That summery staple can be so much better with these expert tips.
Mark Weinberg for The New York Times. Food Styling by Barrett Washburne.
There’s no reason pasta salad has to thud onto plates. A few tweaks — like outside-the-box shapes, livelier dressings and loads of vegetables — will make for a vibrant, make-ahead dish that’s anything but a dud. Here’s how to improve any pasta salad’s crunch, creaminess and character.
1. Swap in gnocchi and tortellini
Ali Slagle’s tortellini pasta salad.Mark Weinberg for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Michelle Gatton.
Instead of defaulting to fusilli or farfalle for your pasta salad, consider store-bought potato gnocchi. Sear them in a hot, well-oiled skillet until the outsides are golden and crisp for a toasty crunch. Or boil cheese-filled tortellini or ravioli for pockets of creaminess. You could also add short, small pastas like orzo and ditalini for a riot of textures and flavors in every bite.
Recipe: Tortellini Pasta Salad
2. Double or triple the vegetables
Andy Baraghani’s extra-green pasta salad.Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne.
A big part of pasta salad’s lovability is how it balances the soft tenderness of pasta with the bright freshness of vegetables. So add bite-size pieces of quick-cooking vegetables like green beans, asparagus, snap peas or frozen, unthawed peas to the pot in the last 2 to 3 minutes of the pasta cooking. Or right before serving, toss in some thinly sliced vegetables, like celery, radishes and red onion; delicate herbs like dill, mint, basil and parsley; or salad greens. One more option: Blend vegetables into the sauce for an extra-green pasta salad.
Recipe: Extra-Green Pasta Salad
3. Marinate any tomatoes to concentrate their flavor
Melissa Clark’s pasta salad with summer tomatoes, basil and olive oil.Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich
One small step can help your pasta salad taste even more like summer. Instead of tossing the chopped tomatoes straight into the pasta salad, first season them in a bowl with a big pinch of salt. If the tomatoes are bitter, add a small pinch of sugar, too. Let them sit for 15 to 30 minutes, or up to 3 hours. The result will be more concentrated tomatoey flavor as their juices flow. Then, toss the still-warm pasta in the tomato water so it can soak up that tangy taste of summer.
Recipe: Pasta Salad With Summer Tomatoes, Basil and Olive Oil
4. Replace some of the mayonnaise with yogurt or sour cream
Alexa Weibel’s macaroni salad with lemon and herbs.Yossy Arefi for The New York Times (Photography and Styling)
For a fresh-tasting pasta salad, try swapping out some of the mayo for sour cream, Greek yogurt or buttermilk. The dairy’s acidity and tang will cut through the richness and thin the dressing without messing with the creaminess (or, as Alexa Weibel puts it, make your pasta salad “more glossy than gloopy”).
Recipe: Macaroni Salad With Lemon and Herbs
5. Add a milky cheese, like mozzarella or ricotta
Melissa Clark’s pasta with corn, mint and red onion.Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Alongside chewy pasta and crisp vegetables, how lovely would it be to find bite-size blobs of fresh mozzarella, an oozing puddle of burrata or dollops of ricotta? Add them to salads that are dressed with a vinaigrette or a lighter dressing and could use a little plushness — mayo-slicked salads have that covered already.
Recipe: Pasta With Corn, Mint and Red Onion
6. Add a can of tuna or beans to make it a meal
Sue Li’s pasta salad with marinated tomatoes and tuna.Beatriz Da Costa for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Frances Boswell.
Adding these pantry staples can turn a side of pasta salad into a main. In order not to smush the beans or flake the fish to smithereens, stir them into the salad after you toss the pasta in the dressing.
Recipe: Pasta Salad With Marinated Tomatoes and Tuna
7. Taste and tweak your flavors
Ham El-Waylly’s corn and miso pasta salad.Nico Schinco for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Pasta salads can be made ahead, but that doesn’t mean they’ll taste their best right out of the fridge. Cold temperatures can mute and shift flavors, and as the pasta sits, it can drink up so much of the dressing that your salad ends up dry.
To bring it back to its vibrant self, let your pasta salad sit at room temperature for a few minutes. Now taste it. If it’s bland, brighten with more acid (like lemon juice or vinegar) and salt. If it’s dry, drizzle with a little more oil and vinegar — or whatever ingredients make up your dressing. You can also save some of the original dressing to incorporate into the salad right before eating.
Recipe: Corn and Miso Pasta Salad
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