I had such good look asking you all for specific recipes before that I’m going to try it again. I would like tried and true recipes for macaroni salad as well as cold tuna pasta salad. I had a friend who used to make the most amazing macaroni salad that had cubed cheddar cheese with either miracle whip/may and I think sugar. And peas. I loved that macaroni salad but over the years I’ve lost the recipe and never been able to find one that replicates it. But outside that recipe, I’m just looking for a really great macaroni salad recipe, whatever the ingredients. And a good cold tuna pasta. Who can help?
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Here’s my Mom’s. It’s funny you asked for this, because I’m totally making this, this afternoon!
When I get peas fresh from my inlaws, I use them instead of frozen. They’re sweeter. 
12 ounces pasta shells or macaroni, cooked and drained
12 ounces canned chunk albacore tuna, drained
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup frozen green pea, thawed
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise or Miracle Whip (this amount is an estimate, you’ll need enough to make the salad creamy)
salt and pepper
Directions
1Combine the cooked and drained pasta with the drained tuna, chopped celery, peas, and mayonnaise, using only enough mayonnaise for the salad to be creamy.
2(If it’s made ahead, you may need more because the pasta will absorb the mayo.) Chill at least 1- 2 hours before serving.
I actually have a really good recipe I posted on my blog. We’re growing onions so have green onions galore to use. This is a very tasty recipe my kids will even eat, I’ve been debating adding other veggies to it for more variety since the sale prices have just come in to our local market.
Easy Macaroni Salad
This is the closest I have to macaroni salad – none of us actually like making macaroni salad, so I don’t even have a recipe!
Linguini Salad
1 pkg linguine
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
1 green pepper, cut in 1″ pieces
2 tomatoes, cut in 1″ pieces
3/4 jar salad supreme/miracle whip
12 oz nonfat italian salad dressing
Mix ingredients together and let sit in refrigerator overnight. Sometimes takes more dressing than recipe calls for. Regular onions work if gren onions are not available.
There used to be a place in mall food courts called Nature’s Table or something like that. They made the best tuna salad! It had golden raisins in it. Sounds weird, but tasted great. Wish I had the recipe for that.
My recipe’s similar to Amy’s but I add a tablespoon of dijon mustard and squeeze in about half a lemon for a little bit of a zing! I love using small shells, though, the peas fit right in that little curve.
I looove tuna pasta salad!
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I don’t have an exact recipe. I just feel my way through it like our grandma’s did when baking.
I’ll just pass on things I think work well together.
1) Use a half and half mixture of helman’s mayo to miracle whip. One cuts the sweet of the other.
2) If adding relish, use half dill and half sweet. For the same reason above.
3) Mustard added in gives a bit of bite, but it must be used sparingly unless you like it tangy. Lots of flavor bang in just a little amount.
4) Tuna has a lot of moisture in it, so keep your mix a little on the dry side if you are adding it in.
5) Use the yolks of boiled eggs to bind a bit if your mix ends up way too runny. Adds color and flavor. (This is a fix if you find yourself stuck on #7. Of course, I like to add in some from the get go, but to each his own.)
6) NEVER serve the salad on the same day you make it. It should go in the fridge overnight to let all the flavors blend.
7) Be careful of having the mix look exactly the creaminess you want the minute you make it. While sitting overnight in the fridge, lots of things change. Acids versus sugars and all that what not. You can always add more moisture, but it’s darn hard to get it OUT.
And that’s my 40 cents. LOL
Two things. If you’re making a traditional mayo/miraclewhip dressing for tuna salad you can kick it up a notch by adding powdered ranch dip/dressing mix to give it a different flavor.
Mom had a tuna salad recipe that I always loved with tuna, peas, ranch dressing, scallions, lettuce. Something about the ranch dressing and the tuna that really did it for me. Have to eat it when it’s fresh though. The dressing will wilt the lettuce after an hour or so. For this reason using romaine lettuce seems to work best.
Another twist that I discovered myself was to make tuna salad (for sandwiches etc.) with toasted sesame oil and chopped walnuts and onion, instead of mayo pickles and egg. This gives it a very distinctive flavor. If you’d like a little sweet with the savory add some raisins or chopped apple. The toasted sesame oil is really dynamite with tuna (think asian foods). It doesn’t need a lot. Sesame oil is really flavorful. This would be great mixed with pasta. Hmmm note to self – put tuna on shopping list…
I have a pasta salad recipe, super easy, and you can add whatever meat you like – I’ve made it with bacon, ham, tuna, chicken, even steak.
Cook and drain one box rainbow rotini pasta.
Cool for at least 30 minutes, stirring once.
While cooling, prepare your additions – cheese (chunked cheddar, colby, mozarella or your choice), meat (chopped ham, tuna, chicken or your choice), diced fresh tomatoes (1 large or two medium). Be creative with anything else – I’ve used artichoke hearts, mushrooms, olives (black and green, separately or together), diced onions (white, red or green) and herbs (basil and rosemary are my favs…rosemary is especially good for the chicken or steak).
When pasta is cooled, add your extras and mix, then add either an oil and vinegar homemade dressing with salt and pepper added to taste, or a really good Italian or Balsamic dressing and stir to coat.
You can serve on mixed greens, baby spinach or iceberg lettuce, if you like.
American Recipe’s fascinate me LOL
When I was over there I love staring at the contents of y’alls fridge (that was my attempt at southern accent) you have pastry in a can, pop the can and you can get biscuits or danishes etc – freaks me out
Im Aussie and most of the time I have to google different words just to understand your ingrediants for eg I have no idea what a miraclewhip or scallions is LOL
after much googling I found a picture of a scallion and in Australia we call them Spring Onions LOLOLOL
This is my great grandmother’s recipe:
2 c. dry pasta (elbows or shells)
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1 pkg. celery hearts, chopped or diced
1 lb. either colby/co-jack/cheddar cheese, cubed
Miracle Whip [Great Gma used Hellman's and vinegar, but switched to Miracle Whip later
Salt and pepper to taste
Cook pasta, drain, rinse with cold water, and drain. Combine pasta, celery hearts, and cheese in large mixing bowl. Add Miracle Whip, salt, and pepper to taste (for this size, I’d suggest a minimum 3/4 c. of Miracle Whip).
Super simple and easily added to as well. My DH loves to substitute fresh green onion for the celery and add in either crumbled bacon or Bacos. My mother prefers to use Hellman’s. And if you add the peas, onion, and bacon, you’d have my Gma’s seven-layer salad, LOL.