This simple macaroni salad recipe is made without mayo, and is filled with lots of colorful veggies! A simple dressing adds a zesty flavor to this dish. This salad is sure to be a hit at your next barbecue or picnic.
It’s summer, and that means it’s time for picnics, barbecues, and easy to make dishes that don’t require the oven to be on.
We love to make pasta salads in the summertime, and this simple macaroni salad recipe without mayo is a nice, light salad that’s just right for the hot weather.
You might remember the macaroni salad that was popular when you were a kid – lots of mayo, tuna, and onions. I actually liked that combination just fine when I was younger, but now I prefer a lighter salad. This simple macaroni salad recipe is mayonnaise free, and is much more colorful than the original version. If you like a more traditional pasta salad with a creamy dressing, try my classic vegan macaroni salad.
Zucchini, peppers, red onion, and shredded carrots give this salad lots of flavor and make it pretty to look at, too! A zesty dressing is the finishing touch to this picnic-ready dish.
Serve this along with grilled chicken, bacon potato salad, and fruit salsa for a fun summertime meal.
Ingredient Notes
- Gluten Free Macaroni – You can use any brand of gluten free pasta that works for your dietary needs. Barilla, Jovial, Tinkyada, or Banza are all brands to check into.
- Vegetables – I used red onion, red pepper, zucchini, carrots, and celery in this salad. You could use different veggies if you prefer. Peas, green peppers, green onions, or tomatoes would all be good choices.
- Tuna – This salad does include tuna, but if you don’t want to or can’t eat tuna, feel free to leave it out and substitute shredded chicken or white beans. You can also prepare this without any extra protein – the dressing is really tasty and the variety of veggies are enough to make this macaroni salad pop.
Step by Step Instructions
- Chop the red onion, red pepper, and zucchini.
- Chop the celery, shred the carrots, and drain the tuna.
- Prepare the gluten free pasta according to package directions. Rinse and drain to cool it off.
- Whisk together the dressing in a small bowl.
- Place the pasta, chopped veggies, and tuna in a large serving bowl. Add the dressing.
- Mix everything together, making sure the dressing is evenly distributed. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator.
Tips for Success
- If you aren’t going to serve this salad right away, make the dressing and keep it separate from the salad until you are ready to serve it.
- Rinse the pasta right away after it’s done cooking so that it doesn’t stick together.
- If you’re nervous about making pasta salad, because you’ve had bland, boring salads before, this article has some great tips!
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Recipe
Simple Macaroni Salad Recipe Without Mayo.
This light and summery simple macaroni salad is delicious, flavorful, and mayonnaise free! This is the perfect recipe to make for a potluck.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces gluten free macaroni
- 2 cups zucchini sliced
- â…” cup red onion finely chopped
- 1 ½ cups carrots shredded
- 1 cup red pepper chopped
- 1 cup celery chopped
- 5 ounces light tuna drained
For the dressing:
- â…” cup olive oil
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- â…“ teaspoon pepper
- 1 ½ Tablespoons organic cane sugar
- 3 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
Instructions
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Prepare the gluten free macaroni according to package directions. Once it’s done cooking, drain in a colander and rinse with cold water to cool it down.
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Place the cooked macaroni, all the vegetables, and the tuna in a large bowl. Toss to combine.
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Combine the ingredients for the dressing in a bowl and whisk well. Pour over the macaroni salad and stir to coat. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
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If you are making this ahead of time, you can keep the salad and the dressing separate until right before serving time. This will prevent the pasta from soaking up all the dressing.
Recipe Notes
Keep leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
If the flavor lessens, you can make some more dressing and add it to the salad. Sometimes the pasta really absorbs the dressing and it loses its flavor.
If you are not gluten free, you can use traditional pasta.
D
We love this salad – I make a big batch and take it for lunch at work.
Andrea D Wiener
gettin ready to print up this recipe – I use stevia (SweetLeaf) for m sweetness – YUM!!! I’m gluten-free, dairy-free, wheat-free, yeast-free, soy-free – and since i would add horseradish (a small bit) to my macaroni salad, i would definitely up the stevia quotient (horseradish is great for opening up sinuses and lungs, among other things :D )
Elizabeth Burns
You put this recipe doesn’t include tuna, yet, on the ingredients list is a 5 oz can of tuna.
Confusing??
Kelly Roenicke
It says it does not contain mayo. It does contain tuna. But there are suggestions should you prefer to leave it out!
Leigh Milla
Barilla GF pasta is pretty good. I cook all of my GF pasta for about 15 mins & works out pretty well.
Cindi Stecker
thanks – Barilla is my fav, but I’m still not a fan of it cold. I’ll give it another try – it’s been a while.
Cindi
What gf pasta works cold…? I haven’t found one yet that doesn’t feel like hard wax when eaten.
Kelly Roenicke
Barilla is good, or Ancient Harvest!
Ellie
This salad recipe was wonderful! Made it today, but didn’t have any peppers so used grape tomatoes instead; I also added 1/4 avocado and one egg. The key, I think, is the dressing, the pasta, the onion and the fish, and the rest is very adaptable. Thank you!
Kelly Roenicke
I love your substitutions! Thanks for sharing!