My Unconventional Dressing Rule for Making the “Best Pasta Salad of Your Life”
Pasta salads are one of summer’s most quintessential dishes. Every version is made with al dente pasta, colorful mix-ins, and a flavorful dressing. But what makes this dish really fun is that you can serve a completely different dish with just a few small changes. Make bowtie pasta salad with butterfly-shaped pasta one day, go for creamy macaroni salad another, and get wild with an unconventional spin on cowboy caviar the next. With so many variations, you’re bound to see at least one variety on the table at every picnic and oceanside hang this season.
Despite having the freedom to choose practically any pasta shape (even spaghetti can make an appearance!) or dive into the great mayo vs. mayo-free debate, there is one thing that everyone does wrong when making pasta salad: adding all of the dressing at the same time. It’s truly the biggest mistake you can make when preparing pasta salad.
Why You Should Always Dress Pasta Salad Twice
Pasta salads always taste better in the kitchen when they’re freshly made than they do after sitting on the picnic table a few hours later. The salads inevitably turn drier and less flavorful because the pasta soaks up the dressing as it sits. Some recipes and store-bought pasta salads try to counteract this phenomenon by upping the oil to create a barrier between the noodles and seasonings, but that just results in a slippery salad. The secret to serving the most flavorful pasta salad is to dress it twice.
Once the pasta is cooked, drain and run it under water to cool it down. Combine the cooled pasta with mix-ins called for in the recipe. Next is when it’s smart to diverge from most recipes: Toss the pasta mixture with just half of the dressing. This bit of dressing will flavor the pasta and vegetables from the inside out as the salad sits in the refrigerator.
Whether it’s a few hours or a few days later, much of the dressing will have been absorbed into the pasta. So when you’re ready to serve, toss the pasta salad with the rest of the dressing. This round of seasoning adds much-needed moisture and bold flavor to the side dish that simply isn’t achievable when dressed all at once. Tossing pasta salad with its dressing twice is a simple tip that can make a major difference.