I haven't had mac salad yet this summer (how'd that happen with the two break out summer holidays we've had so far?) This sounds so good to me! I love the paprika garnish..you don't see that in photos as often anymore, and it does add subtle flavor. Thanks, Elsie.

Wow, that looks good. I always forget about macaroni salad until it's too late. Personally, I would prefer the pepper raw, because I like the crunch. Thx for this, will be making this weekend for sure.

Girl, you converted me to High Holy Pickle-ism ever since Pickled Red Onions. It's too easy. When the red peppers look good and are on sale I roast and pickle them. Sometimes I have too many carrots and I'll heat up some vinegar and sugar and pickle them too. And they are all perfect for macaroni salad. Great recipe for the hot summer.

Hah! I never thought of actually pickling roasted red bell peppers. Thanks for the idea. ~Elise

I love your idea to put in roasted red peppers! If only Trader Joes would come out to Hawaii! Thanks for the great recipe! I'll be taking this to our picnic tomorrow! Yummy!!

I love this mac salad, but I like a lil chile pepper added to it. Yum yum yum! Thanks Elise!

This a great dish, only, I add crushed pineapple.

This looks beyond delicious. Sadly, we've already had our week of nice Summer weather over here in the UK; but it's a wonderful, tasty-looking idea, and I fully intend to try it should some freak occurrence of late July sunshine happen. Thank you for the great recipe.

Sounds good; we are having 100 degree plus here for the past 2 weeks now. I get sold where ever I see roasted red peppers & I roast my own.

I keep hoping it will finally get hot enough around here to make My Mom's. Ever so close to yours, however in our family this, and this only, must be made with Miracle Whip instead of Mayo and we add a wee bit of celery seed. Thanks for making me drool at the screen.

That's so funny you mentioned the macaroni-deviled egg connection - a very similar thought came to my mind on the 4th of July when I was preparing potato salad. The flavors in all three dishes are so similar (at least the way I make 'em). The paprika is key. I hadn't taken it to the "love child" level, but I'm with you on it! :-)

I used to make mac salad that was great just after you mixed in the dressing stuff. But in a bit the mac soaked up the dressing, and the salad got dry. Solution: add a bit of the dressing and stir to make mac not stick together. Then just before you serve, stir in all the rest.

UPDATE: Wow, this came out really well, and the roasted red peppers were the standouts. This is the kind of thing that would be easy to make on vacation, as we generally stay in condos with kitchens... we're planning our next Maui trip and will definitely take this recipe with us. Mac salad always reminds me of "plate lunch" Hawaiian-style.

This sounds wonderful. Any recomendations for a macaroni salad that uses dill as a spice?

Great stuff Elise!
Personally, for the high summer I prefer something less obviously fat :D so I usually substitute at least half of the mayo with yogurt. Gives that extra bit of freshness.
Brgrds,
Natasa

My family makes mac salad unlike anybody else that I've ever tried. I'm not really sure how ours ended up so different, but it doesn't have that slightly sweet flavor that everbody else's does here in Oregon. We chop up hard-boiled eggs, dill pickles, and black olives, then dump them into the cooked macaroni. Then we put in a very big scoop of mayo, a couple good squirts of mustard (or more if my mom isn't making it), a drizzle of pickle juice, then salt, pepper, garlic, and sometimes Johnny's seasoning salt (or Tony's if we're not out). Mix it all together and it goes like hot cakes in our house! We also sometimes add diced cheddar cheese and sometimes fresh peas. It makes for a very savory mac salad, and DELICIOUS!

I make something very similar, but I prefer to have some diced raw bell peppers as well to add some contrasting textures (and maybe a little celery as well). Otherwise I feel the salad is a bit too 'mushy'. I prefer red onions to scallions for this as well, but that's just me.

On a side note, you can take this basic recipe, puree the roasted peppers with a little chipotle in adobo (maybe a chili or two with a tablespoon of adobo) add some chopped smoked chicken and you have a killer main dish.

Great idea, thanks! ~Elise

What a great simple, summer recipe. I sure don't want to have to do much sweating over a hot stove these days! I think I'll add some chopped cucumber too.

Another knock out recipe! I followed your moms macaroni salad recipe to the tee and it is really really good -ok, I doubled it for a party. Also, I found the same jarred fire roasted peppers you mention at the supermarket -they were located in the same aisle as the jarred green olives.
Thank you SOOO much for your wonderful recipes! Everytime I use one, it is always so good!