Cook your noodles al dente. I repeat: do not overcook your pasta! Especially when the cooked pasta will spend extra time soaking in a dressing, you don’t need to cook it too long.
Rinse noodles in cold water before combining them with your pasta salad dressing.
Use a high quality olive oil. When you’re making such a simple dressing, the individual ingredients will shine!
How to Store Pasta Salad – If you are making it ahead, you can store in a covered bowl, in the refrigerator, for up to a week.
Same goes for your pasta salad dressings! In fact, if it is just an oil and vinegar dressing then it will keep for up to two weeks!
Refresh Pasta Salad – If the pasta seems dry after marinating, add more pasta salad dressing and stir! You can also leave a little water when draining the pasta to keep it moist and use less dressing.
Adding cheese? Grate it fresh. You’ll never regret this extra step! Fresh grated Parmesan cheese or mozzarella cheese are the hallmarks of any great pasta dish in my eyes!