Hawaiian Mac Salad

This is Mac Salad but not really Hawaiian Mac Salad. I made it out of curiosity and, while it was tasty, it's a far cry from what you'll get at any plate lunch/Korean BBQ joint in Hawaii. True Hawaiian Mac Salad is simple... Macaroni, Best Foods/Hellmann's Mayo (a must) a little bit of milk, and salt and white pepper to taste. Sometimes you'll find shredded carrots, but generally, there are just flakes of them for color. You may find variations of mac salad in the grocery store that include potato and egg, but purists will tell you that mac salad is really just macaroni and best foods mayo.

I was born in Hawaii and still live here. We make Mac salad for parties all the time without "following" a recipe since we were brought up with this. I have never heard of Italian dressing in this dish. I love potato Mac salad. I add more boiled eggs, usually 3. We use enough mayo to make it creamy. If you put in the fridge over night, you may need to add more mayo the next day if it looks dry. This is not a healthy dish, but it's oh so good. On occasion we add frozen peas or shredded carrots. You must have onions! It really makes the dish. For presentation a lot of people add paprika to the top. Sometimes after I put my serving in my plate I top it off with shoyu (soy sauce). Yummmm!

As an island girl myself, I can tell you the KEY to this recipe is the MAUI ONION. Maui onions have a unique sweet taste that unlocks the true flavor in this lovely salad. Follow the directions, treat yourself to the Maui onion if you are unfamiliar, and you will see. Thank you for sharing this recipe Sheri, it's a keeper!

This is the closest I have found to the potato/macaroni salad I had in hawaii but I don't remember the italian dressing taste. I think next time I will leave it out.

Nice. To be truly Hawaiian, use Best Foods Mayo. Add frozen peas and for a treat, add fried julienned Spam.

this is an awesome mix, this is the fourth time making this in 6 months, i double the recipe and our family eats it till its GONE...

I made this mac salad for over 100 people and every single person who tried it had loved it!! This is my "go-to" mac salad recipe from now on!

I made this dish for a Luau party I was having. Very easy recipe and tasty too! Everyone enjoyed it and was the perfect side dish. I used a sweet onion instead of a Maui onion bc I wasn't able to find it?? Carrots make a great crunch and I loved the combination of macaroni and potatos. Only suggestion is adding more mayo and italian dressing. Maybe a little more egg. Other then that, great!

Love the recipe! Added black olives and ham to the recipe and loved it!

Just like the Hawaiian Macaroni Salads you get at the restaurants; so good. I'm definitely going to make this for all of my parties and potlucks!

So easy and delicious. I make this over and over.

Very close to the dish served at our favorite Hawaiian restaurant in LA!!!

This salad was OK. It wasn't bad but it wasn't that good either. Maybe it had something to do with the Maui onion which I could not find. I used a vadalia onion instead. I will make this again but I will try to jazz it up by adding some addition spices. I did like the concept of the potatoe and macaroni mixed together. This salad has potential.

This was fantastic! i added in frozen peas and doubled it since I made it for a crowd. EVERYONE loved it!

My husband loved this macaroni salad. We had never had a macaroni salad that also included diced potatoes. This was a very nice change from our usual mac salad. I made it as written, and will do so the next time. This held up really well in the fridge for 3 days without getting watery. A plus in my book. Thank sheri215, for sharing your recipe.

Not too bad. I think add less mayo than this calls for and add a little more salad dressing. I would definately add another egg and 1 more potato.

Being Hawaiian, and considering I've had this dish hundreds of times, this is a good starter recipe. I would have gave it four stars, but I had to make too many modifications. I added more eggs, more mayo (best foods is a must not generic) a splash of the Italian dressing because I thought two tablespoons gives it too much of a vinegar taste, I didn't have carrots so I added celery. My Hawaiian grandma adds tons of salt and pepper, so I did too, it was definitely bland with the above measurements. Other then that it was good!!!

I added a Cajun seasoning . It was the perfect touch. Had it on the 4th everyone loved it!

Made this salad using gluten free macaroni and it came out delicious. I added more eggs (3) than what the recipe called for and used green onions because that’s what I had on hand. Also grated the carrot.

Tasty too! I did not use the Italian dressing and used quite a lot more mayo since it was going to be in the fridge overnight. Great acceptance from guests. I will be making this all summer long!

one of my favorite side dishes! goes great with grilled meat!

I doubled the recipe because we love Mac Salad, and if it's in the fridge we'll eat it any time. We ended up with an absurd amount of it, but give us a week and it'll be gone. It's a delicious dish, and I'm a relatively amateur cook which should attest to the simplicity of the recipe. In lieu of the last 1/4 cup of mayonnaise needed, I subbed in ranch dressing, which hardly came forth in the final flavor so I think the difference was negligible. Great, basic side dish for a Hawaiian-themed meal, though I think that with more experience in the kitchen, I could find some ways to improve upon it.

we go to a little hawiian restraint and wanted to duplicate the salad, this was perfect!!

Followed the recipe exactly. It was bland and had no flavor.