Macaroni Salad

The formula

Every ingredient resolved to grams, expressed against the recipe's own base — next to the median of all 47.

	this recipe	typical
fat	31%	26%
acid	8%	4%
sweetener	6%	2%
salt	1%	0%
dairy	32%	7%
aromatics	0%	10%

Where it stands out

• #5 of 47 for sweetness perceived

Adapts cleanly: nut-free (documented swaps, applied on the dish page)

Ingredients

Weights computed by us.

454 g	16 oz macaroni, (cavatappi, farfalle, or fusilli pasta)
220 g	1 cup mayonnaise, (best quality such as Hellmann's or Duke's)
230 g	1 cup sour cream
44 g	3 1/2 tablespoons sugar
13 g	1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
60 g	1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
59 g	1/4 cup water
8 g	1 1/4 teaspoons salt, (plus more for cooking the pasta)
2 g	1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 g	3/4 teaspoon onion powder
64 g	1/2 cup finely diced or grated carrots, (from 1 to 2 carrots)
76 g	3/4 cup finely diced celery, (from 2 to 3 celery stalks)
120 g	1 red, (yellow, or orange bell pepper, finely diced)
	6 scallions, (light and dark green parts, finely sliced)
25 g	1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil

Method: 3 steps, published by www.onceuponachef.com — open the original ↗ or use bake mode for a follow-along with a screen that stays on.

“Once Upon a Chef is my go-to recipe site because Jenn's recipes always seem well-researched and foolproof. I almost never read the comments because I just know the recipe will turn out great. Unfortunately I should have read the comments for this recipe. The s” — a cook, 3.0★

“I made this salad for the first time, and it was delicious. I will make it again for sure, but definitely a day in advance. I put it together right before serving and it was ok/good. But the next and even the day after that it was delicious. Once the flavors h” — a cook, 5.0★