Hawaiian Macaroni Salad | Spoon Fork Bacon

May 23, 2025

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A rich and creamy Hawaiian Macaroni Salad recipe that only requires a handful of ingredients and couldn’t be easier to make! It’s a delicious side dish that pairs so well with so many different dishes, like Carne Asada, Bulgogi, and BBQ Beef Brisket!

Hawaiian style macaroni salad in a bowl with serving bowls nearby.

I love Hawaiian Macaroni Salad so much! It’s delicious, creamy and so simple to make! It’s the perfect side dish to bring to a bbq or picnic. It also holds and transports really well and can be made ahead of time!

Ours is extra special because we add a small scoop of canned tuna into our mac salad, giving it an extra special, delicious flavor. Trust us, it’s the key ingredient in our simple and very delicious Hawaiian macaroni salad!

How to Make Hawaiian Macaroni Salad

Ingredients

Process

Fill a large pot with water, place over high heat and bring to a boil. Add some salt and the macaroni and stir. Boil macaroni for about 7 to 8 minutes stirring occasionally. Drain and set aside.
Place mayonnaise, tuna and vinegar in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

Stir together.
In a large bowl combine macaroni, celery, carrot, red onion, and mayo mixture.

Fold together until thoroughly mixed together. Season with salt and pepper. Place mixture in the refrigerator for at least an hour and season with more salt and pepper, as needed, before serving.

Hawaiian style macaroni salad in a bowl.

Tools You Will Need

Macaroni salad made in the Hawaiian style in a bowl with a spoon in it.

Why Add Tuna?

I know the addition of canned tuna might sound strange, but it adds a really nice touch of savory, delicious yet subtle umami flavor to the overall dish – without making the macaroni salad taste fishy at all (I promise!). It’s what makes our Hawaiian macaroni salad truly special!

Variations for our Hawaiian Macaroni Salad

If you want a more authentic version, you can omit the celery and red onion and grate the carrot instead.
Sometimes I like to add bonito flakes, instead of tuna, to the mayo mixture for an even more savory and umami flavor. If replacing the tuna for bonito flakes, just add 1 1/2 teaspoons.
You can swap out the mayo for Kewpie, which is a Japanese mayonnaise. It has a richer, more eggy and slightly sweeter flavor than American mayonnaise and is delicious!
For a vegan version, replace the mayonnaise with veganaise and either omit the tuna or replace it with a tuna alternative.

Is Our Mac Salad Traditional?

Our recipe is slightly untraditional. We don’t grate our onion or carrot (plus we use red onion instead of sweet or yellow onion). We also use more celery than most recipes and as mentioned above, we add a scoop of tuna into our creamy dressing.

I personally like the added crunch of the larger pieces of veggies, but you can definitely make it more traditional by grating the onion and carrot. You can also omit the tuna, although I enjoy the umami flavor it adds!

Hawaiian style macaroni salad in a bowl with some served.

Healthier Macaroni Salad Option

Yes, there’s a lot of mayo in this recipe. It’s what makes the salad extra creamy and delicious, but if you’re looking for a healthier version you can sub some or all of the mayo with plain greek yogurt or some whipped cottage cheese!

Make Ahead Instructions

Our macaroni salad can be made up to 3 days ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If making ahead of time, reserve 2/3 cup of the may mixture and fold it into the macaroni salad before serving.

What to Serve with Hawaiian Macaroni Salad

The creamy side dish goes really well with a variety of dishes. Some of our favorite dishes to serve our mac salad with are:

Close up on a big bowl of Hawaiian Macaroni Salad recipe.

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