A simple macaroni salad brightened with lemon and masses of fresh herbs ~ it just might be the best thing to happen to macaroni salad this century!
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I found a lemon herb macaroni salad recipe that looked amazing ~ until I hit the paywall. So I headed to the kitchen and made my own. It has enough lemon and fresh herb flavor to feel new, without losing the creamy summer side dish we all know and love. It’s a new favorite for me.
Macaroni salad 2.0
âž¡ Lemon and fresh herbs (parsley, dill, and chives) gently breathe new life into this classic summer side.
âž¡ I’ll show you the secret to getting that fine, even mince on the herbs and veggies for macaroni salad. (I do it this way for all my summer salads.)
âž¡ It’s so good I kind of wonder why macaroni salad wasn’t invented this way in the first place!
Macaroni salad is an American tradition
The pasta may be Italian, but macaroni salad is all-American. It fits right in with potato salad, egg salad, chicken salad, tuna salad, and all the other creamy classics we bring to picnics, potlucks, and cookouts all summer long. My lemon herb macaroni salad just gives it a modern facelift.
The best way to chop masses of herbs
I use my food processor ~ it takes a full bowl of herbs and pulses them down in seconds.
Herbs are tricky to chop finely, and that’s especially true when you’ve got lots of them to get through. This method gets them super even and finely chopped, which is perfect for my lemon herb macaroni salad.
- Make sure your herbs are not dripping wet. After rinsing, dry them well, or they’ll puree, not mince!
- Don’t bother with picking every leaf from every stem. Remove any large or tough stems, but tender stems can stay.
- Load the herbs into the bowl of your processor fitted with the metal blade.
- Pulse the machine 10 times. Scrape down the sides.
- Pulse another 10 times and scrape again.
- If needed, pulse a final 10 times and you’re done.
Alligator Chopper
The easy way I get perfect minced veggies
For a macaroni salad I love to chop the onion, celery, and cucumber very, very finely. I use my alligator chopper (be sure to get the stainless steel model, the plastic ones break.) It’s so satisfying to turn out those perfect little minced veggies.
And it might be my imagination but I think it makes the salad taste even better ~ you get a little bit of everything in every bite.
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Lemon and Herb Macaroni Salad
Equipment
- food processor optional
- alligator chopper optional
Ingredients
the pasta
- 1/2 lb small elbow macaroni
the veggies
- 2/3 cup minced English cucumber
- 2/3 cup minced celery, I use the inner stalks and leaves
- 1/2 cup minced sweet onion
the herbs
- 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, leafy tops only, rinsed and dried
- 1/2 ounce fresh dill, rinsed and dried
- 1 small handful fresh chives (about 1/4 cup, loosely packed), rinsed and dried
the dressing
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise, I use Duke's
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice, or more to taste
- 1 tsp creamy Dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt, plus freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Boil the macaroni until al dente in plenty of well salted water. Drain and rinse under cold water, let drain well, then place in a large bowl.
- Add the minced veggies to the bowl and toss lightly.
- Slice off the upper third of the bunch of parsley, and discard the stems. Remove the thick stems from the dill. Put the parsley, dill and chives into a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse 10 times, then scrape down the sides. Pulse another 10 times and scrape again. If necessary, pulse a final 10 times to get all the herbs finely minced. Measure out 3/4 cup for the salad. You may have a bit extra; see notes below.
- Toss the herbs with the pasta and veggies.
- Whisk the dressing ingredients together and taste to adjust any of them. Add half the dressing to the pasta and toss well. Then add the rest and toss again. Note: as written the dressing will be mild. If you like you can increase the lemon zest and juice, and add extra mustard for a more intense flavor.
- Chill the macaroni salad for several hours before serving. It will keep 3-4 days, refrigerated.
Notes
Nutrition
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