Pasta salad shows up at every picnic, backyard cookout, and summer potluck—and for good reason. When its executed properly, pasta salad can be a true star. Since no one wants to eat piping hot food in sweltering weather, this dish just makes sense, you know? That said, bad pasta salad is all too common, and has a way of bringing down an entire potluck.
The good news? You dont have to settle for pasta salad that sucks anymore. Finding your way to your perfect bowl of pasta salad is a real thing. Make the most out of this warm weather dish with a few preparation adjustments, and youll soon discover that pasta salad can indeed be glorious. Once you know why yours might be lacking, you can be on your way to owning it and eventually turning it into a delicious go-to.
Not seasoning the pasta enough. The best time to do this is right out of the gate when you’re cooking the pasta. Use extra-salted water and the pasta will be well-seasoned by the time it’s cooked. Be sure to taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary as you add the dressing and other ingredients.
Incorporating raw vegetables that are different sizes
Raw vegetables are okay for dipping in hummus or even in a leafy salad, but they are not acceptable in a good and worthy pasta salad. That kind of crunchiness is too much for this dish, and you just end up focusing on biting into hard vegetables instead of savoring the blend of flavors and harmony of tastes. And if the vegetables are cut in different sizes, youll have a lot of trouble getting a little bit of everything in each bite. Good luck catching rolling peas or tiny corn kernels if you dare go that route.
To avoid distracting from your pasta salad, be sure to cook vegetables before adding them to the mix. Whether you saute, roast, or blanch, youll be glad you took the extra step. Also, try to prep veggies in roughly the same size as the pasta shapes so you can easily stab a fork and get everything.
Improperly cooking the pasta
Improperly cooked pasta matters a lot in a dish like pasta salad for obvious reasons. Here, the pasta is the featured ingredient, so it definitely needs to shine. Overcooking the pasta leaves you with soft, mushy pasta that becomes increasingly so after a few hours drenched in dressing. If you undercook the pasta, youre left with tough noodles that taste sad and unloved. As the pasta cools off, keep in mind that it will get hard and chewy. Your goal is to get it just right. Sure, but how?
The easiest way to prepare pasta perfectly is to set the timer and let it cook until the noodles are just al dente. There should still be a little bite left. Now add 1 to 2 minutes and continue to cook until the pasta is a bit softer. Doing so prevents it from hardening during the cooling process. Voila!
How To Make Cookout Worthy Classic Macaroni Salad
FAQ
Why does my macaroni salad taste bland?
Why does pasta salad lose flavor?
Why is my macaroni salad not creamy?
How do you tone down onion flavor in macaroni salad?