Filipino Chicken Macaroni Salad

This Filipino Macaroni salad is perfectly easy and delicious for parties, potlucks, and for the holidays. Developing this recipe took numerous amounts of back-and-forth with my Filipino parents to get it just right and authentic to their tastes!

Recipe Rundown

Instructions

Prepare the Chicken: Bring a pot of water to boil and season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Add in the chicken to fully submerge. Lower the heat to medium, and let the chicken simmer gently until fully cooked-through, about 20-30 minutes. Once cooked, remove the chicken from the pot (reserve the boiling liquid!). Shred the meat apart and set aside for later.

Prepare the Macaroni: In the same reserved pot (where you simmered the chicken), bring the liquid to a boil. Once boiling, add in the uncooked macaroni and continue to cook until soft. Once softened, drain the macaroni and set aside for later. Let this cool completely prior to mixing with the dressing.

Prepare the Dressing: In a mixing bowl, combine together the mayonnaise, heavy cream, sweet relish, salt, pepper, and condensed milk (if using). Mix the ingredients until smooth and well combined. Taste the dressing. Adjust with more salt, pepper, and condensed milk if needed. Set aside for assembly.

In a large mixing bowl, add in the cooled macaroni, prepared dressing, shredded chicken, and all mix-ins of your choice. Gently mix using a spatula to ensure all macaroni is covered with the dressing. Cover, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours (up to overnight, for best results). Serve as a side-pairing with your other main dishes. Enjoy!

Ingredients and Substitutions

*The Recipe Card below includes all the full measurements for these ingredients!

Elbow macaroni: The star of the salad. We’ll be boiling this in lightly salted water and cooling it down prior to mixing with the dressing.

Chicken: You can use either white meat (chicken breast) or dark meat (chicken thighs or legs). If you have leftover rotisserie chicken, feel free to use that as well to skip the whole cooking process.

• Substitutes: You may also use shredded turkey for this, or omit the protein altogether if preferred.

Mayonnaise, sweet relish, heavy cream, condensed milk: This will make up the dressing that’s creamy, rich, and slightly sweet and tangy.

• Substitutes: Japanese kewpie mayonnaise could work in a pinch. Sweet relish can be replaced with finely minced pickles. Heavy cream may be omitted, though it will be less creamy. Condensed milk can be replaced with standard white sugar.

Carrot, pineapple, onion, cheese, ham, raisins: These are the standard mix-ins added which provide both texture and flavor.

• Substitutes: You can use fresh or canned pineapples for this. For cheese, I like using cheddar (but you may also go for other brands such as Eden, Magnolia, or Velveeta). Ham can be replaced with spam or even sausages. Raisins are optional.

Cooking Tips

Prepare your mix-ins while the chicken and macaroni are boiling: Unless you’d prefer not to multitask, I’d highly suggest prepping your mix-ins while you’re waiting for the chicken to cook and the macaroni to soften. This will keep your preparation of the salad running smoothly and save you time!

Let your macaroni cool before mixing with the dressing: Mixing hot pasta with a mayonnaise-based dressing may cause the oils to separate, which prevents it from being creamy and can quickly become unappetizing.

Add or omit your favorite mix-ins: This recipe covers most, if not all, of the standard mix-ins that you’d typically see with a Filipino macaroni salad. You can always add or omit these to your preference, if you’d like (for instance, I’m not a huge fan of raisins, but my mom insisted it had to be included for the sake of authenticity!)

Chill your in the refrigerator overnight: This will give the macaroni a chance to absorb the flavors of the dressing and to also allow the ingredients to meld better into each other. If you can’t go overnight, I’d suggest at least 3 hours prior to serving.

*Do note that the texture of the salad does tend to become less creamy as it chills (which isn’t necessarily a problem that affects taste at all). You may add additional heavy cream after chilling if you’d like to preserve the initial creaminess of the dish.

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

How do I store leftovers?

This can be refrigerated and stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days to preserve its taste and optimal texture. There is no need to warm or let the dish come to room temperature when serving as this is normally eaten cool!

Can I freeze this?

Since the dressing is composed mainly of fat and oil, I wouldn’t freeze the salad as it can cause some textural issues when thawed.

What do I serve this with?

This recipe is perfect alongside any main dish that’s commonly fried, grilled, or even barbecued. Here are some of my favorite pairings:

• Chicken Inasal
• Pork Tocino
• Soy Marinated Filipino Short Ribs