Never Suffer A Dry Pasta Salad Again With One Simple Tip

In theory, pasta salad is the perfect summer side dish; in practice, it can be hard to perfect. After all, how do you avoid a depressing heap of dry, refrigerated, chalky farfalle? Our advice: Stop stressing over the pasta itself for a minute and focus on adding juicier ingredients, which can help create a pasta salad that is texturally balanced with no more dryness.

There are many tips to consider when making pasta salad, and it's important to achieve properly cooked pasta and add a good dressing, be it mayo-based or vinaigrette. But working with the right ingredients also plays an important role, bringing moisture to the overall dish. Think of halved cherry tomatoes, raw and lightly salted, whose juices will slowly seep out over time. Add fresh cucumbers, sliced or shaved. Macerate or pickle red onions in vinegar and salt before tossing thin slices into your pasta salad, and snap peas, roasted red peppers, or artichoke hearts — the possibilities are endless.

Try this low-maintenance, Italian-ish veggie antipasti salad. Cook your short pasta slightly over al dente (it'll firm up again once refrigerated) and toss with halved Kalamata olives, fresh mozzarella balls, and tomato, along with hearts of palm and artichoke. Those ingredients, along with acidic bursts of pepperoncini, will yield the texture you need, and a simple red wine vinaigrette will add yet another level of lushness. A less traditional summer BLT pasta salad takes on a smoky flavor with crisp, roughly chopped bacon, while fresh, halved tomatoes, once again, prevent dryness. Adding diced bell pepper, red onions, and creamy avocado delivers another layer of moisture to this Southwest-inspired pasta salad.

To make the most of your juicy pasta salad, remember to consider the size and portion of each ingredient. Using a bite-sized, dry pasta like penne or orecchiette is always a solid choice. Ensure that your other ingredients are cut to a similarly small size, allowing your guests to enjoy a single forkful that delivers a variety of flavors — a morsel of pasta, a chunk of mozzarella, some olive, and a halved tomato will make for the perfect bite, winning you some well-deserved praise at the next barbecue.