Whether at an office holiday potluck or a summer barbeque, you've probably been asked to bring a bowl of macaroni salad at least once. If classic isn't your style, maybe you've tried a or a , but you were bound to have a handful of folks who passed on the dish altogether. We can blame it on their plates already being too full, or we can acknowledge the fact that, according to , around 20% of , one of the key ingredients of macaroni salad.

Although the most common, mayonnaise is not the only binding ingredient you can use to make a macaroni salad. When considering substitutions, it's important to remember that from egg yolk, oil, seasonings, and either vinegar or lemon juice. When finding alternatives for your macaroni salad, you just need to use ingredients that share a similar tangy flavor and creamy texture.

Creative mayonnaise swaps for your next macaroni salad If mayonnaise isn't quite doing the trick for your macaroni salads, or you want to experiment with other flavors, there are plenty of options. The three most common mayo substitutions are sour cream, Greek yogurt, and cream cheese. Adding sour cream to your salad will provide a similar creamy, zesty flavor as mayonnaise but can be a slightly healthier alternative.

Swapping mayo for Greek yogurt will give you a thick, velvety texture with a perfectly tart flavor, complementing the other sharp tastes in a standard mac salad recipe. Cream cheese can be another helpful alternative, leading to a richly textured recipe, b.