OK. Who put miso in the macaroni salad?
And corn? Doesn’t corn clash with pasta?
It was Ham El-Waylily of the New York Times and it is a brilliant move. And, no, corn works beautifully with this macaroni salad.
This is an adaptation of a New York Times recipe. You can find the original recipe here.
Here is the recipe as I prepared it in my kitchen. Like most macaroni salads, the quantities of ingredients are adjustable to your taste.
Corn and Miso Pasta Salad
July 21, 2026
Ingredients
- Kosher salt
- 8 oz. small macaroni pasta
- 3 ears fresh corn (or equivalent frozen corn)
- 2 celery stalks (peeled and chopped)
- 2/3 C. finely-minced chives
- 1/4 C. roasted red peppers (chopped fine)
- 1/4 C. chopped green onion
- Granulated sugar (to your taste)
- Salt
- 3-4 T. white miso
- 2-3T. lemon juice (or to taste)
- 2 t. Calabrian chiles (or chipotles in adobo or sambal oelek or gochujang)
- 1/2 -1 C. mayonnaise
- Sliced red onions (for garnish)
- Sliced black olives (for garnish)
- Chopped parsley (for garnish)
- More chopped roasted red peppers (for garnish)
Directions
- Step 1 Cook pasta in salted water following directions on the package.
- Step 2 Prepare corn by slicing kernels off the cob. Poach the corn in boiling water for a couple minutes to reduce the raw starchiness. Alternatively, use frozen defrosted corn.
- Step 3 Combine corn, macaroni, celery, chives, roasted red peppers and chopped green onions. Stir in a pinch (or more to taste) of sugar and salt.
- Step 4 In a separate bowl, whisk miso, Calabrian chiles (or one of the alternatives), and lemon juice together.Fold in mayonnaise and whisk to combine.
- Step 5 Combine the corn/macaroni mixture with the dressing. Adjust seasonings. Chill.
- Step 6 At serving time, top macaroni salad with red onion, chopped parsley and sliced black olives.
- Step 7 Cook’s Note: I used Trader Joe’s Hot Calabrian Chile paste. It was indeed hot. If you use the paste, taste as you go and add to your salad to your taste and tolerance. Also, miso is pretty salty, so be cautious when adding more salt to the recipe. I went with the larger amount of mayonnaise because I like macaroni salad pretty creamy.
