How To Store and Use Leftover Cooked Pasta?

Given the fact that everybody loves pasta, it is easy to accidentally cook more than actually required. And when this happens, we all are left with excess cooked pasta that we don't want to waste. Leaving pasta unattended is not a good idea as it'll be ripped off its moisture and freshness in the open air. But how to store pasta properly, given the fact that cooked pasta becomes sticky when left open and unused? How to successfully preserve that leftover pasta, which can be used as your kid’s pasta meal next day? Well, there are some tried and tested ways to effectively store boiled instant pasta for your future meal. In fact, if you have a busy weekday schedule, you can cook extra pasta of your choice on the weekend and store it using our hacks. Through this, you will be able to fix a quick dinner anytime in the week. 

Let’s find ways to make your work easy. We’ll begin with easy tips to store pasta properly and then move forward to hacks that’ll help you fix a quick meal with the stored pasta:

1. Plain, cooked pasta can be easily stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container, after mixing in a dash of olive oil. This would avoid clumping and stick of pasta strands.
   
   
2. Pasta can be stored for a longer time, after mixing in with olive oil, in a freezer bag, devoid of any air. Like this, you can store pasta for up to 3 months without the risk of damaging it.

How to Spruce up Leftover Pasta?

Use these simple hacks to spruce up your leftover pasta and elevate your dish to a whole new level:

1. Give me Soup
   Your leftover spaghetti will work wonderfully in a soup. Prepare a vegetable broth and mix in chopped vegetables and boiled spaghetti. Season to taste and serve hot. You could even add fried noodles on top for an element of crunch. 
   

2. Lunchbox Mac & Cheese
   Who doesn’t love a tempting sight of good old’ mac and cheese? Pasta by the best Pasta company in India holds its texture for long and doesn't turn stale quickly. Therefore, it is ideal to use it the other day without any tarnish on its flavour. Just whip in some cheese with your leftover pasta for your kid’s lunchbox mac and cheese.

3. Pasta Muffins
   Another gourmet way of presenting a pasta dish is by molding them into muffins. Get some chopped vegetables of your choice, mix in pasta, cheese, and herbs. Place this mixture in a muffin tray and tightly pack it. Garnish with another layer of cheese and bake for the desired time. Your savory muffins are ready.

4. Colourful Salad
   Pasta salads are always a part of the elaborate buffet menu of a hotel. Pasta salads are a fun and fancy way of indulging in lots of vegetables. Take a mix of vegetables, including greens, and prepare a flavorful dressing for the same. Mix everything together, including the leftover pasta and garnish with fresh herbs and seeds. Salad is a great way to use excess vegetables and pasta lying ideally in your refrigerator shelf.

Most of these ideas are frameworks rather than proper recipes. Playing around with ingredients can result in unexpected beautiful creations. Let your pasta be the canvas and ingredients be the colours and paint a tempting and appetizing dish in no time. Let us know your way of storing and using leftover pasta.