This amazing chicken macaroni salad makes for a wonderful side dish to bring to any family gathering, summer barbecue and picnic. Very easy and quick to make, this pasta dish is tasty and filling. It is also incredibly refreshing and has a delicate light flavor that no one could resist.
This chicken macaroni salad recipe is quite different from a traditional pasta salad with lots of exciting flavors added. Sweet flavorful pineapple chunks and raisins, succulent marinated pimento peppers, crunchy carrots and green bell peppers, zesty sweet relish and creamy sharp cheddar cheese. And I love how cooked chicken adds more nutritional value to this macaroni salad making it a protein-rich dish.
I love the rainbow of colors from the mix of veggies and chicken and it looks very tempting and fresh.
This macaroni salad with chicken is served cold and is a piece of cake to make. Just prepare all ingredients, boil your macaroni according to the instruction, cook chicken, add all the rest of the fun ingredients and dress with mayonnaise. Five simple steps and you have a hearty, satisfying meal.
You can absolutely use leftover chicken or rotisserie in your salad and save yourself a little bit of time. Thats what I usually do. And it is a great make-ahead option. It can stay in the fridge for up to 3 days, but I wouldn’t recommend freezing it because the mayonnaise dressing will separate when defrosted.
If you never heard of pimento peppers these are a spectacular addition to this salad. Pretty in red and colorful they are very mild and sweet in flavor and even more aromatic than bell peppers. They are widely available, sold in a jar or a bottle and you can get them at any grocery store.
This salad is also very affordable and will not break the bank even if you need to make a lot of it. With simple ingredients this recipe is a truly irresistible side dish that everyone will enjoy. Here is the recipe of how to make this perfect chicken macaroni salad.