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.
This is a delicious macaroni salad that even carnivores would like. I made it several hours before serving it and it got a bit dry. Next time, I’ll make more dressing to keep the salad from drying out. I also added some steamed cut green beans. I will make this again.
Thanks for sharing Theresa, and so happy you enjoyed it!
I made this for the first time for a group of dinner guests. It was delicious and enjoyed by all including those not following vegan diets. My husband requested this again for his birthday dinner.
Thanks for the wonderful review Pat!
Lovely dressing, thank you Alison. Made the salad with wholewheat twists for our dinner tonight along with a garden salad with mixed leaves and redcurrants while watching the Tour de France on tv from Highlands of Scotland. Yum!
Sounds awesome Hilary! Thanks so much for the great review!
My go-to pasta salad. So good.
Awesome, thanks so much Anne!
I have made this a couple times now and it’s seriously amazing!! The first time I tried to increase the noodles without increasing the sauce.. that was a mistake. It was still tasty but I knew it could be better. The second time around I followed the instructions exactly as stated and a little extra salt and garlic powder and holy creamy! Best macaroni salad recipe out there!
Yay! Thank you so much Jacquelyn!
My daughters are very allergic to cashews. Any replacement that you think would work?
Hi Sarah, slivered or blanched almonds will also work!
This is the best macaroni salad that I have made or tasted. It is a must to make!!!!!
Thanks so much Teresa!
Very good!!! A must to make
Thanks Susan!
Wow oh Wow… I am a massive snob when it comes to salads and this is hands down the best macaroni salad that I have ever had!! I found this recipe in the heat of summer last year and have never looked back. Me and hubby are still both amazed at how delicious this is!! I add grated carrot and a handful of black and green olives but everything else remains the same. DELICIOUS.
That is fantastic to hear Natalie! Thanks so much!