For a dish that originated in America, there is something that feels so inherently Filipino about a plate of delicious macaroni salad. It is a dish that never goes missing in family gatherings, especially in time for the holidays. But I can tell you that this tastes even better with a couple of meat components to create the Ham and Chicken Macaroni Salad! What are the qualities that make this so special?
Ham and Chicken Macaroni Salad
Pasta? Check. Meat? Check. Veggies? Check. And it’s even got its mix of fruits! Is there any other recipe that can so seamlessly integrate all these food types in one plate? I think a huge part of the appeal of macaroni salad is that you could never get bored eating it. It has a great variety of both flavor and texture as a result of its many ingredients, as well as delicious dressing.
What does ham and chicken macaroni salad taste like?
If you are among the few to have never tried Ham and Chicken Macaroni Salad, you can expect a lot of sweetness mixed with plenty of savor too. You could also taste some sourness from ingredients holding that distinct flavor such as pineapple tidbits and mayonnaise.
Overall, it is a tasty, but also filling meal that is sure to get you wanting more. It also has its share of health benefits as a result of the veggies that we have in the mix.
Ingredients in Ham and Chicken Macaroni Salad
Elbow macaroni
For our signature ingredient, we will need 1 lb. of elbow macaroni. This can also be pretty good for your body as it is rich in protein.
Ham
You’re also going to want to get 8 ounces of ham for this recipe. Then slice these up into cubes.
Chicken breast
Up next, we need to get 8 ounces of chicken breast. For this recipe, we will actually be using the water from boiling our chicken for some more flavor in our macaroni salad.
Red onion
Get just 1 red onion, which we will also be chopping up. I love this ingredient because not only does it have a sharp flavor and a bit of spice, but it is quite rich in antioxidants. Studies have shown that one of them, quercetin, can help your immune system function well. Another plus is that this can help curb illnesses like heart disease and cancer.
Celery
We’re working with another vegetable for this, which would be 4 ribs or sticks of celery. Like our previous ingredient, this needs to be chopped. What you should be taking note of when buying this component is the texture of the stalks. You want them to be firm, as well as packed close to each other. A bright green color in the leaves is also a good indication of freshness.
Green peas
Also grab 1 cup of green peas that should already be cooked. But I know not everyone is a fan of this particular ingredient, and so this is optional.
Red bell pepper
Let’s also chop up 2 red bell peppers, which can give your body a boost of vitamin C!
Sweet pickle relish
A dose of sugariness, as well as a bit of sourness would come in handy to make the dish even more flavorful. That’s why we’re also using ¾ cup of sweet pickle relish.
Pineapple tidbits
8 ounces of pineapple tidbits are also needed for this dish. You also want to incorporate the juice that comes with the canned variant of this ingredient to the dish to really up the refreshing, zesty taste of the pineapple.
Carrot
We’ve also got 1 cup of carrots that we’ve cubed in the recipe.
Water
Also grab 4 cups of water for boiling.
Dressing ingredients:
Lady’s Choice Mayonnaise
You can’t make macaroni salad without some creamy mayonnaise, and so just prepare 1 ½ cups of Lady’s Choice Mayonnaise.
All-purpose cream
This is an ingredient you can forego, but it’s great as well for a layer of creaminess in addition to the mayonnaise— ¾ cup of all purpose cream.
Onion powder
We’ll also need 1 ½ teaspoons of onion powder.
Sugar
We want just a bit of sweetness in the dressing so toss in 1 teaspoon of sugar.
Salt and ground black pepper
And for our final ingredients, you can add as much salt and ground black pepper as you want so there isn’t a specific amount needed for this.
How to Make Ham and Chicken Macaroni Salad
1. Boiling the chicken
- Pour your water in a cooking pot, and sprinkle in 1 teaspoon of salt. Now add your chicken, and apply some heat.
- Put the cover on top, and let this boil in medium heat for about 16 to 18 minutes altogether.
- Afterwards, we can remove the chicken, and proceed to let this cool. Once it does, you can dice these up.
2. Cooking the macaroni
- We will now just keep boiling the water we used for the chicken, which would now serve as our chicken stock. Place the macaroni in the pot now too.
- Just cook the macaroni as indicated in the package.
- After that, you can drain the chicken stock, and put all of your macaroni in a big mixing bowl.
3. Making the dressing
- It’s time to put together our Lady’s Choice Mayonnaise, all-purpose cream, onion powder, sugar and some salt and ground black pepper in a separate bowl. Make sure to mix these thoroughly.
4. Combining all of the ingredients
- Then we can just put the ham, chicken, onion, celery, green peas if you like them, pickle relish, pineapple tidbits, carrots and the dressing we just made in that same container with our macaroni.
- Toss all of these ingredients together until they have been evenly distributed.
- Put a cover on your bowl, and leave this in the refrigerator for a minimum of 3 hours.
- Once the time has passed, you can go ahead and serve this, especially while chilled!
Let me know if you have any suggestions for more scrumptious recipes by leaving a comment below.
Ham and Chicken Macaroni Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb. elbow macaroni
- 8 oz ham cubed
- 8 ounces chicken breast
- 1 red onion chopped
- 4 ribs celery chopped
- 1 cup green peas cooked
- 2 red bell pepper chopped
- ¾ cup sweet pickle relish
- 8 ounces pineapple tidbits
- 1 cup carrot cubed
- 4 cups water
Dressing ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups Lady’s Choice Mayonnaise
- ¾ cup all-purpose cream optional
- 1 ½ teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Boil water in a cooking pot. Add 1 teaspoon of salt. Put the chicken into the pot. Cover and continue boiling in medium heat setting for 16 to 18 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pot and let it cool down. Dice it once the temperature is manageable.
- Continue boiling the chicken stock (this is the water used to boil the chicken) and add the elbow macaroni. Cook it according to package instructions. Drain the chicken stock and place the macaroni on a large mixing bowl.
- Combine all the dressing ingredients. Mix well. Set aside.
- Combine macaroni, ham, chicken, onion, celery, green peas, pickle relish, pineapple tidbits, and carrots. Toss.
- Add the dressing and continue tossing until all the ingredients are well incorporated.
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Serve chilled. Share and enjoy!
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