The Simple Extra Step For Pasta Salad With Enhanced Texture

The combination of multiple ingredients is one reason pasta salad is oh-so-yummy. With most recipes calling for a larger variety of short pasta (mostly rotini or penne) and bigger chunks of vegetables, it's hard to get a good mix of texture and flavor in every bite. The solution? Use super small pasta shapes and chop the other ingredients into equally tiny, even pieces. Here's why this approach is a great tip for the best pasta salad.

The smaller pasta varieties get distributed evenly throughout the salad, unlike larger pasta where you might end up with bites that are all noodles and others with no noodles. Additionally, very tiny pasta shapes are much easier to eat. You can spoon them with your fork instead of piercing them. Even better, use a spoon to scoop everything up.

Chopping vegetables and proteins into small uniform pieces equally distributes ingredients into every bite. You won't get big chunks of cucumber or a whole slice of pepperoni in one forkful and small pieces in another. As for the meats, cutting them into small sizes means you don't need to reach for a knife in the middle of enjoying your bowl of salad. When ingredients are cut into tiny equal sizes, you get a little bit of everything in each mouthful hence the right balance of textures and flavors.

Read more: 44 Types Of Pasta And When You Should Be Using Them

More Benefits Of Finely Chopping Your Pasta Salad

Apart from creating a good mix of flavors from the solid ingredients in your salad, chopping the ingredients into smaller pieces also helps the dressing blend better. When you have big chunks, the dressing might not reach the center of your bowl. And even after tossing, some pieces may remain bland especially when using a creamier dressing. But with smaller pieces, everything gets a good coating of dressing.

Finally, smaller even pieces mean the pasta salad looks more appealing. No worries about a stray huge leafy green covering your specks of pepperoni slices and bright red cherry tomatoes. The serving dish and the individual platefuls will all appear colorful and vibrant with all the ingredients visible.

So, the next time you try out our chicken pasta salad recipe or Southwest pasta salad, consider swapping the rotini for orzo, small shells, or ditalini. Then take some time to chop the veggies, herbs, and chicken, before tossing them with the dressing. Your pasta salad will be tastier, easier to eat, and more attractive to look at — what's not to love?

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