Filipino-style Macaroni Salad is a must for any party or celebration! Loaded with chicken, ham, cheese, and crushed pineapple, it’s hearty, delicious, and a sure crowd favorite.
Like spaghetti, Filipino-style macaroni salad is one of the dishes we adapted from the west and gave our own Pinoy twist. Bursting with tropical flavors, it’s the perfect fit for our tastes.
This recipe was first published in September 2013 but I am giving it a little makeover today with new photos and cooking tips because, well, Christmas is almost here. No Filipino party or gathering is complete without chicken macaroni and if I may say so myself, this version of mine is THE mother of all macaroni salads!
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With a delicious hodgepodge of hearty pasta, shredded chicken, cubed ham and cheese, crushed pineapples, plump raisins, diced carrots, and chopped eggs, it’s a smorgasbord of flavors and textures your guests wouldn’t be able to get enough of. They will be lining up for seconds thirds!
Good thing this macaroni salad recipe can be easily doubled (or tripled) for a large crowd and can be prepped in advance for less-stress entertaining.
Tips on How to Make Filipino-style Macaroni Salad:
- Macaroni is the highlight of the show here so make sure it’s cooked right. As pasta tends to turn chewy when it cools, you might want to cook it a minute more than package directions but don’t overcook where it gets mushy. It’s tossed with an overwhelming amount of mixed ins and you want the pasta firm enough to hold up.
- My favorite trick in this recipe is poaching the chicken and not “boiling”. This gentle method of cooking ensures chicken pieces are moist and succulent instead of dry and stringy. I used boneless chicken breasts but a combination of dark and white meat will work well, too.
- Like poaching the chicken, blanching the carrots is another step that makes a difference. By parboiling in hot water and then immediately shocking them in iced water, the carrots are vibrant and tender-crisp.
- I like to dice sweet gherkin pickles for extra crunch but feel free to swap sweet pickle relish.
- Do not skip the condensed milk! The half a cup adds creaminess and a touch of sweetness which counterbalances the savory flavors of the dish.
- The pasta salad will be a little loose when first combined but it will thicken beautifully after an hour or so in the fridge. I know everyone will be excited to dig in but give it a little time to cool completely and meld.
How Long Can You Keep Macaroni Salad
Although you can prep the salad in advance, I don’t recommend keeping it at room temperature for more than 4 hours or for more than 3 days in the refrigerator due to food safety. With mayo, eggs and other protein-rich ingredients, it will spoil quicker than most foods.
Unfortunately, due to the nature of the ingredients, this chicken macaroni salad does not freeze well. The fats and oils in the mayonnaise break down and lose creaminess when frozen and thawed.
Include this Filipino macaroni on your holiday menu and make A LOT as it’s sure to be a crowd favorite!
Watch the Video and See How Easy it Is to Make this Filipino-style Macaroni Salad
Filipino-style Macaroni Salad is a must for any party or celebration! Loaded with chicken, ham, cheese, and crushed pineapple, it's hearty, delicious, and a sure crowd favorite.
- 16 ounces uncooked medium elbow macaroni
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast or thigh meat
- 1 large carrot, peeled and diced
- 1 cup ham, cubed
- 6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 14 ounces crushed pineapple
- 1 cup Eden or Velveeta Cheese, cubed
- 1/2 cup sweet pickle relish
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 onion, peeled and diced
- 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
- salt and pepper to taste
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In a pot over medium heat, bring about 4 quarts salted water to a boil. Add macaroni and cook for about 8 to 9 minutes or until firm to bite. Drain well.
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In a pot, add chicken meat and enough water to cover. Bring the water to a boil, skimming scum that floats on top. Lower heat, cover, and simmer about 15 to 20 minutes or until cooked through. Drain from the liquid, allow to completely cool and shred. Set aside.
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In a pot, bring water to a boil. Add diced carrots and cook for about 30 seconds. With a slotted spoon, remove from water and plunge into an ice bath until completely cool. Drain and set aside.
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In a large bowl, combine macaroni, chicken, carrots, ham, eggs, crushed pineapple including packing juice, cheese, sweet pickle relish, raisins, onions, mayonnaise, and sweetened condensed milk. Gently stir together until evenly distributed.
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Season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate for about 1 hour to cool completely and to allow flavors to meld.
This is an awesome recipe! Enjoyed making it and so delicious. thank you so much for sharing
Thank you so much, Cee, for the feedback. I am glad you enjoyed it!
How much does this cost if I would buy it?😅
Hahaha, I know there is too much to prep and it’s would be much easier to just order it. 🙂 Unfortunately, I don’t cater but one trick I do when I am craving this salad but don’t want to do the work, I use rotisserie chicken and premade macaroni salad from the grocery stores. I just add the rest of the ingredients and it tastes 🙂
that looks delicious, i really like macaroni salad ever since i was a kid. love this recipe, i will try it for sure
i really like macaroni salad, it’s really sweet and tasty, i will surely try this one
I hope you do, it’s so good! 🙂
We. Have found a Filipino place we love in Lake Forest called Pam’s Best Filipino Food and they make a macaroni salad to die for. This seems super close except for the sweetened condensed milk. I have been hunting down the Filipino mayo/sandwich spread my hubby remembers as a kid,..even found heirloom carrots that are all kinds of colors. What if we use a sweet onion like a Walla Walla instead on a standard onion? And how about a Canadian style bacon ham? I don’t want it to taste “smoked” and wondered if I should use quail eggs or regular dark yolk hard boiled? I also noticed the raisins were very soft and thought I should over night them in apple juice ?
Hello Ken
I live in Orange County so Lake Forest is not that bad of a drive. I’d love the restaurant as it has good reviews on Yelp. I add condensed milk as it adds a touch of sweetness to sort of balance of tangy pineapple. Sweet onions will be great for this recipe as it’s on the sweet side. I don’t think it’s necessary to soak the raisins as they will soften when mixed together with the rest of the ingredients. I usually just use regular boiled eggs bu quail eggs I guess will be alright. Smoked ham might be an interesting combination, I am sure it will be compliment the sweet and tangy flavors of the macaroni salad, just cube into bite size pieces. Please let me know how it turns 🙂
Thanks. I will. I have most of the stuff to try this out. I will make a big heaping bowl of it. We love the stuff at Pam’s.
Enjoy!
I like the recipe more or less, but find the addition of cheese, ham and raisins to be…for me…over the top. Too rich! But the baseline is pretty good. And making the dish ‘better’ is relative and stating is presumptuous and opinionated; such a western view!
Both have their aspects of goodness, just as two different recipes for the same dish can each shine in their own way.
Note “Filipino style” macaroni salad!?? Very good Filipino style recipe!
Love your recipe. They are very easy to follow. I agree it improve my cooking and this one is awesome good.
Thank you, Helen 🙂
If youre using this recipe drain the pineapple instead of using the juice. I used the juice and my salad turned out too sweet/acidic
I wanted to try this recipe to take too my friends 50th birthday party. I did however leave out the carrots and I used shredded cheese instead of velveeta.
Hi. The recipe is good, thanks for sharing. I’m just writing in because of the phrase “By debasing a classic recipe…”
Here’s a link to Googled definition of *debase*:
https://www.google.com.ph/search?q=debase
Hope you’ll consider writing, next time, that we Pinoys *altered* or *rewrote* or even *hacked* a classic recipe… because *debased* seem, to me, just too negative. No matter how upbeat the intent of the sentence, the connotations of the term are just too, well, debasing.
=)
🙂
Wow, what an unnecessary comment!
On a happier, non-debasing note, YUM recipe 🙂
Thank you 🙂
Hello! I am making this macaroni salad right now and was just wondering, what happened to the 6 pieces of coarsely chopped egg?
Thanks and good day!
Hello
The chopped eggs are mixed in with the rest of the ingredients. Thanks.
Love reading ur recipes..it help impR0ves my c0okng aBlty,
Thanks 🙂
loooll sorry didnt read it carefully
🙂
wonder what you need to do with the carrots.. lol you just sliced it and eat? lol
thanks..