Add Crispy Sweet Potatoes To Pasta Salad For Crunch And Subtle Sweetness

I like my pasta salad how I like my lovers: soft, tender, and predictable. But, by the time August rolls around, chances are you've already dug into more than your fair share of pasta salads during summer's never-ending montage of picnics, potlucks, and backyard barbecues. If you find the words "Pasta salad, again?" passing exasperatedly through your still-chewing lips, look no further than this quick upgrade. It's time to load up your pasta salad with crispy sweet potatoes. Crispy sweet potatoes add a texturally-interesting crunch and a subtle note of sweetness to your tried-and-true (and potentially boring) pasta salad recipes.

To make crispy sweet potatoes that'll elevate any pasta salad to stardom, simply coat cubed sweet potatoes with olive oil, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper, then bake them on a lined baking sheet until they're crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. 25 to 30 minutes at 425 F should do the trick, just be sure to flip the tray midway through cooking. Unlike other sweet potato recipes, which yield toothy, tender bites, we're going for crunchiness here to liven up an already-tender dish (no one wants soggy french-fry-consistency potatoes in their wet pasta salad). If your roasted taters are still a little soft after those 30 minutes are up, feel free to stick 'em back in the oven again until the job is done.

You could also totally use the air fryer here for maximum crispness. Using this appliance can be a great way to whip up a batch of crispy sweet potatoes for summer pasta salads that'll beat the heat without requiring you to turn on your oven. It's also a lifesaver on balmy afternoons when you need a last-minute dish to share. Now for the fun part: Brainstorming which pasta salad recipes to zhuzh up with a crispy tater upgrade. As a general rule, creamy green goddess dressing, chipotle crema, and any light lemon juice-forward vinaigrette are all going to be solid complementary pairings for dressing your sweet potatoes. The interplay of the sweet-savory spuds with the herbaceous, acidic, or slightly spicy brightness of these dressings is a foolproof formula for an unforgettable side dish.

Those crispy sweet potatoes would bring sweet-savory dimensionality to this summer BLT pasta salad with crispy bacon crumbles, cherry tomatoes, basil, dill, and corkscrew cavatappi. Your crispy taters would also make a natural fit for this Southwest pasta salad with black beans, fire-roasted corn, bell pepper, and avocado. With the addition of crispy sweet potatoes here, this one would even make a great entrée dish for knockout make-ahead lunches. To complete the meal, pair with a bright orange wine like Bertrand Orange Gold and a dish of salted olive oil with balsamic vinegar and baguette slices for dipping.