2 tablespoons WATC Salad Sprinkles, optional but highly recommended!!!
Takes ,
serves 8.
Instructions
Prepare the dressing: Place all of the ingredients for the dressing into a small bowl. Whisk or stir together to combine. Set aside.
Cook pasta: Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon kosher salt. Add macaroni cooking to package directions for al dente, about 5 - 7 minutes. Drain then rinse under cold water. Let pasta sit for a few minutes to fully drain. Transfer to a large bowl.
Prepare salad: Add vegetables to macaroni and drizzle with dressing. Stir then add a sprinkle of chopped parsley. Stir gently to combine fully. Transfer to an attractive serving bowl. Sprinkle with remaining parsley to garnish. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate until use.
Spicy Macaroni Salad
Ingredients
1 pound (4 cups) elbow macaroni
1 red pepper, seeded and diced
2 ribs celery, diced
3 green onions, chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
½ cup chopped flat-leaf or curly parsley
For the dressing:
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon sriracha
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne
½ cup WATC BBQ sauce
2 tablespoons WATC Salad Sprinkles, optional but highly recommended!!!
Directions
Prepare the dressing: Place all of the ingredients for the dressing into a small bowl. Whisk or stir together to combine. Set aside.
Cook pasta: Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon kosher salt. Add macaroni cooking to package directions for al dente, about 5 - 7 minutes. Drain then rinse under cold water. Let pasta sit for a few minutes to fully drain. Transfer to a large bowl.
Prepare salad: Add vegetables to macaroni and drizzle with dressing. Stir then add a sprinkle of chopped parsley. Stir gently to combine fully. Transfer to an attractive serving bowl. Sprinkle with remaining parsley to garnish. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate until use.
Spicy Macaroni Salad
5 / 5. 3
Elbow macaroni tossed with red peppers, celery, green onions and other colourful veggies, dressed with a spiced up mayo-based dressing…
Perfect for every occasion, this is the best SPICY MACARONI SALAD ever!
We’ve all been there; invited to a picnic, warm weather get-together, holiday or family celebration and the host says, “It’s a potluck!” Now, what to bring? How about this game-changing, big-flavoured homemade macaroni salad? What makes this pasta salad recipe such a keeper is that it’s loaded with veggies, is 100% vegetarian, and has a creamy mayonnaise dressing flavoured with our award-winning BBQ SAUCE. Yup, here’s the SPICY MACARONI SALAD we’ve all been waiting for!
Before listing some additional information about making this decidedly delicious dish, we’re thinking you may be looking for other simple pasta and salad recipes. After making this one, check out our quick and easy ORZO WITH LEMON AND ASPARAGUS, this fabulous SUMMER COUSCOUS SALAD, and a personal favourite, this MEDITERRANEAN PASTA SALAD with olives and olive oil. They’re all so good.
Let’s continue with this SPICY MACARONI SALAD:
INGREDIENTS
Here’s yet another example of a great recipe that calls for simple ingredients. No unusual or exotic items requiring a days-long hunt at speciality shops. Instead, rest assured that everything needed to make this salad is readily available at your local grocery store. If you do need to purchase something from the list, we suggest buying more than needed. Trust us, make this salad recipe once and you’ll be making it again and again. Funny how this delicious food business works, eh?
ELBOW MACARONI
Making the macaroni for this recipe is easy. Our foolproof directions to properly cook involve bringing four quarts of water plus a tablespoon of kosher salt to a boil in a large pot. If you have a pasta pot with a colander insert, use that; way easier and less fussy. Then add a pound (four cups) of pasta, following the package directions for al dente – most suggest about seven minutes. We used classic macaroni because, after all, it’s a macaroni salad, but it’s okay to make do with what you have on hand: orzo, fusilli, penne, ditali, small shells and even wagon wheels. Just don’t use long pasta noodles for this recipe; the vegetables will simply end up at the bottom of the bowl. A short-noodle pasta shape is essential.
VEGETABLES
Speaking of fresh veggies, here they are adding both crunch and flavour thanks to a chopped sweet red bell pepper, crunchy celery, finely minced garlic and tangy green onions. Then we popped the heat with jalapeño pepper, plus added a fresh aroma with the chopped parsley. If you can, try to purchase organic veggies whenever possible; you will taste a difference.
But hey, what’s with the frozen veggies? In crafting this recipe, we agreed there simply had to be more to macaroni salad than just cooked noodles, mayonnaise and a smidge of pimento. So, adding frozen veggies to the fresh mix was a last-minute game-day decision we’re now proud to have made. Thawing and adding that mix of colourful carrots, peas, edamame, beans, and corn is just the thing that took a boring macaroni dish from simple to amazing.
SPICY DRESSING
So let’s discuss this tastebud-popping salad dressing, shall we? First, and this goes back to our comment about boring macaroni salads, this recipe is your new benchmark. We start with mayonnaise, then add seasoning like garlic powder, chili powder, sriracha hot sauce and apple cider vinegar. These dressing ingredients on their own could do the trick, but you know us, always pushing the flavour envelope. Adding ½ a cup of our ORIGINAL BBQ SAUCE rounds out that spiciness we were after. Head HERE to order our sauce online or go HERE to find a retailer near you. One last thing, this macaroni salad dressing also works with our SPICY BBQ SAUCE too. Hurray!
Second thing about the dressing is that it’s easy to make. Simply grab a small bowl, add the mayonnaise, seasoning, lemon juice, vinegar and BBQ SAUCE, then grab a spoon, whisk or spatula and mix everything together until well combined. Then cover and refrigerate until you’re ready to serve. Having just typed that, I’m thinking, “I wonder what that dressing would be like on potatoes or grilled veggies?” Stay tuned, I have ideas!
DRAINING THE PASTA
Traditionally, pasta salad or macaroni salad is served chilled or cold. Achieving that requires an additional mention of the process. During the testing of this recipe, we rinsed the cooked pasta under cold water to remove the starchy pasta water and also reduce the temperature of the noodles, stopping them from cooking further. We then left the noodles to drain in a colander for a few minutes to ensure all the water was out before transferring them to a large salad bowl. Trust us, nobody likes runny, still-wet noodles in their macaroni salad.
LARGE SALAD BOWL
Here’s our last stamp of approval on this easy salad recipe. You’ll need one large bowl into which you add the cooked elbow macaroni. Then add the prepared veggies, drizzle with dressing, sprinkle with parsley, toss and serve. Yup, you heard it here first, friends. This salad is a one-bowl wonder and could not be easier to make. One thing I’d better mention is when to dress this salad, and I’ll be honest, I’m of two minds. If time is of the essence, and there will always be times when you’ll need to make everything last minute, toss the salad together and serve straight away. The second option to consider is to make the salad the day before. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge until you’re ready to serve. I really, really loved the taste of this salad the following day when I enjoyed leftovers. The flavours seem to deepen, the veggies still remained crunchy, but the flavours somehow made my tastebuds jump even more. Make the recipe work for you.
STIR AND SERVE
Once the salad is stirred up, I do suggest transferring it into a new bowl so it looks all perfect, and appetizing and wonderful. Sorry, the one-bowl recipe becomes two for presentation. To serve, just sprinkle with chopped parsley and you’re good to go. Having now enjoyed this SPICY MACARONI SALAD with our famous GRILLED RIBS, BBQ CHICKEN WINGS, perfect GRILLED PORK CHOPS and RIBEYE STEAKS, I can assure you this salad pairs well with everything. Final words: just wait until you try it!
PIN IT!
This fresh salad idea is so easy and delicious, we suggest you PIN the recipe to a favourite salad, pasta side dish or picnic idea board on PINTEREST or BOOKMARK this tab for easy access. SHARE it with friends so they can make them too. We’d also appreciate seeing pics of all the delicious dishes you’re making these days. Use #weekendatthecottage when you post those pics on Facebook and Instagram. Thanks!
This is the absolute best SPICY MACARONI SALAD. Make it NOW!
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Ingredients
1 pound (4 cups) elbow macaroni
1 red pepper, seeded and diced
2 ribs celery, diced
3 green onions, chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
½ cup chopped flat-leaf or curly parsley
For the dressing:
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon sriracha
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne
½ cup WATC BBQ sauce
2 tablespoons WATC Salad Sprinkles, optional but highly recommended!!!
Directions
Prepare the dressing: Place all of the ingredients for the dressing into a small bowl. Whisk or stir together to combine. Set aside.
Cook pasta: Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon kosher salt. Add macaroni cooking to package directions for al dente, about 5 - 7 minutes. Drain then rinse under cold water. Let pasta sit for a few minutes to fully drain. Transfer to a large bowl.
Prepare salad: Add vegetables to macaroni and drizzle with dressing. Stir then add a sprinkle of chopped parsley. Stir gently to combine fully. Transfer to an attractive serving bowl. Sprinkle with remaining parsley to garnish. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate until use.
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