Chesapeake Macaroni Salad

Old Bay goes with everything doesn’t it?!

This macaroni salad has sweet corn, cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, and you guessed it! Old Bay!

I put it together to mimic Chesapeake Bay style corn. It’s usually made with tomatoes and fresh basil, along with a little of Old Bay.

Give it a try!

For this macaroni salad, you’ll need:

• 3 Cups Coked Elbow Macaroni
• 1 1/2 Cups Sweet Corn
• 1 Tbsp Butter
• 1/4 Cup Mayonnaise
• 2 Tsp Old Bay Seasoning
• 1 Tsp Dried Basil
• 2 Tsp Kosher Salt
• Fresh Cracked Black Pepper, to taste
• 1 Cup Cherry Tomatoes, halved
• 6-10 Fresh Basil Leaves (plus more for garnishing)

My other half loves any kind of of macaroni salad. Italian macaroni salad, pizza macaroni salad, BLT macaroni salad… okay we may eat a lot of macaroni salads around here. Eventually I’ll get all of the recipes up! One of these days!

Alright, let’s make it!

1. Start with making your elbow macaroni, you’ll want it to cool slightly. Boil the noodles in salted water for a few minutes, remove them from the heat, drain them and allow them to cool for at least 5-10 minutes.
2. While your macaroni is cooking, char your corn. Heat the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat, add the sweet corn kernels, and let them sit in the hot butter for about 2 minutes. Give them a toss, wait another 2 mintues, and toss again. You should start to see some char on the outside of the corn, once it’s to your fancy pull it off the heat and let it cool slightly.
3. While your macaroni and corn are cooling off, make the dressing for the salad. Combine the mayo, Old Bay seasoning, dried basil, salt, and pepper. It should be a little thick. If you feel it’s necessary, you can add a tsp or two of water to thin it a little.
4. Mix the macaroni and corn and add the dressing. Stir to combine.
5. Add the halved cherry tomatoes, chiffonade most of the fresh basil, and stir it into the salad.
6. Place the salad in the refrigerator, and allow it to chill while the flavors develop for about half an hour.
7. Remove and serve with more fresh chopped basil.

This salad will keep for a few days, so don’t worry about making just enough. Pasta salad is often better second day!

If you try this recipe out, don’t forget to post a rating and comment!

I’d love to see your pictures on Instagram too! Tag @a_toastedcrumb !