BLT Macaroni Salad

Print Recipe

2.80 from 34 votes

Prep Time25

Chill Time2

Total Time27

Course: Cookout, Side Dish

Servings:

Calories: 1059kcal

Equipment

Large Bowl
Large Serving Spoon
Oven/Air Fryer/Stovetop for cooking bacon
Cheese Grater

Ingredients

16 oz Macaroni Noodles
3 cups Mayonnaise
2 tbsp Sugar
3 tbsp White Vinegar
2 tsp Onion Powder
2 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Dill fresh, chopped
1 tsp Pepper to taste
1 tsp Salt to taste
1 lb Bacon
4 Tomatoes diced
1 cup Romaine Lettuce chopped
2 cup Cheddar Cheese shredded

Instructions

Cook the Macaroni Pasta. First things first, let's cook our elbow macaroni noodles. Get a large pot of water boiling. Once boiling, toss in your 16 oz of macaroni. Cook according to the package instructions. When done, drain and rinse under cold water to cool and stop the cooking process.
Make the Dressing: While the pasta is boiling away, mix up your dressing in a very large bowl. Combine the 3 cups of mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 3 tablespoons of white vinegar, 2 teaspoons of onion powder, 2 teaspoons of garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of fresh dill, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir it all up until it's nice and smooth.
Mix Together: Once the pasta has cooked and mostly cooled, add it to the bowl with the salad dressing and toss together until fully coated. Cover and place it in the refrigerator to chill for 1 hour.
Cook and Crumble the Bacon: While the pasta is chilling, cook up that pound of thick-cut bacon. You can use your favorite method, but I like to air fry bacon in my air fryer until it's crispy and delicious. Once it's done and cooled, crumble it into bite-sized pieces. Try not to eat all the bacon at this stage. I know it's hard, but remember, it's for the salad. Set aside.
Chop the Veggies/Shred the Cheese: Chop up tomatoes and cut the lettuce into bite size pieces. Shred your block of cheddar cheese.
If you are serving the macaroni salad right away, take the bowl out of the fridge (add a splash of milk if you want the consistency to be a bit more creamy), toss together, then add the bacon, lettuce, tomatoes and shredded cheese to the bowl and toss together until fully combined. Serve cold.
If you are preparing this salad ahead of time, I recommend waiting to chop lettuce, tomatoes, bacon and shred the cheese until you are ready to serve the pasta salad so the veggies, bacon and cheese stay fresh and crunchy - otherwise, they will soften in the pasta mixture over time!

Notes

Storage Information

Here's the low-down on storing this beauty. Firstly, and I cannot stress this enough, refrigerate this dish. Remember the mayonnaise? Yeah, you don't want that sitting out too long. But, in the fridge, your BLT Macaroni Salad will stay fresh and yummy for 3-5 days.

Substitutions & Variations

Now, this is your recipe too, you can jazz it up any way you like.

Not a fan of white vinegar? No problem. Apple cider vinegar works wonderfully.
Vegetarian? Just ditch the bacon. You can add some smoked paprika for that smoky flavor.
Looking for a lower fat option? Replace half the mayonnaise with Greek yogurt.

Nutrition