The best vegan macaroni salad is veggie packed and flavorful with the most divine creamy dressing. Ideal for picnics, potlucks and barbecues.
A macaroni salad is the perfect dish to take along to a barbecue or a picnic! It’s really easy to make and perfect to prepare in advance so you can easily make it the night before.
And it’s totally delicious. You have crunchy veggies tossed with macaroni and then covered in the most divine dressing. It’s a treat.
As a side salad it’s pretty much my favorite thing, well, this and some vegan potato salad.
How To Make Vegan Macaroni Salad
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
Preparation:
- Soak your cashews: A delicious macaroni salad is all about that dressing! We used cashews in the sauce and we soaked them first. So before doing anything else, put your cashews into a bowl and pour over boiling hot water from the kettle, and then just leave them to soak for an hour.
- Cook your macaroni according to your package instructions. Drain and set aside.
- Chop up your veggies. We used red bell pepper, celery, green onions, sun dried tomatoes and fresh chopped basil.
Dressing:
- Add the soaked cashews to your blender jug along with vegan mayonnaise, white wine vinegar, maple syrup, olive oil, dijon mustard, dried dill, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, sea salt, black pepper and water.
- Blend until smooth.
Assembly:
- Add your macaroni to a salad bowl and top with the chopped veggies.
- Pour over the sauce. Toss it all together until well mixed.
- Then cover and place into the fridge for an hour to chill and for the flavors to blend beautifully so they really pop. And then you’re ready to serve.
Serving Suggestions
This vegan macaroni salad is perfect to serve alongside other delicious vegan food for a backyard cookout or bbq. Serve it with vegan steak or tofu steak, vegan sausages or vegan chicken, vegan burgers or black bean burgers, bbq jackfruit pulled pork or vegan kebabs.
It’s also great with other sides like vegan coleslaw, vegan baked beans, vegan potato salad and vegan couscous salad.
Make Ahead and Storing
Make ahead: It’s the perfect salad to make in advance! It keeps beautifully in the fridge so if you make it the night before a picnic or potluck or bbq, then it will just be all the more delicious the next day.
Storing: Store leftovers in the fridge (covered) for up to 5 days. It is not freezer friendly.
More Delicious Vegan Salad Recipes
- Vegan Couscous Salad
- Vegan Quinoa Salad
- Vegan Kale Salad
- Vegan Sweet Potato Salad
- Vegan Caesar Salad
- Vegan Pasta Salad
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Macaroni Salad
The best vegan macaroni salad is veggie packed and flavorful with the most divine creamy dressing. Ideal for picnics, potlucks and barbecues.
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Servings: 10
Calories: 400kcal
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Instructions
Preparation:
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The cashews need to be soaked for the dressing. So place them into a bowl and pour over hot water from the kettle and then let them sit for an hour and then drain them before use.
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Cook the macaroni according to your package instructions. Drain and set aside.
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Chop and prepare your veggies.
Dressing:
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Add the soaked cashews to the blender jug along with vegan mayonnaise, white wine vinegar, maple syrup, olive oil, dijon mustard, dried dill, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, sea salt, black pepper and water.
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Blend until smooth.
Assembly:
-
Add the macaroni to a salad bowl. Top with the chopped veggies and then pour over the sauce. Toss it all together until well mixed.
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Then cover the bowl and place it into the fridge for around an hour to chill and for the flavors to blend.
Notes
- Green onions – are also called spring onions or salad onions or scallions.
- Prep time – is for hands on time and does not include the time spent soaking the cashews or the time for the macaroni salad to chill in the fridge.
- Make ahead: It’s the perfect salad to make in advance! It keeps beautifully in the fridge so if you make it the night before a picnic or potluck or bbq, then it will just be all the more delicious the next day.
- Storing: Store leftovers in the fridge (covered) for up to 5 days. It is not freezer friendly.
Nutrition
Serving: 1Serve | Calories: 400kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 216mg | Potassium: 411mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 575IU | Vitamin C: 19mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 2mg
