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Home » Lunch » Avocado Macaroni Salad

Avocado Macaroni Salad

June 14, 2016 By Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan 3 Comments

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The hot weather here in Baltimore recently gave me a pretty aggressive hankering for macaroni salad. Let’s be honest, it’s one of the most refreshing foods out there. But obviously, the traditional version is not vegan. So I came up with this fresher, healthier avocado macaroni salad, and it totally ticks all of the boxes that I was craving.

Avocado Macaroni Salad | yupitsvegan.com. Light, refreshing vegan macaroni salad with a healthy avocado-based dressing.

I researched some other vegan macaroni salad recipes and while they seemed delicious, all of them either called for premade vegan mayo, or required a blender. The latter, I am currently far too lazy to deal with; and the former, while surely tasty, isn’t really in line with the recipes I post on this blog. And I just had a feeling that you guys would enjoy a bright, refreshing pasta salad recipe this time of year. So I set out to create this avocado macaroni salad with no blender required and I’m super happy with the result.

It couldn’t be much easier to make:

  1. Cook and cool some pasta
  2. Chop up a few vegetables
  3. Mash some avocado and stir it together with a little bit of seasoning
  4. Mix together and feast!

Closeup of healthy and light avocado dressed macaroni salad with crunchy red bell pepper and spicy red onion, garnished with black pepper and parsley in a blue bowl

I never liked my macaroni salad drowning in mayo, and I didn’t want this avocado macaroni salad drowning in avocado dressing either. So as you can see from the pictures, the dressing is pretty light. If you want something that’s dressed a little more heavily, I recommend using a whole box of pasta (so about 50% more than the 2 cups the recipe calls for as written), making double the dressing, and adding it to taste.

Let me know if you give this satisfying, summery dish a try! I love seeing your photos on social media – you can tag me @yupitsvegan or use the #yupitsvegan hashtag to help me find it.

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5 from 2 votes

Avocado Macaroni Salad

Healthy, refreshing avocado macaroni salad, perfect for summer! Vegan recipe.
Course pasta, Salad
Cuisine nut-free, soy-free, vegan, vegetarian
Keyword avocado macaroni salad
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 4 side servings
Calories 272kcal
Author Yup, it's Vegan

Ingredients

  • 2 cups dry elbow macaroni
  • 1/4 cup diced red onion
  • 1 avocado well-mashed
  • 1 and 1/2 tbsp prepared mustard (I recommend grainy types, which are more flavorful and less pungent than plain yellow mustard)
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp agave nectar (or 2 teaspoons brown rice syrup)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/3 cup diced celery
  • 1/3 cup diced red bell pepper
  • 1 tbsp minced fresh parsley

Instructions

  • Cook the macaroni according to package directions, then rinse it in cold water and drain it.
  • Use a small bowl to soak the diced red onion in cold water (this helps remove the "bite" from it). Let it soak for 5 to 10 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, whisk together the mashed avocado, mustard, lemon juice, and agave nectar. Season to taste with plenty of salt and pepper.
  • Drain the red onion and fold it together with the macaroni, avocado mixture, celery, bell pepper, and parsley. Have another taste of everything together and adjust seasoning as needed.
  • This avocado macaroni salad is best kept cold and served the same day that it is prepared, due to the tendency of avocado to oxidize. However, I did test out leftovers and personally found it acceptable up to the 48 hour mark.

Notes

My pasta recipes usually tell you explicitly not to rinse the pasta, but this time you should, since we're using it in a cold salad. 🙂
The richness of avocado means that this dressing will need plenty of seasoning (salt). You may want additional acid too, but I'll leave that up to you!

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 272kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 29mg | Potassium: 458mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1700IU | Vitamin C: 107.3mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 2.3mg

Adapted from Food Network.

Avocado and lemon make a light dressing for a nutrient dense vegan, nut and soy free, macaroni salad with fresh vegetables and a parsley garnish

Filed Under: Lunch, Salad Tagged With: egg analogues, nut-free, oil-free, pasta, refined sugar-free, soy-free

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Comments

  1. Sarah S says

    August 19, 2019 at 14:13

    I made this with my wife and her family during the 4th of July this year – and the absolutely LOVED it!! I tried the recipe once again, alterating it slightly with spaghetti noodles (since I had plenty of produce left over but no macaroni elbows) and it turned out tasty, but I definitely think the macaroni elbows themselves aid in the scrumpteousness of this recipe. MUST TRY IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY!

    Reply
  2. Tony says

    July 19, 2017 at 15:54

    5 stars
    Hey I am from Baltimore also. I plan to try this and put it o. My YouTube. .. (The vegan mechanic)

    Reply
  3. rhonna says

    June 16, 2016 at 18:03

    5 stars
    i was skeptical about this but used avocado and mustard in place of mayo in my favorite mac salad recipe (and i’m with you, pasta salad is one of my favorites)… and it was amazing!! so simple too, thank you so much for this!

    Reply

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I'm Shannon, founder of Yup, it's Vegan! I'm a morning person based in Baltimore, USA. I create healthy plant-based recipes that everyone will love, using seasonal produce and global inspiration.
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