Filipino-style Macaroni Salad is a must for any party or celebration! It's loaded with chicken, ham, cheese, and crushed pineapple for a hearty and delicious side dish that's sure to be a crowd favorite.
Like spaghetti, Filipino-style macaroni salad is one of the dishes we adapted from the west and gave our Pinoy twist. Bursting with tropical flavors, it's the perfect fit for our tastes.
This recipe was first published in September 2013, but I am giving it a little makeover today with new photos and cooking tips because, well, Christmas is almost here. No Filipino party or gathering is complete without chicken macaroni, and if I may say so myself, this version of mine is THE mother of all macaroni salads!
With a delicious assortment of hearty pasta, shredded chicken, cubed ham and cheese, crushed pineapples, plump raisins, diced carrots, and chopped eggs, it's an array of flavors and textures your guests wouldn't be able to get enough of. They will be lining up for seconds. Or thirds!
Good thing this macaroni salad recipe can be easily doubled (or tripled) for a large crowd and can be prepped in advance for less-stress entertaining.
Helpful tips
- Do not overcook the macaroni. It gets tossed with a huge amount of mixed-ins, and you want it firm enough to hold up.
- Poach the chicken instead of "boil."ย This gentle cooking method ensures the meat is moist and succulent instead of dry and stringy. I like to use boneless chicken breasts, but aย combination of dark and white meat will work well, too.
- Blanch the carrots. Like poaching the chicken, this step makes a big difference. The vegetables stay vibrant and tender-crisp by parboiling in hot water and immediately shocking in iced water.
- Do not skip the condensed milk! It adds creaminess and a touch of sweetness, which counterbalances the savory flavors of the dish.
- Cool the ingredients completely. For food safety, allow the pasta and ingredients to cool completely before mixing.
- Chill in the refrigerator. The pasta salad will be a little loose when first combined, but it will thicken beautifully after an hour or so in the fridge. Everyone will be excited to dig in but give it a little time to cool completely and meld.
- Add your favorite mix-ins. l like to dice sweet gherkin pickles for extra crunch but feel free to swap sweet pickle relish. Feel free to experiment with other add-ins such as chopped bell peppers or celery for flavor and color.
How long can you keep macaroni salad
- Although you can prep the salad in advance, I don't recommend keeping it at room temperature for more than 2 hours or more than 3 days in the refrigerator due to food safety. With mayo, eggs, and other protein-rich ingredients, it will spoil quicker than most foods.
- Unfortunately, due to the nature of the ingredients, this chicken macaroni salad does not freeze well. The fats and oils in the mayonnaise break down and lose creaminess when frozen and thawed.
Serving suggestions
Filipino-style macaroni salad is a delicious side dish for special occasions or celebrations. It's also a great addition to picnics, BBQs, and potlucks.
If you're looking for more festive salads, enjoy the same flavors in potato form! Or try my pasta fruit salad for a delicious Noche Buena dessert option. If you like tuna, I've got you covered, too!
More side dish recipes
Ingredients
- 1 pound uncooked medium elbow macaroni
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast or thigh meat
- 1 large carrot, peeled and diced
- 1 cup ham, cubed
- 6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 1 can (14 ounces) crushed pineapple
- 1 cup Eden or Velveeta Cheese, cubed
- ยฝ cup sweet pickle relish
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 onion, peeled and diced
- 1 ยฝ cups mayonnaise
- ยฝ cup sweetened condensed milk
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a pot over medium heat, bring about 4 quarts salted water to a boil. Add macaroni and cook according to package directions for about 8 to 9 minutes or until firm to bite. Drain well and allow to cool completely.
- In a pot, add chicken meat and enough water to cover. Bring the water to a boil, skimming scum that floats on top. Lower heat, cover, and simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes or until cooked through. Drain from theย liquid, allow to completely cool and shred. Set aside.
- In a pot, bring water to a boil. Add diced carrots and cook for about 30 seconds. With a slotted spoon, remove from water and plunge into an ice bath until completely cool. Drain and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine macaroni, chicken, carrots, ham, eggs, crushed pineapple including packing juice, cheese, sweet pickle relish, raisins, onions, mayonnaise, and sweetened condensed milk. Gently stir together until evenly distributed.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate for about 1 hour to cool completely and to allow flavors to meld.
Notes
- Do not overcook the macaroni. It gets tossed with a huge amount of mixed-ins, and you want it firm enough to hold up.
- Poach the chicken instead of "boil."ย This gentle cooking method ensures the meat is moist and succulent instead of dry and stringy. I like to use boneless chicken breasts, but aย combination of dark and white meat will work well, too.
- Blanch the carrots. Like poaching the chicken, this step makes a big difference. The vegetables stay vibrant and tender-crisp by parboiling in hot water and immediately shocking in iced water.
- Do not skip the condensed milk! It adds creaminess and a touch of sweetness, which counterbalances the savory flavors of the dish.
- Cool the ingredients completely. For food safety, allow the pasta and ingredients to cool completely before mixing.
- Chill in the refrigerator. The pasta salad will be a little loose when first combined, but it will thicken beautifully after an hour or so in the fridge. Everyone will be excited to dig in but give it a little time to cool completely and meld.
Video
Nutrition Information
โThis website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.โ
Ma. Jenny Ann Uy says
Why would you be using ounces or pounds..? It would have been much simpler if they were in grams or kilograms because then I wouldn't waste my time converting the units...I don't even see any packaging to be in english units in markets because they are all in metric units which is again...in grams or kilograms.
Lalaine Manalo says
I live in the United States so I am more familiar with the U.S. customary units and that is what I use when I cook. Also, the recipe cards on the site can be adjusted; just toggle between customary and metric and they will do the switch for you.
The recipes here are free and if a quick conversion is a waste of time for you, maybe buy a cookbook.
Diane says
Great response! Most of us greatly appreciate the time, effort and resources that's involved in making one of your awesome posts. A (very) little work on our part is a small price for such deliciousness.
Bayon caulker says
I love it ,and it recipe is very simple to make .
Lalaine Manalo says
I'm glad you liked it!
AndyNY says
Made this today. Skipped the condensed milk, eggs and raisins. Turned out to be amazing. Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Lalaine Manalo says
I am glad you enjoyed it ๐
Laki says
Itโs not Filipino macaroni salad if you skip the condensed milk. Itโs to be sweet. You should judt made the Hawaiian version.
Also, I prefer the simple version. just the macaroni, condensed milk, mayo, raisins, and eden cheese.
Genevieve says
I love your recipes
Lalaine Manalo says
Thank you so much!
FrancesC says
I followed this recipe except for the juice of the pineappls and it was so yum. Itโs my first time to post a comment online thru cooking recipe/menu sites. Thank you for sharing your recipe. I really like your chicken adobo as well and pancit canton. I am just wondering how to cook the elbow macaroni right? Because I drained and been set for a while because I need to do the other ingredients then itโs sticking to each other. Thank you again and more happy and yummy recipes to come ๐๐ sending you hugs
Lalaine Manalo says
Hi Frances! Your comment just made my day. Thank you ๐
Edyn says
I'd tried this recipe and i loved it so much. I've been looking for this recipe for a long time. Thank you Ms. Lalaine, I'm one of your avid followers. Keep it up and more power.
Lalaine Manalo says
Thank you so much Edyn for your words of encouragement. Appreciate it!
anne says
hi ms lailani. is there any substitute or alternative for raisins and pickles? because we dont have it here in my place. out of stock. thank you.
this is the first time i will make macaroni salad and unfortunately i cant find any raisins and pickles around.
Lalaine Manalo says
You can just omit if you don't have any on hand ๐
Cattarina says
left out the eggs as that doesn't sit well with me, but still..... it was AMAZING! The pineapple, which I wasn't sure of, just made it perfect. I did drain it tho. This recipe is one that I KNOW I will make again. Especially for a day course I'm going to in a month. I wasn't sure of the recipe with all different stuff that I'm use to - but I was willing...... and I'm so glad I was. Thank you for this great, delish recipe. ๐
Lalaine Manalo says
Glad it worked out well for you, Cattarina ๐
Floow says
I love this recipe, but when i prepare it, it does not come so creamy, what can be the problem? Looking forward to your reply.
Lalaine Manalo says
You can add more mayonnaise if you like ๐
Doreen says
I always let the elbows cool in the fridge before mixing. If the elbows are hot or warm the mayo turns to oil.
ayan fuentes says
This is definitely not pilipino style macaroni salad. Pilipino style has no onions, carrots or raisins but it has hotdog. You invented this and someone I know copied it and was embarrass at work coz its disgusting.
Lalaine says
I've never heard of macaroni salad with hot dogs, are you referring to Baked macaroni perhaps? And no, I did not invent this. I am sorry that someone you know was embarrassed at work, but I am not sure why people would embarrass someone bringing free food. I won't call this macaroni salad disgusting. Unless of course, you add hot dogs to it then that would really be gross.
Jesse says
How can he/she say that the recipe is not Pinoy macaroni salad??? I may prepare mine with less ingredients but yours is totally a macaroni salad! And his/her version is with hotdogs?? OMG! That's just gross!
Thanks, Lalaine! I haven't tried this yet but I'm sure it'll be delicious!
Lalaine Manalo says
Thank you, Jessie ๐
April says
There's a lot of variations in our cooking, depending on what flavour we are looking for. If one prefers to add hotdogs in hers coz it pleases her tastebuds or palate, then so be it, we respect it. We dont call it diisgusting. Maybe better if we say, "i dont prefer hotdogs in mine". Only immature people make those rude comments. If i prefer to put ham in mine or shrimps, please respect it coz to me it isnt only very asian, but is also very tasty. Again, if u dont like this recipe Ms Lailani has shared us, we expect u dont copy it. If u want your own recipe, we totally respect it. See, i honestly dont put everything in almost every recipe i see someone had posted. But those recipes give me an idea what ingridients i need, what i may not include that i dont prefer of what i may add that may be some of my favourite ingridients. If u are an experienced cook, u can figure out what u like. Ti thank you all those who posts and share their recipes online. Keep up the good work! Remember, we cant please everyone but still there is lots of people out there who ate pleased with your recipes. Pls dont let critics turn u down? Good job Lailani. And Ms Ayan Fuentes, if Lailani invented this, that even raises more my compliments on her.
Lalaine Manalo says
Thank you, April. Well said ๐
Aida B. Teneza says
I donโt know about you Ayan Fuentes but I never had a macaroni salad with hotdog yet that is definitely something new but if that is what you preferred so be it but I do think that calling someoneโs recipe disgusting is absolutely very rude we have to respect each otherโs taste buds or preference like your macaroni salad with โhotdog โvery interesting I always look up to the recipe of Kawaling Pinoy and they are all amazing even the recipe of their cakes and desserts thank you for sharing them with us โค๏ธ
Lalaine Manalo says
Thank you so much. I am glad you find the recipes helpful ๐
Ester says
Hey Ayan wake up. this is a filipino macaroni salad. how dare you insult the Lalaine, who is just trying to share her recipe. Shame on you for barking on a wrong tree. If you put hotdog in your recipe then you are referring to spaghetti and this is not the menu for spaghetti bec this is purely macaroni salad.
Lei says
Do you know that this is one of the most liked dish everytime may handaan? i am not considered a good cook, coz I just learned to when I got married๐. But this recipe of yours is delicious! Thanks Lalaine!!!
Lalaine Manalo says
Hi Lei! Yes, it is one of my favorites to bring during potlucks! Glad it worked out well for you.
Grace says
I am.preparing this tonight for my husband's Christmas Party with fellow Pinoys tomorrow night.
Thank you for the recipe.๐๐๐
Lalaine says
You're welcome! I hope they enjoyed it ๐
Dany says
I love this recipe.
Lalaine says
Thank you!
Melanie De Leon says
How much is in one serving? a cup? (I'm making it for a crowd for thanksgiving)
Lalaine Manalo says
This recipe makes about 12 servings about 1 cup each ๐
shobee says
Boy, I haven't have Macaroni Salad since I left PI 18 years ago. We also have this during Noche Buena and birthday party. And I want mine with lots of cheese in it. I am going to make some of this really soon. My children have not tried it, so that would be interesting to see what they think about it.
Lalaine Manalo says
Let us know how your kids liked it, Shobelyn!