The best vegan macaroni salad is veggie packed and flavorful with the most divine creamy dressing. Ideal for picnics, potlucks and barbecues.
A macaroni salad is the perfect dish to take along to a barbecue or a picnic! It’s really easy to make and perfect to prepare in advance so you can easily make it the night before.
And it’s totally delicious. You have crunchy veggies tossed with macaroni and then covered in the most divine dressing. It’s a treat.
As a side salad it’s pretty much my favorite thing, well, this and some vegan potato salad.
How To Make Vegan Macaroni Salad
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
Preparation:
- Soak your cashews: A delicious macaroni salad is all about that dressing! We used cashews in the sauce and we soaked them first. So before doing anything else, put your cashews into a bowl and pour over boiling hot water from the kettle, and then just leave them to soak for an hour.
- Cook your macaroni according to your package instructions. Drain and set aside.
- Chop up your veggies. We used red bell pepper, celery, green onions, sun dried tomatoes and fresh chopped basil.
Dressing:
- Add the soaked cashews to your blender jug along with vegan mayonnaise, white wine vinegar, maple syrup, olive oil, dijon mustard, dried dill, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, sea salt, black pepper and water.
- Blend until smooth.
Assembly:
- Add your macaroni to a salad bowl and top with the chopped veggies.
- Pour over the sauce. Toss it all together until well mixed.
- Then cover and place into the fridge for an hour to chill and for the flavors to blend beautifully so they really pop. And then you’re ready to serve.
Serving Suggestions
This vegan macaroni salad is perfect to serve alongside other delicious vegan food for a backyard cookout or bbq. Serve it with vegan steak or tofu steak, vegan sausages or vegan chicken, vegan burgers or black bean burgers, bbq jackfruit pulled pork, carrot dogs or vegan kebabs.
It’s also great with other sides like vegan coleslaw, vegan baked beans, vegan potato salad and vegan couscous salad.
Make Ahead and Storing
Make ahead: It’s the perfect salad to make in advance! It keeps beautifully in the fridge so if you make it the night before a picnic or potluck or bbq, then it will just be all the more delicious the next day.
Storing: Store leftovers in the fridge (covered) for up to 5 days. It is not freezer friendly.
More Delicious Vegan Salad Recipes
- Vegan Couscous Salad
- Vegan Quinoa Salad
- Vegan Kale Salad
- Vegan Sweet Potato Salad
- Vegan Caesar Salad
- Vegan Pasta Salad
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Macaroni Salad
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 16 ounces Elbow Macaroni (450g) Dry Weight
- 1 Medium Red Bell Pepper Chopped
- 4 Stalks Celery Chopped
- ½ cup Green Onions Chopped
- ½ cup Sun Dried Tomatoes Chopped
- ½ cup Fresh Basil Chopped
For the Dressing:
- ⅔ cup Raw Cashews (100g) Soaked for 1 hour in hot water
- 1 cup Vegan Mayonnaise (240g)
- 1 Tablespoon White Wine Vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
- 2 teaspoons Dried Dill
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- ¼ teaspoon Sea Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
- 2 Tablespoons Water
Instructions
Preparation:
- The cashews need to be soaked for the dressing. So place them into a bowl and pour over hot water from the kettle and then let them sit for an hour and then drain them before use.
- Cook the macaroni according to your package instructions. Drain and set aside.
- Chop and prepare your veggies.
Dressing:
- Add the soaked cashews to the blender jug along with vegan mayonnaise, white wine vinegar, maple syrup, olive oil, dijon mustard, dried dill, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, sea salt, black pepper and water.
- Blend until smooth.
Assembly:
- Add the macaroni to a salad bowl. Top with the chopped veggies and then pour over the sauce. Toss it all together until well mixed.
- Then cover the bowl and place it into the fridge for around an hour to chill and for the flavors to blend.
Notes
- Green onions – are also called spring onions or salad onions or scallions.
- Prep time – is for hands on time and does not include the time spent soaking the cashews or the time for the macaroni salad to chill in the fridge.
- Make ahead: It’s the perfect salad to make in advance! It keeps beautifully in the fridge so if you make it the night before a picnic or potluck or bbq, then it will just be all the more delicious the next day.
- Storing: Store leftovers in the fridge (covered) for up to 5 days. It is not freezer friendly.
The dressing is amazing !! One of the best I have tried so far, didn’t need to add anything else !
Thanks Marie!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this salad recipe – made it a bunch of times and delicious every time.
So glad you like the recipe Carla!
Just made the macaroni salad for lunch today. It is delicious.
Awesome! Thanks Sue!
This is the best macaroni salad recipe I have ever tasted!!! It’s definitely a family favorite! I use gluten free pasta and alternate using sun-dried and fresh tomatoes both taste amazing. Thank you for sharing!
Fantastic! Thanks Jenn!
What do you recommend instead of white wine vinegar? I have red wine wine and rice vinegar….?
I think either of those options would work!
This sauce is so good I could’ve eaten it right out of the blender!! Mine dried out a little after a few hours, I’m just going to make extra sauce this time. But a wonderful recipe! It’s the best vegan macaroni salad sauce I’ve had yet, and I’ve tried a few.
Awesome! Thank you!
DELICIOUS! I added edamame, black olives, and cucumber. I will make a tiny bit of extra sauce next time to account for the extra veggies. Served it to non-vegans and they are keeping the recipe!
Awesome, thanks Kirsten!
This dish has gotten so many compliments at potlucks and family gatherings! All of my non-vegan friends and family are in LOVE with this pasta salad! There were no leftovers!
Fantastic! So happy to hear that Tyler, thanks a million!
I love the flavor of the macaroni salad. One question though – it seems to need a bit more of something to make it not as dry. Any suggestions?
Hi Joyce, I’m not sure why it was dry, as ours was not at all, but feel free to make extra sauce for a more saucy version.
This pasta salad is amazing! As a vegan for almost a year I am always looking for good recipes to share as I really love to cook. I’m also trying to show non vegans that vegan cooking is delicious and far from boring! Thank you Allison!
Thanks so much Sean!
Alison, honestly, ridiculous. Ridiculously delicious! The best macaroni salad I have ever had, at home or at a restaurant, vegan or non. Your blog is a gem.
Thanks so much Neil! 🙂
I made it 4 days ago and I’m making it again. Delicious awesome
Yay! Thanks Sandra! 🙂
I made this dish for a neighborhood Halloween party I hosted (all omnivores btw). They are still talking about it! I made it again today for my husband and daughter who want it for dinner every night. Thanks for sharing it. Definitely a keeper!
That’s wonderful! So happy to hear that! Thanks for the awesome review Alicia. 🙂
The best of the best!!! Just made this and it’s so delicious!! Thank you for such a great recipe!!
Wonderful! Thanks so much Judith! 🙂
I enjoy a good macaroni salad, and this has such wonderful flavors. Love it; will make it this fall for my Ladies’ Luncheon potluck. Thanks for all your good, well-thought-out recipes, Alison.
So happy to hear this Judy! Thanks so much for the lovely review! xo
I use gluten free macaroni and this is just as filling and tasty! Thank you for another useful, filling and delicious recipe!
Thanks Anna! 🙂