My Copycat Zippy's Macaroni Salad

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Kaneohegirlinaz

Wannabe TV Chef
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Aug 2, 2014
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Location
Central/Northern AZ, gateway to The Grand Canyon
In Hawaii, there is a well loved casual dining/take out joint that has been in business for 60 years now, Zippy's.

One of their side dishes is a local staple item, Macaroni Salad.
When my husband and I moved away from Hawaii to Arizona, I was on a quest to figure out how to make my own, here in "My Kitchen In The Middle Of The Desert".

It took awhile, but I'm stubborn enough to have finally gotten it.
(Or pretty dang close ;))

My Copycat Zippy's Macaroni Salad

Servings: 6-8

Ingredients:
1/4 lb. Elbow Macaroni, cooked past al dente, so that they are fat and soft
1/2 C. Best Foods Mayonnaise (or Hellmann’s if you’re in the East, no substitution)
1 1/2 tsp. prepared Mustard (I used Dijon ’cause that’s what I had in the ‘fridge)
1 Tbsp. White Onion, finely grated, juice and pulp (I used a microplane)
2 Tbsp. Carrot, finely grated
2 Tbsp. Celery, finely diced
Salt and Pepper to taste (I used about 1/8 tsp of each)

Steps:
Combine all ingredients but the Macaroni in a large mixing bowl.
Prepare the pasta as directed on the package. Test the pasta to make sure that it is past al dente, nice and soft but not falling apart. Drain well.
While still warm, toss gently with the dressing and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
At this point, check to see if the Macaroni has absorbed too much of the Mayo, you may need to add more, possibly up to 1/4 cup.
Combine well, cover and refrigerate for another hour before serving.

*Cook's Note: I use Barilla brand Elbow Macaroni and I cook the pasta for 11 minutes, perfect!
*Enjoy this with your favorite Hawaiian-Style BBQ, steamed white Rice or a tossed Green Salad and you’re now a local my friend! We call that a plate lunch in Hawaii.
I gotta have my two scoops rice, mac salad and some kind of meat. It could be Beef, Pork, Chicken, Fish or for the vegetarians, Grilled Tofu.

Zippy's Mac Salad.jpg
 
Sounds delicious. I saved it to CMT. I had been very skeptical about this salad. I saw one recipe for it before and it had sugar. :ermm: :yuk: That just turned me off the idea.
 
Sounds delicious. I saved it to CMT. I had been very skeptical about this salad. I saw one recipe for it before and it had sugar. :ermm: :yuk: That just turned me off the idea.


I also will morph any leftover Mac Salad to another "local" (reads from Hawaii) dish, by adding Tuna Salad and some chopped Black Olives to the mix.

IMG_6245.jpg

Served over some chopped Lettuce makes a lovely lunch,
maybe some crackers on the side.
 
My Aunt brought a salad to family function stating she made this salad by accident last week, She went to make a macaroni salad and realize she didn't have any macaroni elbows or spirals, she then saw the white rice and decided what the heck. She made it and her family loved it. Said it was a nice change, had the flavors of mac salad but a little different. So she made another for the family function along with her famous mac salad and the one with the rice was gone before the other. Even tho it was made the same way. It was tasty for sure. She passed on a few years ago at 96 - She was great one. I received all of her recipes in 4 big recipe boxes and no written recipe of her mac salad. Guess that one she took with her. She was one of kind and missed everyday.
 
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K-Girl, is that really only 1/4 pound of macaroni for 6-8 people? That would be like three elbows per person.

Well, to be honest CG, "1 scoop Mac" isn't very much.
I suppose it's more like 4-6 normal sized servings.
I usually serve this Mac Salad with a scoop of steamed White Rice too,
and all the other components of a "Local-Style Plate Lunch" meal :LOL:
 
In Hawaii, there is a well loved casual dining/take out joint that has been in business for 60 years now, Zippy's.

One of their side dishes is a local staple item, Macaroni Salad.
When my husband and I moved away from Hawaii to Arizona, I was on a quest to figure out how to make my own, here in "My Kitchen In The Middle Of The Desert".

It took awhile, but I'm stubborn enough to have finally gotten it.
(Or pretty dang close ;))

My Copycat Zippy's Macaroni Salad

Servings: 6-8 4-6

Ingredients:
1/4 lb. Elbow Macaroni, cooked past al dente, so that they are fat and soft
1/2 C. Best Foods Mayonnaise (or Hellmann’s if you’re in the East, no substitution)
1 1/2 tsp. prepared Mustard (I used Dijon ’cause that’s what I had in the ‘fridge)
1 Tbsp. White Onion, finely grated, juice and pulp (I used a microplane)
2 Tbsp. Carrot, finely grated
2 Tbsp. Celery, finely diced
Salt and Pepper to taste (I used about 1/8 tsp of each)

Steps:
Combine all ingredients but the Macaroni in a large mixing bowl.
Prepare the pasta as directed on the package. Test the pasta to make sure that it is past al dente, nice and soft but not falling apart. Drain well.
While still warm, toss gently with the dressing and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
At this point, check to see if the Macaroni has absorbed too much of the Mayo, you may need to add more, possibly up to 1/4 cup.
Combine well, cover and refrigerate for another hour before serving.

*Cook's Note: I use Barilla brand Elbow Macaroni and I cook the pasta for 11 minutes, perfect!
*Enjoy this with your favorite Hawaiian-Style BBQ, steamed white Rice or a tossed Green Salad and you’re now a local my friend! We call that a plate lunch in Hawaii.
I gotta have my two scoops rice, mac salad and some kind of meat. It could be Beef, Pork, Chicken, Fish or for the vegetarians, Grilled Tofu.

View attachment 49464

Please note my correction in red above, Mahalo
 
My "usual" Mac Salad is very similar. Differences being, I use dry mustard and I add a couple of tablespoons of sweet pickle relish and a chopped egg or two.

I use this "grater" I got many, many years ago, for the carrot. I think they call it a julienne grater, but it makes tiny, tiny sticks. The grater was a freebie at a home show, when I bought some other kitchen gadget. I think it was probably my first immersion blender. The blender is long gone, but I still use that grater!
 
My "usual" Mac Salad is very similar. Differences being, I use dry mustard and I add a couple of tablespoons of sweet pickle relish and a chopped egg or two.

I use this "grater" I got many, many years ago, for the carrot. I think they call it a julienne grater, but it makes tiny, tiny sticks. The grater was a freebie at a home show, when I bought some other kitchen gadget. I think it was probably my first immersion blender. The blender is long gone, but I still use that grater!

That's what I have.
I got it at an Asian Market and it's wicked sharp!
But I like the "fatter" shreds or more like a very thin julienne.
I use it with a guard glove now since I sliced off the corner of my pinky :ohmy:
Thought, "yeah, I got this, I can handle..."
SURE! As she grabs for the kitchen towel and shoves her hand up over her head to stop the bleeding ...
:ROFLMAO:
 
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