Macaroni Salad with Prosciutto
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Macaroni Salad with Prosciutto – an incredibly delicious macaroni salad with crispy prosciutto, lots of pickles, roasted red peppers and olives. Perfect for picnics or summer barbecues.
I’m back with one of my favorite macaroni salads and I made it with some crispy prosciutto. Crisp prosciutto gives it a really nice crunchiness to this salad. The salad itself is adapted from Pioneer Woman’s macaroni salad, which I love because it has pickles and olives and roasted red peppers, some of my all time favorite ingredients.
You can also make your macaroni salad as creamy as you like, by simply adding more mayonnaise and pickle juice for that extra tangy flavor. It’s all up to you and how tangy you like your macaroni salads. I love mine extra tangy that’s why this salad is right up my alley. And did I mention I love that extra crunchiness from the prosciutto?
This macaroni salad is the perfect salad for picnics or for your summer barbecue. I used to buy macaroni salad all the time from my local grocery store, I started making it myself and realized how much better it tastes when it’s freshly homemade, and the best part is you can add whatever you like!
Ingredients In Macaroni Salad with Prosciutto
- Pasta – Dried macaroni or elbow noodles, cooked till al dente.
- Prosciutto – The star of the show! Well at least in my mind. Be sure to make it nice and crisp.
- Veggies – Pickles, green onion, red bell pepper, and pickles.
- Olives – I like to use something like Kalamata olives sliced up and sprinkled in lovingly.
- Liquids – 2% milk, pickle juice, and white vinegar.
- Condiments – Mayo, as full fat as you like it.
- Seasoning – Salt and pepper.
How to make macaroni salad with prosciutto
- Cook the pasta: Cook macaroni according to package instructions.
- Form the dressing: In a small bowl whisk together the mayonnaise, vinegar, salt and pepper. Add a bit of pickle juice, as much as you want, milk and whisk well. Add more milk if needed, the dressing should be pourable.
- Assemble the salad: In a large bowl, toss together the cooked macaroni, crispy prosciutto, olives, pickles, roasted red peppers, green onions and dressing. Serve cold.
What else can I add to my macaroni salad?
This salad is creamy, bright, salty, savory, everything you could ever really want! But that doesn’t mean it’s not open to a little creativity. Feel free to bulk up this tasty pasta salad with some of these zesty additions.
- Peas
- Broccoli
- Cucumber
- Pickled hot peppers
- Feta cheese
Some tips
- Rinse the pasta, this will take away some of the starch and prevent our pasta salad from becoming a blob.
- Keep variety in mind when adding your mix ins, you want something with crunch, something bright and acidic, something nice and creamy, and of course a little bacon.
- Cool it before serving, placing it covered in the fridge will allow all those flavors to really get to know each other.
Storing leftovers
You can only really store this dish in the fridge, so unfortunately freezing ahead of time won’t work. Seal in an airtight container and this dish will keep for 3 – 5 days in the fridge.
What can I serve my salad with?
While you can serve this salad with anything, here are some suggestions.
- Instant Pot BBQ Pork Ribs
- Perfect Pulled Pork or Instant Pot BBQ Pulled Pork
- Beef Brisket
- Cilantro Lime Chicken
- Garlic and Paprika Chicken
- Red Chimichurri Chicken Wings
Craving more salads? Try these:
- Waldorf Salad
- Mixed Fruit With Lemon Basil Dressing
- Greek Salad
- Mexican Chicken and Rice Salad
- Mexican Street Corn Salad
- Tex Mex Potato Salad
- Macaroni Salad with Prosciutto
- Garlic Herb Red Potato Salad
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Macaroni Salad with Prosciutto
Video
Ingredients
- 12 ounce dry elbow macaroni
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon pepper (or to taste)
- 1 tablespoon pickle juice
- ¼ cup milk (I used 2%)
- 3 ounce prosciutto (cooked until crispy, roughly chopped)
- ½ cup olives (chopped, I used Kalamata olives)
- 6 medium pickles (chopped)
- 2 roasted red peppers (chopped)
- 4 green onions (chopped)
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Cook macaroni according to package instructions.
- In a small bowl whisk together the mayonnaise, vinegar, salt and pepper. Add a bit of pickle juice, as much as you want, milk and whisk well. Add more milk if needed, the dressing should be pourable.
- Cook the prosciutto in a skillet until crispy, you shouldn’t need to add any oil to the skillet.
- In a large bowl, toss together the cooked macaroni, crispy prosciutto, olives, pickles, roasted red peppers, green onions and dressing.
- Serve cold.
Notes
- I used dill pickles for this recipe but you can use whichever type you prefer.
- To get the prosciutto crispy, fry in a pan on medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes.
- Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for 3 to 5 days.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
