipe is a fan favorite, it was easy to incorporate into the dressing.

Yogurt adds just the right amount of zing and freshness. Hence the name Instant Pot BEST Macaroni Salad.

Combine Macaroni and Sauce

Another delicious summer and picnic salad is my Instant Pot Potato Salad  and my Pressure Cooker Pasta Cheese and Peas Salad. They are always so popular at summer gatherings.

Tips and Tricks for Making Pressure Cooker Best Macaroni Salad Recipe

1. This salad is best when made the day before to let the flavors develop. Store it in the fridge in an air tight container.
2. If using gherkins/sweet pickles, add a tiny pinch of garlic powder.
3. If using all mayonnaise, add a drop more True Lemon or red wine vinegar to taste.
4. Do you like that big Glass Bowl I used to serve this Salad? It’s a Bormioli Rocco Viva Salad Bowl and it’s a bargain.

Mix in the Cheese and Olives

Pro Tip: Mix in the cheese right before serving.

Swiss cheese and Colby Jack cheese are both wonderful in Instant Pot Macaroni Salad!

Pressure Cooker Best Macaroni Salad Recipe with Ham

Many people love ham in their macaroni salad.

• If you like ham, grab a ham steak and cube it into on-half inch chunks.
• Squeeze out the excess water from the ham steak cubes.

Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Best Macaroni Salad Recipe

One bite of Instant Pot Best Macaroni Salad will have all your friends asking for the recipe! Add a pop of color by sprinkling on some parsley, cilantro or dill. 

Macaroni salad is so good, you might want to make a double batch! Enjoy.

More Instant Pot Picnic Recipes to make!

• Red White Blue Fresh Berry Cheesecake Salad
• Creamy Grapes Salad
• Low Carb Avocado Chicken Salad [Instant Pot]
• Asian Crunchy Noodle Salad with Peanut Butter Dressing

What’s your next picnic?

Kitchen Equipment and Essentials

• Instant Pot, Mealthy MultiPot or Pressure Cooker
• J.A. Henckels Classic 8 inch Chef’s Knife
• di Oro Living Silicone Spatulas Set
• Alpha Armour Salt Box with Spoon
• Gravity Electric Salt and Pepper Grinder
• Sonder LA End Grain Teak Cutting Board, Juice Grooves & Compartments
• Salbree 3 quart, 6 quart or 8 quart Steamer/Strainer Basket
• 3.5 Quart Stainless Steel Mixing Bowl
• Small 1.5 Quart “Pot in Pot” Mixing Bowl
• KitchenAid 11 Cup Food Processor

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Here is the handy printable recipe:

Instant Pot Best Macaroni Salad Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 2 minutes

Total Time: 17 minutes

Servings: 12 servings

Calories: 354

Author: Jill Selkowitz

Ingredients

• 1 lb Elbow Macaroni
• 4 cups Fresh Water salted
• 2 tsp Kosher Salt
• 8-10 oz Cheddar or Swiss Cheese cubed
• 6 oz Black Olives sliced

Sauce Ingredients

• 10 oz Sweet 'N Spicy Pickles diced
• 6 oz Carrots shredded
• 3/4 cup Mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup Homemade Yogurt
• 2-3 Scallions chopped
• 1/8 cup Sweet 'N Spicy Pickles Juice
• 1/4 tsp True Lemon (or 1 TBL Red Wine Vinegar)
• 1 TBL White Sugar
• 1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce optional
• 1 tsp Kosher Salt to taste
• 1/4 tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper

US Customary - Metric

Equipment

• Instant Pot, Mealthy MultiPot or Pressure Cooker
• Bormioli Rocco Viva Salad Bowl

Instructions

• Add Elbow Macaroni, Kosher Salt and Fresh Water to Pressure Cooker cooking pot.
• Lock on Lid and close Pressure Valve.  Cook on High Pressure for 2 minutes.   When Beep is heard, wait 5 minutes, then release all pressure.  Add cool water to Pressure Cooker and then pour Macaroni through Strainer basket to drain.  Place in large bowl
• Mix together Sauce ingredients.  Pour over Macaroni and combine.  Allow to chill in refrigerator for a few hours.
• Mix in Cheese and Olives.  Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary.

Notes

Tips

• This salad is best when made the day before to let the flavors develop. Store it in the fridge in an air tight container.
• Mix in the cheese right before serving
• Salt the water well - it's your only chance to season the macaroni.
• If using sweet pickles, add a tiny pinch of garlic powder.
• Mayonnaise can be used in place of yogurt. If using only mayonnaise, add a drop more True Lemon or red wine vinegar to taste.

Extras

• If you like ham in your macaroni salad, cube up 8 ounces of ham steak. Make sure to squeeze all the excess water out really well before adding to the salad.
• Kids love sliced hot dogs in their macaroni salad. Really, they do.
• Eggs - check out my Instant Pot Egg Loaf Recipe if you want to add eggs. You can cook them right with the macaroni!

 Do you like that big glass bowl I used to serve this salad? It's a Bormioli Rocco Viva Salad Bowl and it's a bargain.

Originally published on July 2, 2017 Republished on June 12th 2019.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Instant Pot Best Macaroni Salad Recipe

Amount Per Serving

Calories 354 Calories from Fat 180

% Daily Value*

Fat 20g31%

Saturated Fat 6g38%

Cholesterol 27mg9%

Sodium 1278mg56%

Potassium 201mg6%

Carbohydrates 33g11%

Fiber 2g8%

Sugar 4g4%

Protein 11g22%

Vitamin A 2695IU54%

Vitamin C 1.4mg2%

Calcium 184mg18%

Iron 0.9mg5%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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Pressure Cooker Best Macaroni Salad Recipe