Your Favorite Sandwich Might Make An Even Better Pasta Salad

If you really think about it, the best sandwiches already have the blueprint to be turned into a great pasta salad. Why? Because sandwiches tend to follow a very well-established principle in food pairing — contrast. Take the BLT, for example; you've got the salty richness of bacon, which is contrasted by the juicy tomatoes and crisp lettuce, which is contrasted by a creamy mayo-based dressing. So even if you take away the bread and swap in pasta, it may change the texture, but that balance stays intact. And it gives you a great basic formula that also allows plenty of room to play without losing the core identity of the sandwich it is modeled on. 

Our very own BLT pasta salad recipe uses radiatore, romaine, tomatoes, bacon, bacon-infused mayo, and sourdough breadcrumbs, but you could take a different route by adding in scallions, avocado, or a little shredded cheese to give it some character without becoming unrecognizable. In fact, outside of the original three-ingredient acronym, there are many other toppings that work in a BLT sandwich that would translate just as well into a BLT pasta salad. But that's far from the only sandwich you can work into a pasta salad. Nearly any sandwich on the menu at your local deli or favorite restaurant can be given a pasta-salad makeover.

Many sandwiches can be worked into pasta salad with a little of the same magic. A Reuben's strong flavors would work beautifully for the purpose — think sliced corned beef or pastrami, Swiss cheese, pickles, and pasta in a Russian dressing. Finely shredded cabbage might make for a better base than sauerkraut, which could become wet and overpowering in excess. Add in just a little sauerkraut if you miss the tang. 

The basic Philly cheesesteak fillings could also become great companions for short pasta. While the original Philly cheesesteak didn't contain cheese, we recommend your pasta salad does — toss the pasta with provolone-style cheese and a creamy dressing made with mayonnaise or sour cream and grated provolone. Then add thinly sliced steak, sauteed peppers, and onions. Or if you love a Cubano, give it the pasta salad treatment by combining Swiss-style cheese, pickles, yellow mustard, and a generous serving of diced roasted pork and sliced ham. There's even the option of a tuna melt, and while that may already sound similar to a more basic tuna salad, you can take it a step further by adding grated cheddar, pickles, and toasted breadcrumbs or croutons so it has the cheesiness and crunch that sets a tuna melt apart.

The key is to preserve what makes the iconic sandwich recognizable whilst also recognizing what wouldn't behave so well in a bowl of pasta. So that may mean cabbage instead of sauerkraut in the case of the Reuben, or swapping in a vinaigrette instead of a heavy dressing in the case of an Italian sub-inspired salad that's already loaded with lots of rich deli meats and cheese.