The Pickled Costco Product That Changed My Pasta Salad Game Forever

Recently, I noticed fast food lunches were getting more and more tempting thanks to the endless rotation of olive-spiked Greek- and Italian-themed pasta salads on the menu. And then I found Cypressa Feta-Stuffed Peppers at Costco, and everything changed.

Sold in twin 16-ounce containers, these punchy little cherry peppers are stuffed with feta and mizithra. Both are Greek cheeses, but where feta is salty and assertive, mizithra is creamy and fresh, similar to ricotta. The salty-creamy duo acts as a pleasant contrast to the bright, fruity pepper surrounding it.

But it really shines when it's part of a chorus of flavors, like the radiant falsetto of a really good Pentatonix Mitch-slap (IYKYK). When I combined these peppers with pasta, leftover veggies, extra cheese, and some protein, and tossed it all with a complementary dressing, something really special happened: I made a pasta salad I could eat literally every single day and actually look forward to it.

Pasta salad is probably one of the easiest meal preps around. Once you learn to avoid certain pasta salad mistakes, you can basically wing it. Start with a bite-size pasta with good grip (to hold both the dressing and the mix-ins). I like ridged penne, rotini, or rotelle. While that's cooking, prep the peppers.

I use one container for a double batch of pasta. That's enough to get plenty of those surprising bites of bright fruitiness without the peppers becoming so dominant you get tired of them. These are packed in oil, so it's best to blot them before cutting. You can rinse them if you want, but it's not necessary. Cutting the stuffed peppers in half makes them a better size for a perfect bite, but you do you.

Then, just search the fridge for fresh veggies or leftovers that work well with the sweet punch of cherry peppers. I like leftover roasted veggies, like zucchini and mushrooms. Brussels sprouts, carrots, or asparagus would also work well, especially when roasted. If you have them, olives are good, too, but stick with black ones. Anything tangier will take away from the peppers.

I like to add Parmesan and a little extra crumbled feta to complement the peppers and tie everything together, but any salty cheese is good. I often have leftover cotija on hand, and it works just as well. And if you're eating it as a side, you can stop there with the add-ins.

But if you're going to make a meal of it, add more protein. The cherry peppers go well with just about anything you could choose. Thinly sliced leftover steak is perfect, but it goes equally well with bite-size chargrilled chicken. You could probably even get away with canned chicken or tuna, if that's your jam. But for my money, salty and crunchy roasted chickpeas tossed in a bit of garlic and onion powder, smoked paprika, and black pepper is the ideal complement to this pleasant pepper.

For best results, toss everything in dressing immediately so it can come together and soak into the pasta. I hold some back to shore it up the day I eat it. These little peppers go with just about any dressing you can imagine, from vinaigrette to creamy, though super-thick, rich dressings like blue cheese and ranch can overpower it. Creamy vinaigrettes like Vidalia onion and balsamic are neutral enough to suit any add-ins and really make the cherry peppers pop. Or you can make your salad taste even better by using two dressings, such as Italian and balsamic vinaigrette.