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.
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 Macaroni Salad
- Prepare the macaroni salad in the pressure cooker.
- Mix the dressing together while the macaroni is cooking.
Run the Macaroni Under the Water
Should Macaroni Be Rinsed for Cold Salads?
Yes, definitely. Pasta used in a cold pasta salad should be rinsed with cool water. The water will cool off the pasta to stop it from cooking, as well as remove the excess starch.
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
- This salad is best when made the day before to let the flavors develop. Store it in the fridge in an air tight container.
- If using gherkins/sweet pickles, add a tiny pinch of garlic powder.
- If using all mayonnaise, add a drop more True Lemon or red wine vinegar to taste.
- 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: Swiss cheese and Colby Jack cheese are both wonderful in Instant Pot Macaroni Salad!
Can Ham Be Added?
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
- Porcelain & Bamboo Salt Box with Spoon
- Gravity Electric Salt and Pepper Grinder
- My FANTASTIC Teak Cutting & Charcuterie Board & 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
- Cuisinart Large Food Processor
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Here is the handy printable recipe:
Ingredients
- 1 lb Elbow Macaroni
- 4 cups Fresh Water salted
- 2 tsp Kosher Salt
- 4 oz Cheddar or Swiss Cheese cubed
- 2 stalks Celery diced
Sauce Ingredients
- 1/4 cup Mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup Homemade Yogurt
- 4 ounces Carrots diced or shredded
- 2 ounces Sweet 'N Spicy Pickles diced
- 2 Scallions chopped (or red onions)
- 1/8 cup Apple Cider Vinegar (or 1/4 tsp True Lemon)
- 1 Tablespoon White Sugar
- 2 teaspoons Dijon Mustard
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt or to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Optional Add Ins
- 1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce for a little tang
- 3 oz Black Olives sliced
- 2 ounces Red Bell Peppers minced
- 1/2 cup Frozen Peas thawed and drained of any water
Recommended Products
Instructions
- Add Elbow Macaroni, Kosher Salt and Fresh Water to Pressure Cooker cooking pot.
- Lock on lid and close pressure value. Cook at high pressure (most machines default to high pressure) for 2 minutes.
- When Beep is heard, wait 5 minutes, then release all pressure.
- Add cool water to Instant Pot and pour macaroni through the strainer basket to drain.
- Place macaroni into large mixing bowl, along with the cheese, carrots, celery, peas (if using) and scallions.
- While macaroni is cooking, make the sauce.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, yogurt, minced pickles, apple cider vinegar, sugar, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper.
- Pour dressing over macaroni and toss until well coated.
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap or a lid and let chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour.
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.
- Salt the water well - it's your only chance to season the macaroni.
Extras
- I highly recommend mixing in the peas. I know some people do not like peas and why I left it out of the photos.
- 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!
Nutrition
PIN this Pressure Cooker Best Macaroni Salad Recipe!
Pressure Cooker Best Macaroni Salad Recipe
Recipe lists Dijon but it’s not on the list of ingredients. How much?
Start with 2 teaspoons, Cynthia. Jill
Awesome job stealing from Pressure Luck. You should be proud of yourself.
Hi Jeffrey. This is a republished recipe from a couple of years ago. Check the dates. Not sure why you keep going around to various blogs and use fake names to tell others they copy you. Not cool! Enjoy some yogurt instead. 😉
How does cooking time for the pasta change if I use 1/2 lb of pasta instead of a full pound? My family just can’t eat pasta salad fast enough to make a full batch at once!!
The salad is very tasty! Does the cast pic show green onions? They aren’t in printed recipe…
Makes a lot, great for a party!
Hi Lori~
I am so glad you liked the salad. The bowl in the front of the pic has the scallions. Jill