Southwest Pasta Salad

Southwestern pasta salad in glass mixing bowl.

This pasta salad makes a great summer side dish for a potluck or barbecue. You can stir in chopped, cooked chicken to turn it into a quick main dish as well.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 8

Total Time 28

Servings

Calories 330kcal

Author Karly Campbell

Ingredients

For the Pasta Salad:

16 ounces rotini pasta
15 ounces canned black beans rinsed and drained
15 ounces canned Southwest style corn drained
2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
1 medium orange bell pepper chopped
1 small red onion chopped
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
1 avocado diced

For the Chipotle Ranch Dressing:

½ cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1 chipotle pepper in adobo more to taste
1 lime juiced
2 cloves garlic chopped
2 tablespoons dill
1 tablespoon cilantro
1 teaspoon chives
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

To make the salad:

Boil the pasta according to package directions. Rinse pasta under cold water to cool.
Add the cooled pasta to a large bowl along with the beans, corn, pepper, onion, tomatoes, and cilantro. If you’ll be serving right away, add the avocado. If you’re refrigerating and serving later, add the avocado just before serving to prevent browning.
Pour the dressing over the pasta and stir to coat.
Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.

To make the dressing:

Add all of the ingredients for the dressing to a small blender or food processor and process until smooth and creamy.
Store dressing in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days if you won't be using it right away.

Video

Notes

We like the dressing to have just a little kick to it, so we only use one chipotle pepper. If you’d like a spicier dressing, use more peppers.

If you don’t have a blender, finely mince the pepper and garlic and stir the dressing together by hand.

You can add cooked, shredded or chopped chicken to this pasta salad if desired.

We prefer to chill this salad for a couple of hours to allow the flavors to meld before serving. If you do chill the salad first, wait to chop and add the avocado until right before serving to prevent it from turning brown. It's fine to serve right away, if preferred.

Nutrition