Tuna-Macaroni Salad Recipe (2024)

I have never been to the South and don't know what chow chow is. But I have been putting tuna in my Macaroni Salad for fifty years: Elbows, red onion, celery, tuna, green olives, frozen peas, salt and pepper, splash of vinegar, only Hellman's mayo.

I think this recipe can be easily "ramped up" by adding grated carrot, instead of cornichon rounds, "high quality bread and butter pickles/sweet" and some reputable hot sauce or pepper flakes to give it a bit of heat.

Personally, I appreciate when people add their own ideas about how the recipe can be altered. Perhaps someone doesn't have all the ingredients and wants to know what else can be used or doesn't like all the ingredients and would like substitutes. I also don't see the need to criticize others' comments. Thanks everyone for taking the time to offer your ideas.

It's a delicious Southern pickle relish. You can buy it jarred, but we also have a recipe: http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/11487-green-tomato-chowchow. Happy cooking!

How in the world can you review a recipe that you haven't made? In addition, I prefer to see a review of this recipe--not the changes you have made or your grandmother's recipe that you consider much better.

Chow chow can also be found under the name "piccalilly." Basically a relish with mustard.

I don't know. I never did like the combo of mayonnaise and pasta. Its appeal seems to be nostalgia for the seventies among both boomers and hipsters. What I would love to see would be a recipe for a good, maybe a bit updated, tuna-noodle casserole. I love canned tuna-- but packed in oil. If my mother were still around, I'd get her recipe and tinker with it.

My great 'secret' to any macaroni salad is using elbow macaroni from Trader Joe's. It's not named "elbow" on the package - just macaroni.
It is slightly larger and grooved, but not too large to dominate the dish.

I halved the recipe; 1 tuna can is now 5 oz - recommend 2. Lacking chow chow and cornichons, I substituted spicy home canned bread and butter pickles. Great lunch with tomatoes - and comfort food.

So you didn't make this recipe!

Fresh garden peas! And that lemon garlic mayo that was in the Cooking newsletter this week (tho no anchovies here). A little bit of chopped fresh kale, chives because no scallions, chopped lambs'-quarters also. One chopped radish. Finally decided to stop. Oh, and only one can of tuna.

So I made this in my 'new' kitchen and daily tried to write this note but kept getting sidelined by the 'just one more bite' phenomenon. To me, the magic comes from letting this cure overnight.I added thinly sliced red onions, sliced baby green olives, and sweet relish, along with everything else. I love the counterpoint of the sweet relish with the cornichons and olives. That's what does it for me. Next time, I'll upgrade the tuna.

Nice recipe but I prefer to use yellowtail tuna in olive oil, drained, plus my homemade piccalilli which is identical to chow chow. Also, I prefer regular mayo. It seems a bit ludicrous to use low fat cheddar cheese and pasta, like diet soda with a slice of chocolate cake.
For the contributor who wanted tuna casserole, make a bechamel, omit the pickled stuff and mayo. and mix in all the rest. Pour in a casserole dish top with panko or any other breadcrumbs and bake til bubbly and golden. Done.

Have any readers actually made this exactly as written? And how did it turn out?

Yum! Made mine with some homemade kimchi

No scallions, but chopped red onion. Radishes and petite peas, added to the macaroni water. Used "off the block" shredded cheddar. A warm weather winner!

Add shredded carrots

Just like Mom used to make. Gets better as leftovers. I made half recipe w/3 oz elbow macaroni and it still was quite a generous serving for 2 + leftovers. Sometimes I reduce the mayonnaise amount and use olive oil later on serving, plus thin sliced radishes for a splash of color.

Delicious! Slight modifications - used tuna packed in olive oil, and added a healthy tablespoon of drained, chopped capers.

A couple of questions: why chunk light in water? Has anyone tried tuna in olive oil? And I think I’d prefer mozzarella to cheddar. Thoughts? Finally, raw fresh tuna cubes!

Classic macaroni salad, delicious! If you just have oil packed tuna just lightly rinse in colander and dry over paper towels before adding.

My mom made the best version of this, similar to the recipe but with chopped hard boiled eggs and red onion, and definitely no cheese. Lots of black pepper, and fresh parsley if you have it.

Been making this for years, it’s a basic recipe, add and subtract with what I have on hand.Chopped apple gives a bright note to any cold tuna-pasta salad. Forget the cheddar.

We grew up in the east without AC- when my mom knew the day was going to be wickedly hot she would make tuna-macaroni salad, as her mom did before her, it got too hot,- we would have it with homegrown sliced tomatoes ! Egg, celery , onion , tuna and macaroni ,salt and pepper with Hellmans! Potato chips the best accompaniment ! mmm good

Easy, delicious . What more can I say ?

I only recently heard of cow chow referred to as a southern dish. I always believed it was a Maritime province condiment. Chow chow is very popular in Nova Scotia. Many gardeners use up their green tomatoes making the relish - Iove it with baked beans and fish cakes!

This is my go-to for tuna salad. I've made it dozens of times. While I complain about people who tweak recipes and then say it's great- I will say, I've made this exactly as written many times. Although, sometimes, I add a spoonful of dijon and sometimes I add a diced hard boiled egg and it's always delicious. I've also doubled the recipe and just make a batch without the pasta so i can make a tuna melt. Tilamook medium cheddar is the only cheese I use in this.

I'd never heard of Tennessee Chow Chow so I had to work with ingredients I had on hand. I used sweet relish, sweet pickle rounds and some diced pickled sweet red bell pepper. The result was very tasty and hit the spot on a very hot day in Portland, Oregon. I ordered two jars of Chow Chow from Amazon so am anxious to try this again. I think a dash of red pepper flakes, cayenne or Tabasco could give this a little zip. Nice salad overall. Will make again

Made as is, except I don’t have access to Chow Chow. Added some red pepper flakes and YUM. Haven’t made a macaroni salad in years, this will be my too hot to cook much quick recipe from now on!Thanks NYT for always giving me delicious ideas...LOVE, LOVE, LOVE you all!