Vegan Macaroni Salad with a creamy green dressing made with avocados and cilantro! This macaroni salad is the perfect summer salad for potlucks and parties!

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 15 minutes
  • Cook time: 5 minutes
  • Total time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Cuisine: American

Ingredients

  • 8 oz macaroni (little more than 1.5 cups macaroni)
  • 1 medium red pepper (diced, around 3/4 cup diced red pepper)
  • 2 medium carrots (chopped, around 3/4 cup chopped carrots)
  • 1/2 cup chopped celery
  • 1/4 cup diced red onion
  • 1 tablespoon chopped dill

Dressing

  • 2 large avocados
  • 1/4 cup packed cilantro
  • 1/2 cup vegan yogurt (I used plain almond milk yogurt)
  • 1.5 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (or to taste)
  • salt (to taste)

Method

  1. First start off by chopping all the veggies. Here I have used all the classics that are used in a macaroni salad- red onion, red pepper, carrot and celery.
  2. Boil the macaroni as per instructions on the package. The only thing to keep in mind is that your macaroni shouldn't get mushy. It should be al-dente for this salad. Toss the boiled macaroni with all the chopped veggies in a large bowl and set it aside.
  3. Next to your food processor or blender, add all the ingredients for the dressing - avocados, cilantro, almond milk yogurt, lemon juice, maple syrup, garlic salt, ground black pepper and salt to taste.
  4. Blend until everything is well combined and you get a smooth green and creamy dressing on hand.
  5. Add in the prepared dressing to the bowl of macaroni and veggies.
  6. Mix well using a spatula until all of the dressing is well combined with the macaroni and the veggies. Taste test and adjust the salt and pepper to taste at this point.
  7. Sprinkle chopped dill on top. If you don't like dill, you may skip it!
  8. Cover the vegan macaroni salad with a cling sheet and refrigerate 3-4 hours before serving.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.