Cool and Creamy Macaroni Salad

A staple side dish at many barbecues, macaroni salad wraps pasta elbows and chopped celery and onion in a creamy dressing. Or it should—most macaroni salads are pretty dry and bland because as it sits, the pasta soaks up the dressing. We wanted a creamy macaroni salad that stayed that way. Here’s what we discovered:

Test Kitchen Discoveries

• Cook the pasta until just tender—not all the way—and leave a little moisture on it. The pasta will absorb the water rather than the creamy dressing.
• Add a fair amount of lemon juice to the salad to balance the richness of the mayonnaise.
• This is one of the rare occasions in which we prefer garlic powder to fresh garlic because the flavor isn’t as sharp and the powder dissolves into the smooth dressing.
• Make sure to thoroughly season the water in which the pasta is cooked; otherwise the pasta’s flavor will be bland. We recommend 1 tablespoon of salt per gallon of water.