This Fresh Southwest Pasta Salad is my go-to whenever I need to take a dish to a party, and also a favorite summer dinner at our house. It’s great with grilled chicken (Grilled Taco Chicken is a perfect pairing) or by itself as a one-dish dinner. This dressing is based off of our favorite Cilantro Vinaigrette. It’s so good and flavorful, packed with veggies, and does well sitting out or in the fridge for while before or during serving. Leftovers are fantastic, too!
Ingredients Needed for the Salad
- bowtie pasta – you could use a different shape if you wanted, but keep it short and “twisty”; don’t use long, thin pasta. Rotini, fusilli, or cavatappi are other excellent choices! These shapes have more surface area and grooves, allowing them to better hold onto dressings and mix-ins.
- black beans – drained and rinsed. Canned works great!
- roma tomatoes – diced. If you don’t have any around, you could also use about ¾ cup halved cherry tomatoes.
- bell pepper – red, yellow, or orange are all delicious here; we don’t recommend green pepper for this recipe.
- green onions
- corn – we always recommend frozen corn. Canned corn has a unique flavor profile that doesn’t mesh well with most recipes. In this recipe, you’ll add the corn in frozen – no need to thaw it!
- limes
- chicken – optional. You’ll want to cook and chill this before preparing the salad. If you want something extra delicious, make this taco chicken. It fits the flavor profile perfectly!
- Queso Fresco or Cotija Cheese – I like to sprinkle on the cheese just before serving. Queso Fresco or Cotija is my favorite, or you can use grated pepperjack, jack, or cheddar.
Ingredients Needed for the Dressing
- fresh lime juice – from about 3 juicy limes
- white wine or rice vinegar
- garlic – roughly chopped
- chili powder
- cumin
- coriander
- kosher or sea salt
- sugar – if you find your limes are very sour or bitter, add a touch more than the recipe originally calls for.
- canola oil
- cilantro – roughly chopped. If you’re not a cilantro fan, you can always leave it out!
How to Make Southwest Pasta Salad
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Be sure to only cook the pasta until it reaches al dente stage.
- Blend together dressing.
- Combine pasta salad ingredients.
- Pour dressing into salad and toss gently.
- Chill for one hour before serving.
- Add cheese right before serving.
Storage & Other Tips
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 – 5 days.
- The flavors of this salad may mellow after storage. If you’d like, you can reserve a small amount of dressing to add right before enjoying any leftovers. You can also add more lime juice, salt, and pepper.
- You can make this salad up to a few hours ahead of serving. Toss is all together, but keep the dressing separate. Toss together one hour before serving, chill again to let the flavors meld together, then add cheese right before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! It’s even better after the flavors meld in the fridge. For best texture, consider mixing in the dressing right before serving or refreshing it with a bit more dressing.
Absolutely. While the recipe includes a delicious spin on our Cilantro Vinaigrette, you can use store-bought chipotle ranch, cilantro-lime dressing, or even a creamy vinaigrette.
Cook the pasta al dente and rinse it in cold water to stop the cooking process. If storing overnight, keep the dressing separate until serving.
Yes! Grilled chicken (like our Taco Chicken), shrimp, or even taco-seasoned ground beef can turn this into a hearty main course.
You can use kidney beans, chickpeas, or omit them entirely. Roasted red peppers or diced zucchini make great substitutes for corn.
Southwest Pasta Salad
Ingredients
Salad
- ½ lb bowtie pasta
- 1 14-oz can black beans drained and rinsed
- 2 roma tomatoes, diced or about ¾ cup halved cherry tomatoes
- 1 bell pepper, red, yellow, or orange large, diced small
- ½ cup green onions sliced
- ½ cup corn, frozen
- zest from 2 limes
- 8 ounces chicken, cooked, diced optional; try our taco chicken
- ½ cup Queso Fresco or Cotija Cheese or you could substitute grated jack, cheddar or pepperjack
Dressing
- 6 tablespoons lime juice, fresh about 3 juicy limes
- ¼ cup white wine or rice vinegar
- 4-5 cloves garlic roughly chopped
- 1 ½ teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon coriander
- ½ teaspoon kosher or sea salt
- 2 teaspoon sugar add a touch more if your limes are extra sour/bitter
- ¾ cup canola oil
- ½ cup cilantro roughly chopped
Instructions
Cook Pasta
- Boil pasta in salted water according to package directions. While it's cooking, prepare dressing.
Dressing
- Zest limes and place the zest in a large salad bowl.
- Place the lime juice, vinegar, garlic, chili powder, cumin, coriander, salt and sugar in a blender. (Basically everything except the cilantro and oil).
- Process until smooth. With the motor running slowly, add the oil in a steady stream until incorporated.
- Add the cilantro and pulse so it gets broken up, but some pieces still remain in tact.
Combine Salad Ingredients
- When pasta is done cooking, drain and rinse immediately with cold water to cool.
- Place the pasta in the large salad bowl with the lime zest. Add black beans, tomatoes, diced pepper, green onions, corn (no need to thaw the corn), and chicken if desired. Toss with dressing. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.
- Chill for 1 hour before serving.
- Right before serving, sprinkle cheese on top. Serve with extra lime wedges if desired.
Questions & Reviews
looks yummy… anything with fresco cheese is a hit with me… first timer on your blog… lovin it !!
Barilla Plus Pasta is the best thing ever! My hubby won't *touch* whole wheat pasta, but he can't even tell the difference with the Barilla Plus.
Thanks for the yummy vegetarian recipe. Sometimes it is hard to find vegetarian recipes that I know hubby (meat eater) will like as well, so I appreciate each one I can find!!
Looks pretty and delicious!
Must have NOW! Sounds so good 🙂
I made this tonite and it was extremely flavorful and delicious. Love the crunch from the veggies and the dressing was perfect. Will add to our list of yummy sides to bring to a friend’s bbq or to make at home.
Yum! My husband and I are about to start low carbing, and I'm thinking that if you removed the pasta and just served it as a southwestern-style chicken salad (or over lettuce) it would be pretty delicious.
I usually avoid bringing salads to any party because I always think it's such a boring option. Now I have a fun one to bring and will surprise everyone by volunteering to bring salad next time!! 🙂
Emily, as pasta cooks it absorbs the water, so by salting the water you are flavoring the actual pasta. Rinsing it in water won't wash away the flavor that's already inside!
this looks seriously amazing!
oooh, I need to start reading this blog AFTER lunch though – because now I'm hungry 🙂 Looks like this is going on the menu soon!
Okay, sorry, I take my comment back. Apparently for cold pasta salads, it's helpful to rinse away the extra starch, so the pasta doesn't get sticky, although I guess if it's dressed well, this wouldn't matter. Love to hear your opinion.
The salt enters the pasta when the water cooks it.