Vegan Macaroni Potato Salad! When macaroni salad and potato salad have a baby, you get the best of both worlds in this delicious picnic salad.

Healthy, flavorful, and satisfying, this oil free Vegan Macaroni Potato Salad is made with a zesty hummus-based sauce for a dish the whole family will love. This wholesome macaroni potato salad is guaranteed to be the hit at your next cookout or potluck!

Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients.

Hi there, Ameera here!

We are a macaroni salad and potato salad loving family. Mom loves macaroni salad while Dad loves a great potato salad. We decided to marry the two, and we are so glad we did. This picnic deliciousness is sure to delight even the harshest of critics.

We absolutely loved it! You gotta give this one a try!

Tips for Success:

• Flavor Profile: The flavor profile is a traditional macaroni/potato salad combo made Whole Food Plant Based!
• Cutting Baby Potatoes: If using baby potatoes, we recommend cutting them in half, not quarters.  The reason is the more you cut them down, while boiling the baby potatoes tend to easily lose their skins and breakdown.  If you have some larger baby potatoes, still only halve them, then once they are cooked, carefully quarter (cut the larger baby potatoes halves in half to arrive at quarters) them when they are cooled. This will allow you to keep the integrity of the potatoes, so you don’t end up with mushy potatoes. See notes below on ‘Cooking Baby Potatoes’ as well.
• Cooking Baby Potatoes: Watch the potatoes very closely toward the end of their cooking period.  You want to catch them just when they become fork tender. If you overcook the potatoes, they fall apart. We typically select a large potato, remove it from the boiling water, run it under cold water and bite into it to see if it is tender enough (and discard or eat).  Repeat this method until the potatoes are just tender. Then drain and very gently rinse the cooked potatoes under a stream of cold water until the exterior of the potatoes are cold (several minutes), then very gently shake off any excess water and allow to drain for a few minutes. Place on a large plate or baking sheet to cool. The key is to handle the cooked potatoes gently, so they don’t break down. Some folks really like that mashed look for their potato salads, we do not. We prefer a lot of dimension and texture. Then place the cooked potatoes onto a baking sheet to cool completely. Taking time to remove any lingering water that hangs onto the potatoes will ensure that your dressing will not get watered down.
• Potatoes (other than Baby Potatoes): You can certainly use other boiled, diced potatoes, peeled or unpeeled, if you like. The key is to cook the potatoes just until tender, then carefully rinse them in cold water.  You don’t want them turning into mush which is what happens when they are over-boiled, unless of course, you enjoy that texture as we know some folks really enjoy a mushy potato salad.  We don’t.
• All Potato or All Macaroni Salad: Of course, you can use this same dressing to make a macaroni salad or a potato salad if you wish.  You don’t have to combine the two.  We enjoyed the combination.
• Pasta Amount: If you enjoy a really creamy salad, use 6 oz. of dry pasta. If you enjoy a regularly creamy macaroni salad, use 8 oz. of dry elbow macaroni.  We do not recommend using more than 8 oz. as you will end up with a dry salad as the macaroni really soaks up the sauce.
• Cooked Pasta: After you cook the elbow macaroni and set it aside, it can sometimes get sticky.  Right before pulling the salad together, simply rinse the pasta again with cold water to loosen it up.  Drain well.
• Hummus Based Sauces: Hummus based sauces tend to tighten up in the refrigerator.  If you need to loosen the macaroni potato salad up, add a little distilled white vinegar or warm water. This is our favorite hummus recipe.
• Optional – Soaked Red Onions: The purpose of soaking the red onions is two-fold. One – it removes any sharp notes as some red onions can be overpoweringly strong.  In this macaroni salad, mild red onion perfectly complements the flavor.   Two – it ever so slightly reduces the crunch.  The red onions are still crunchy as they are raw, but soaking can mitigate some of the crunch.
• Making and Serving Later: This potato/macaroni salad tastes best immediately after making it.  As with most potato/macaroni salads, they tend to really drink up the dressing. If you are planning to make this salad for a picnic (or later use) and you want maximum presentation, texture, and taste.  We suggest doing the following:
  • Prep all your veggies and place them in a bowl, tightly cover, and place in the fridge.
  • Make the sauce ahead of time and place in the fridge. If the dressing has thickened up too much while in the fridge, add a little splash of distilled white vinegar to loosen it up.
  • Cook the elbow macaroni, rinse with cold water, drain well, allow to come to room temperature, place in a bowl, cover tightly, then immediately place in the fridge.
  • Cook the potatoes, rinse with cold water, drain well, allow to come to room temperate, place in a bowl, cover tightly, then immediately place in the fridge.
  • Right before serving, rinse the macaroni with warm water, gently loosen the macaroni with your fingers, then switch to cold water. Drain well, then place in a large bowl with the cooked potatoes and diced veggies, pour the dressing over top, gently mix, and serve

Leftovers and Freezing:

Leftovers will generally keep for 4-5 days in the refrigerator.  Store in a covered container.

This dish can not be frozen.

Pantry Products Used:

• Hot Sauce: We used Frank’s RedHot Original Hot Sauce.
• Hummus:  Feel free to use your favorite hummus (store bought or recipe).  We love our The Best Hummus!
• Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

Kitchen Products Used:

• Stock pot to boil the macaroni
• Stock pot to boil the potatoes

If you try this flavorful salad, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us!  We would love to hear from you.

Vegan Macaroni Potato Salad

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star No reviews

• Author: Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures
• Prep Time: 20 Minutes
• Cook Time: 15 Minutes
• Total Time: 35 Minutes
• Yield: 4-6 Servings 1x
• Category: Salads
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: American
• Diet: Vegan

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

---

Description

Healthy, flavorful, and satisfying, this oil free Vegan Macaroni Potato Salad made with a zesty hummus-based sauce for a dish the whole family with love.

---

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Salad Ingredients:

• 6 to 8 oz. dry elbow macaroni
• 16 oz. red-skinned baby potatoes, unpeeled, halved *
• ¾ cup celery ribs, diced
• ½ cup red onion, fine dice
• 1 cup red bell pepper, diced

Dressing Ingredients:

• 1 cup hummus
• 3 Tablespoons distilled white vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon dill pickle relish (+/-) *
• 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon yellow mustard (+/-)
• 2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon hot sauce (optional) *
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ¼ teaspoon sweet paprika
• ½ to 1 ¼ teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *

Other Optional Ingredients:

• 1/8 teaspoon celery seed

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

---

Instructions

1. Cook the elbow macaroni according to package directions, rinse thoroughly with cold water (rinse until cold), shake off excess water, set aside to use in Step 4.
2. Cook the baby potatoes until just tender, about 12 to 15 minutes, drain and rinse with cold water until the potatoes are no longer hot, place on a cookie sheet to continue to cool, set aside to use in Step 4. See notes on the size of the baby potatoes.
3. Place all the Dressing Ingredients into a small bowl, whisk until smooth and emulsified. Set aside.
4. Place all the Salad Ingredients (including the cooked and cooled elbow macaroni and baby potatoes) into a large bowl, gently mix to evenly distribute the ingredients.
5. Pour the dressing over the mixture, gently toss. Taste test for flavor.  Add more seasoning (if adding celery seed, add at this time), if needed. Best if served immediately.  Refrigerate leftovers.

---

Notes

*Please reference the blog post for Tips for Success, Pantry Items Used, Storage and Freezing, and Kitchen Products Used. 

*Sea Salt:  Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.   

*Serving:  4 to 6

*Nutrition Information: Using a hummus that has a smaller amount of tahini or no tahini at all will reduce the fat content.

This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.