This creamy and succulent Hawaiian Macaroni Salad is only 3 WW points per serving. It is the perfect WW side dish for all of your favorite lunch or dinner entrees. It makes 9 servings, so you can either serve a small crowd or have enough to use it with more than one meal during the week.
Hawaiian macaroni salad is typically pretty indulgent, with plenty of rich mayonnaise, which is what makes it so creamy (It also has sugar to balance out the apple cider vinegar). So, when I embarked on a journey to make a WW-friendly version, I knew I would need to use less mayo. However, I wasn’t quite willing to give it up completely, so I opted to use half Greek yogurt and half light mayo. The result was a phenomenal!
And I was still able to use brown sugar like the traditional versions do. One of the tricks to keeping this recipe low-point was also using 100% whole-grain pasta. It really makes a difference. So, here we have it: the lightened-up version of classic Hawaiian macaroni salad.
It is ultra-creamy with a nice crunch from the celery and carrots. The green onions add a refreshing touch, and the salt and brown sugar harmonize to create a perfect sweet and savory contrast; this macaroni salad doesn’t have an overly bold flavor. It has a subtle sweetness and a gentle tang. Just pure deliciousness!
Why You Should Try This Recipe
- It completes your meal perfectly! Enjoy this yummy side dish with oven-baked ribs, chicken kabobs, Hawaiian burgers, crispy shrimp, fish sandwiches; you name it! Since it is so simple, it pairs with many foods.
- It doesn’t require too much hands-on time. Most of the time needed to make this recipe is just waiting for the pasta to cool and allowing the salad to rest before serving it. The actual active prep time is very quick, which is always good news.
- You’ll love how it tastes. This easy Hawaiian macaroni salad boasts a simple yet classic flavor. The perfect subtle flavors in the dressing allow the other ingredients to take center stage.
Recipe Overview
- Serving Size: about ½ cup (84g to be exact)
- Number of Servings: 9
- Time to Cook: 10 minutes
- WW Points Per Recipe: 3 WW points per ½ cup serving; 31 points for the entire recipe (Click here to view the recipe in the WW app. WW login is required)
Ingredients in WW Creamy Hawaiian Macaroni Salad
Salad Ingredients
- 8 oz Dry whole grain elbow macaroni
- ⅔ cup Carrots, shredded or grated
- 3 tbsp Green onions, chopped
- 3 tbsp Yellow onion, grated
- ⅔ cup Celery, diced
Creamy Dressing Ingredients
- 1-2 tbsp Apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup Light mayo
- ½ cup Nonfat plain Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup Fat-free milk
- ½ – 1 tbsp Brown sugar
- ¾ tsp Table salt, plus more to taste
- ¼ tsp Black pepper, plus more to taste
Instructions for making Weight Watchers Hawaiian Macaroni Salad
- Cook the pasta according to package directions. Then, drain it and rinse it with cold water to prevent the noodles from sticking together. Allow it to cool.
- While the pasta cooks, chop and grate the necessary ingredients.
- Also, combine all of the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. Start with the smallest suggested amounts of the ingredients, taste test, and add more if needed.
4. Mix the cooled, cooked pasta with the other salad components to distribute everything evenly.
5. Pour the dressing in and gently fold it. Once all of the dressing is thoroughly incorporated, cover the Hawaiian macaroni salad and store it in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving so that the flavors can meld. Taste test and adjust seasonings (or add more yogurt for moisture) once more immediately before serving.
Variations and Substitutions
- Lower the Points: To make this recipe fewer WW points, you can omit the mayo and use 1 cup of nonfat plain Greek yogurt instead. You can also leave out the brown sugar or sub it with something.
- Add More Protein: Stir in some drained canned tuna or some chopped ham pieces! These are both delicious additions that pair with the other components in the dish.
- Hawaiian Macaroni Salad with Pineapple: Although authentic Hawaiian macaroni salad doesn’t have pineapple, you can add some if you want. Make sure to thoroughly drain it! You might also want to use half the milk because the excess juice from the pineapple will leak over time.
- Hawaiian Macaroni Salad with Egg: Throw in some chopped hard-boiled eggs for texture variation. The cooked yolk will add richness and flavor, too.
Tips and Tricks for Making The Best Hawaiian Macaroni Salad
- Don’t mix the dressing with hot pasta; it can give the yogurt a weird texture. Wait until the pasta has cooled. Rinsing it with cold water accelerates the cooling process.
- How to store Hawaiian macaroni salad: keep any extra salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator. I suggest enjoying it within about 4 days!
- You can prep the recipe in advance by cooking the pasta and chopping all of the ingredients. You can even make the dressing separately so that all you need to do is mix everything together the day you plan to serve it.
- I don’t suggest cooking the pasta to al dente. If it isn’t entirely cooked through, it will try to soak up a lot of the dressing, making the macaroni salad dry by the time you go to serve it.
Related Recipes
Weight Watchers Hawaiian Macaroni Salad
Ingredients
Salad Ingredients
- 8 oz Dry whole grain elbow macaroni
- ⅔ cup Carrots, shredded or grated
- 3 tbsp Green onions, chopped
- 3 tbsp Yellow onion, grated
- ⅔ cup Celery, diced
Creamy Dressing Ingredients
- 1-2 tbsp Apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup Light mayo
- ½ cup Nonfat plain Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup Fat-free milk
- ½ – 1 tbsp Brown sugar
- ¾ tsp Table salt, plus more to taste
- ¼ tsp Black pepper, plus more to taste
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package directions. Then, drain it and rinse it with cold water to prevent the noodles from sticking together. Allow it to cool.
- While the pasta cooks, chop and grate the necessary ingredients.
- Also, combine all of the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. Start with the smallest suggested amounts of the ingredients, taste test, and add more if needed.
- Mix the cooled, cooked pasta with the other salad components to distribute everything evenly. Pour the dressing in and gently fold it.
- Once all of the dressing is thoroughly incorporated, cover the Hawaiian macaroni salad and store it in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving so that the flavors can meld. Taste test and adjust seasonings (or add more yogurt for moisture) once more immediately before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Amazing
Love Hawaiian pasta salad
me too! Thanks for all the support Patricia!
I am Hawaiian. Live in Hawaii. We do not put cider vinegar or sugar into our Mac salad!!
haha that’s fair. What do you put in it?
This is a great healthy version of Hawaiian pasta salad recipe. I have to be gluten free so I used the Kaizan brand pasta. It is low carb, high protein and GF. I skipped the brown sugar. I like the tang of the vinegar. I will make this again.
I love that this is a healthier version of the original salad. Iโm always looking for good Weight Watcher recipes.
I have been looking for something just like this! I love mac salad, but I dont like mayo that much, so it is very smart to replace some mayo with Greek yogurt. I personally like the zing from the apple cider vinegar, so I just added a splash more.