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Home > Salads > Mexican Pasta Salad

Mexican Pasta Salad

Name: Mexican Pasta Salad
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 3 and 1/2 cups mini farfelle pasta, (measured when dry); 1 cup corn ((fresh preferred, canned ok)); 1 cup black beans; 3/4 cup assorted sweet bell peppers, (chopped (or just 1 bell pepper)); 1 cup cherry tomatoes, (halved); 1/4 cup red onion, (diced); 1/4 cup packed cilantro, (finely chopped, ~1/3 a bunch); 1 ripe avocado, (pit removed and chopped); Optional: cotija or queso fresco cheese; 3 tablespoons olive oil; 3 tablespoons rice vinegar; 5 tablespoons squeezed fresh lime juice; 1 teaspoon white sugar; 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder; 1 teaspoon and 1/2 chili powder; 1 teaspoon cumin; 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper; 1 teaspoon salt

May 8, 2017 | 36 Comments

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This Mexican pasta salad is packed with veggies, beans, and the most amazing chili-lime dressing!

Most pasta salads tend to be on the heavier side with lots of mayo (and trust me, I’m not complaining about those because I LOVE them), but this pasta salad is definitely on the lighter side. It’s got a vinegar and olive oil based dressing that tastes so fresh thanks to the lime juice. I promise you will NOT miss the mayo in this salad!

It’s got the perfect amount of spice and all the best “Mexican” flavors! Plus it comes together pretty quickly — you don’t have all that much veggie chopping and the dressing is just made by shaking ingredients together in a mason jar. This pasta salad is one of my very favorite meals and I hope you all love it too. 🙂

A few notes/tips for this Mexican Pasta Salad:

Pasta: use whatever shape pasta you like best! I’d recommend pasta that is a little smaller and the more texture, the better! The more texture on the pasta, the more it can absorb the dressing and ensure that it gets spread to every section of the pasta.
Prep beforehand: this is a salad that can easily be made ahead of time. If you do want to make it ahead of time, prep the salad and dressing separate and store in airtight containers in the fridge separately. When you’re ready to serve toss them together and then add the avocado (and if desired cheese). You want to avoid adding the avocado until just before eating so it stays fresh and green. If you want to enjoy this salad as leftovers, add avocado to just the section you’ll be eating.
Toss often: if the pasta salad sits for any length of time, the dressing tends to settle at the bottom.
Tomato cutting hack: if you want to cut your tomatoes quickly, easily, and all at once there’s an awesome tomato cutting “hack” I use often. Grab a plate with a lip on the bottom and set it upside down on the table. Place the cherry tomatoes on top and then place another plate (with a lip on the bottom) on top (right side up) of the tomatoes. Gently press the top plate down and using a sharp serrated knife, cut through all of the tomatoes at once. Easy!
Rinse the pasta in cold water: once the pasta has been drained, rinse it in cold water and toss it with a few tablespoons of the dressing. This keeps the pasta from sticking together as it finishes cooling and infuses it with the delicious dressing flavor!

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