Oil them and let them breathe

To stop noodles from turning into one sad block, toss them with a little olive oil and pack the sauce on the side.

The culprit is starch. Cooked pasta is coated in sticky surface starch, and when it sits hot in a sealed box, steam makes that starch glue everything together. A teaspoon of oil per serving coats the pasta and knocks that stickiness way down without washing away flavor the way rinsing does.

Also, don’t close the lid while it’s still steaming. Let the pasta cool completely first. If you pack it hot, the trapped steam condenses and you get soggy, clumped mess. If you’re reheating later, add a splash of water — it loosens things right back up.

Pasta is fine cold, so don’t be afraid to let it fully cool before it goes in the box.