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Bursting with black beans, peppers, tomatoes and fire-roasted corn and topped with a zesty dressing, this southwest pasta salad makes for a flavorful side dish or a filling lunch.
It’s back to school week. Anyone who has school-age kids knows that means this week is going to be nuts.
Getting back into the school routine is always hard on everyone. So I know that I need to have some easy meals lined up to get through the week.
Ham and cheese sliders, crockpot Mississippi pot roast, cheeseburger tater tot casserole, and this southwest pasta salad are all great options.
WHY I LOVE THIS ZESTY SOUTHWEST PASTA SALAD
Pasta salad is one of my favorite things to make. It’s fantastic for taking to potlucks or making when you have friends over. You can make it on Sunday evening to eat for lunch throughout the week. You can even have it for a simple dinner.
This southwest pasta salad is the perfect mixture of crunchy, creamy, and zesty.
The pasta is mixed with some of my favorite southwest-inspired ingredients, including black beans, fire-roasted corn, bell pepper, red onion, green chiles, and shredded cheese. Then all of that is tossed in a creamy, zesty dressing.
You can even easily add chicken to add even more protein and make it a whole meal.
Is this pasta salad spicy?
Even though this southwest pasta salad has canned green chiles and the dressing has some chipotle sauce and a number of spices in it, I don’t think it is spicy. It is quite mild – I think it is more “zesty” than anything else.
If you want a spicier pasta salad, though, there are a few ways you could do that:
- Use hot green chiles instead of mild green chiles
- Add more chipotle sauce to the dressing
- Add a few dashes of your favorite hot sauce to the dressing
HOW TO MAKE SOUTHWEST PASTA SALAD
Even though the ingredient list looks long, this is actually a pretty simple recipe and it makes enough to feed a crowd – or to eat for lunch for several days if you’re the meal-prepping type.
Dressing ingredients
To make the dressing for this southwestern pasta salad, you will need:
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup canned chipotle sauce
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- Juice of half a lime
- Salt and pepper to taste
You can find canned chipotle sauce in the Hispanic foods section of your grocery store or at any Mexican grocery store.
If you don’t have the individual spices listed above – garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, and chili powder – you can substitute 2 teaspoons of taco seasoning.
Pasta salad mix-ins
The mix-ins are always the best part of a pasta salad. In this case, I wanted to go with some southwest-inspired ingredients, so I chose:
- 1 can black beans
- 1 can fire-roasted corn
- ½ red bell pepper
- ½ green bell pepper
- ½ red onion
- 8 ounces diced green chiles
- 10 ounces grape or cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro (optional)
- 1-2 cups diced or shredded cooked chicken (optional)
Feel free to leave out the cilantro if you don’t care for cilantro. You can also leave out the chicken if you need a vegetarian option.
If you have fresh sweet corn on hand, you can oven roast corn on the cob to use instead of the canned fire-roasted corn.
I always use a can of mild green chiles, but feel free to use hot green chiles for a spicier pasta salad.
Making this recipe
Start by cooking the pasta according to the package directions in a large pot of salted water. You want to cook the pasta until it is al dente.
Once the pasta is cooked, drain it and rinse it with cold water, then toss it with olive oil and add it to a large mixing bowl.
In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the dressing ingredients. Give the dressing a taste and adjust to your liking by adding more lime juice, salt, pepper, or chipotle sauce.
Add the rest of the pasta salad ingredients and the dressing to the cooked pasta and stir to thoroughly combine. Cover and refrigerate the southwest pasta salad for at least an hour before serving.
FAQS
How long is this pasta salad good for?
Store southwest pasta salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Can I make this ahead of time?
Absolutely. You can easily make this recipe the night before you plan to serve it.
Since you can make it ahead, it’s great for meal planning. Try making it on a Sunday evening and dividing it into smaller containers to eat for lunch over the following days.
What’s the best pasta to use in this pasta salad?
I love using rotini pasta in my pasta salads, but you can use any other shaped pasta you like, such as bowtie (farfalle), elbow macaroni, shells (conchiglie), or radiatori.
Stay away from long noodles, like spaghetti or fettuccine. Save those for recipes like easy fettuccine alfredo or pasta carbonara.
Are there any substitutions I can make in this recipe?
Of course. One of the best things about pasta salad is that you can change up the mix-ins to suit your own tastes, and this southwest pasta salad is no different.
Feel free to omit any of the mix-ins you don’t care for. If you leave something out, you can always add more of an ingredient you do like.
For example, if you don’t like beans, you can always increase the amount of corn, tomatoes, or peppers instead.
Southwest Pasta Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound dry rotini pasta or other shaped pasta of your choice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 can black beans 15 ounces, drained and rinsed
- 1 can fire-roasted corn 14.75 ounces, drained
- ½ red bell pepper diced
- ½ green bell pepper diced
- ½ red onion finely chopped
- 8 ounces diced green chiles
- 10 ounces grape or cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro optional
- 1-2 cups diced or shredded cooked chicken optional
For the dressing:
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup canned chipotle sauce
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- Juice of half a lime
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions until al dente. Once cooked, drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process. Toss with the olive oil and add to a large mixing bowl.
- Make the dressing: In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, chipotle sauce, and seasonings. Once combined, add the lime juice and salt and pepper to taste. If desired, add more lime juice for a more acidic dressing, or more chipotle sauce or several dashes of your favorite hot sauce for a spicy dressing.
- Add the dressing to the pasta along with the rest of the salad ingredients. Stir to combine.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made this yesterday for a party and we all loved it. It was everything a pasta salad should be. One question: Where the recipe calls for chipotle sauce, is that the same as adobo sauce that chipotle peppers come canned in?
This recipe is a keeper! Thank you!
Hi Julie – So glad you loved it! Yes, you could use the adobo sauce that comes in the can with the chipotle peppers. Thanks for stopping by and sharing! Happy baking –
Jamie
What is canned chipotle sauce?
Hi Patricia – It’s basically the adobo sauce that comes in the cans of chipotles in adobo, but without the chipotle peppers in it. You can find it with the hispanic foods at conventional groceries or at mexican groceries. Hope this helps!
Jamie
Fantastic!
Thanks for stopping by, Bonnie! Happy baking!
Jamie