A great-tasting pasta dish can make or break a first date, a business meeting, a family reunion, and much more. Learning how to cook pasta properly can set you up for decades of amazing dinners in the future. In the tips below, we will reveal the secret to perfectly cooked pasta so you have a good foundation to build upon. Prepare your taste buds for the amazing sensations to come…

Choose the Right Pasta for Your Sauce

Let's be honest – well-cooked pasta is nothing without a scrumptious sauce to top it off. Select your sauce before choosing your pasta so you can ensure that the two marry well. Smooth sauces, like classic marinara and Alfredo, work well with long, flat noodles. Chunky sauces with meat and vegetables work better with swirled or tube pastas that can grab onto the chunks properly. Some sauces, like meaty marinara, can work with just about any noodle, so you may have some flexibility in this step.

Pro Tip – Pay up for Pricier Pasta

Try not to buy the cheapest pasta at the market. Noodles are cheap in general, but spending an extra $0.50 on a box could make a huge difference in your dish.

Use Enough Water to Boil 

Don't be afraid to add a little more water than what is recommended for your pasta serving. You can always drain that later. The goal here is to create a pool of water for your noodles to cook in. If you use a pot that is too small or a low volume of water, you will most likely end up with a pile of noodles that are hard to separate and even harder to eat.

Pro Tip – Don't Add Oil to the Water

If your pasta recipe calls for oil to cook the noodles, ignore that step entirely. Oil stops your noodles from absorbing your sauce, making for a terrible tasting dish overall.

Taste the Pasta to Avoid Over

You can't trust the cooking time suggested on the label for the pasta. You need to test the pasta frequently to make sure you do not overcook it. You want the noodles to be cooked through so they are neither hard nor mushy. The "stick to the wall" technique works for some pastas, like spaghetti, but other noodles require a more proactive approach.

Pro Tip – Mix in the Sauce before the Pasta Is Fully Cooked

Add in the sauce right before the pasta is soft enough to eat so it absorbs the sauce in the last few minutes. You may also take this opportunity to season the pasta with a little salt and pepper.

Add the Perfect Accessories, Like a Tasty Wine Slushy

Of course, no pasta dish would be complete without a delicious Wine Frappe from Nectar of the Vine. Top off your meal with some garlic bread, a dash of parmesan cheese, and a wine slushy to drink, and you are sure to have a successful meal on the horizon.