Enjoy a good, old-fashioned macaroni salad without all the fat and calories. This Low Fat Macaroni Salad is perfect for a BBQ or potluck.
Pin Macaroni Salad here.
What Low Fat Macaroni Salad? That is it? No, twist or fusion of spices; No fancy dressing or special ingredients? Nope! I have tried and tried for years to make a delicious old-fashioned macaroni salad, just a straight, old macaroni salad. Ok, so I used farfalle instead of macaroni but that is because I could not find Barilla Plus elbow macaroni. Barilla Plus is our favorite pasta so I went with the pretty bow ties, farfalle. I actually thought they did not make an elbow shape but they do! My supermarket better get some for me.
Fancying up my macaroni salad never actually entered my mind until my husband mentioned he was surprised it was “just” macaroni salad. “Just”!? There is nothing “just” about this salad. It is perfect! It doesn’t need any fancy vegetables or spices. I didn’t need to put an Indian twist to it with curry or cook up some turkey bacon. I did ponder for about 30 seconds on the turkey bacon but the fact is, this salad doesn’t need it. The dressing is perfectly balanced and with all the fresh veggies has a divine crunch. It is the macaroni salad of yesteryear made healthy. Each bite makes me want to do a happy dance.
Macaroni salad brings me back to my childhood with such sweet memories. I guess that is why it was important for me not to mess with it. My absolute favorite childhood memories are of two summers when we lived in New Jersey when I was 12 – 13 years old. We had just moved back from living in England for 5 years. Almost every weekend we went to my grandparents house. My Mom is one of 6 kids and everyone would get together along with their kids. We would have a barbecue and swim in the pool. I think about hot dogs, hamburgers, watermelon and the best ever tomatoes and kielbasi. I also think about macaroni salad. We moved to Ohio after that so the weekend family parties stopped for us. I absolutely adored those weekends and they will forever live in my memory as such happy, loving times.
Last year we went up to New Jersey to visit both of my grandparents. I am lucky to have my Dad’s Mom, Gramma, still alive and both of my Mom’s parents, Mama and Papa. While we were there, my little one got to play with my cousin’s kids. I can never keep straight what that makes them. We just tell them all they are cousins (are they 2nd cousins, cousins once removed??). It was so cute how well she just clicked with them. They ran around laughing and playing, reminding me of when I would do that with my cousins. It was so nice for her to have some of her own family memories. Hopefully we will have the chance to make more family memories for her.
In the meantime, we have my not so fancy, low-fat macaroni salad.
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Follow me on Pinterest Christie@Food Done Light
Low Fat Macaroni Salad
Ingredients
- 8 oz whole wheat Pasta
- 6 tbsp light sour cream
- 5 tbsp fat-free Greek yogurt
- 4 tbsp light mayonnaise
- Pinch of kosher salt
- 1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper
- 1 cup sliced green onion
- 1/2 cup diced celery
- 1/2 cup diced cubanelle pepper or green pepper
- 1/2 cup diced carrots
Instructions
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Cook pasta according to manufacturer's instructions. Drain and allow to cool.
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In a large bowl, whisk together sour cream, Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, salt and pepper.
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Add pasta and rest of the ingredients. Toss to combine fully.
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Serve immediately.
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If you are not serving immediately, cover with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator. The pasta may absorb a lot of the sauce. You can add a splash of milk to make it creamy again.
Recipe Notes
I calculated 4 Weight Watcher Smartpoints.
Happy Healthy Eating,
Christie
But wait, there’s more!Check out these other deliciously, healthy salads:
German Potato Salad with Cucumber and Dill
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