Mexican Pasta Salad with Creamy Chipotle Lime Dressing

Mutli-colored pasta and bold southwest flavors make this easy Mexican Pasta Salad an awesome summer side dish. 

Are you as excited about summer grilling season as I am? In the summer we pretty much live out on our back patio. We grill out every night and on weekends we have people over to just hang out and eat good food. I love southwest flavors and this Mexican Pasta Salad with Creamy Chipotle Lime Dressing makes an appearance at parties pretty often in the summer. It’s a great make ahead pasta salad for summer get-togethers. In fact, I’m making it for Cinco de Mayo this year. It’s on a Friday so after work we’re having people over for margaritas and we’ll be grilling out. I can totally make my Mexican Pasta Salad the night before and be one step ahead of things when I get home Friday.

This is a really easy pasta salad recipe. I like to buy multi-colored bow tie noodles but you can you any pasta you like. For salads like this I think smaller, noodles are better than something like spaghetti or linguine but in a pinch any of it will work! The Mexican pasta salad is made with pasta noodles (cooked al dente!), cherry tomatoes, corn, green peppers, red onions,black beans, cheese, cilantro, and avocado. Those last two items I wait to add until right before serving. I don’t like the avocado to turn brown and I think cilantro tastes the best when it is fresh. Everything is tossed together with a delicious creamy chipotle lime dressing that adds a little zing to the dish and it’s ready to serve or to store in the refrigerator until party time.

It’s definitely a summer salad and it tastes the best when you can use fresh summer vegetables in it. Especially the corn and tomatoes! The lime in the dressing adds a brightness to the whole dish and it goes perfectly with carne asada and margaritas!

Servings: 6

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 10 minutes mins

Total Time: 30 minutes mins

Mexican Pasta Salad with Creamy Chipotle Lime Dressing

Created By: Kat Jeter & Melinda Caldwell

Mutli-colored pasta and bold southwest flavors make this easy Mexican Pasta Salad an awesome pasta salad recipe for Cinco de Mayo or summer picnics.

Print Recipe

3.84 from 12 votes

Ingredients

Pasta Salad

• 12 oz Bowtie noodles, (colors optional)
• 1 can Roasted corn
• 1 can Black beans
• 1 pint Cherry tomatoes
• 1 c Green peppers, , diced
• ½ Red onion, , diced
• 2 Avocados
• 1/3 c Cilantro, , chopped
• 4 oz Queso Fresco, , crumbled

Dressing

• 1/2 c Mayonnaise
• 3 Tbsp Lime juice
• 1/8 tsp Cumin
• 1/4 tsp Paprika
• 1/2 tsp Chili powder
• 1 tsp Chipotle hot sauce, (or your favorite hot sauce if you don't have chipotle)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
• Add noodles and cook until al dente. Remove from heat, drain water and place them in a large bowl.
• Add corn, black beans, cherry tomatoes, red onion, and avocados.
• In a small bowl mix up the dressing by combining all of the dressing ingredients and stirring together.
• Pour the dressing over the noodles and toss everything together.
• Salt and pepper to taste.
• Add cheese and fresh cilantro and toss once more.
• Enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 1c, Calories: 551kcal, Carbohydrates: 62g, Protein: 13g, Fat: 28g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g, Monounsaturated Fat: 9g, Cholesterol: 20mg, Sodium: 1317mg, Potassium: 942mg, Fiber: 12g, Sugar: 9g, Vitamin A: 400IU, Vitamin C: 19mg, Calcium: 90mg, Iron: 3.2mg

Nutrition Disclaimer: We are not certified nutritionists. Nutrition facts are an estimate and are provided as a courtesy. They are generated by an online API which recognizes ingredient names and amounts and makes calculations based on the serving size. Results may vary.

Course: Side

What is your favorite summer side dish? Let us know so we can try it out!

Looking for more awesome recipes with southwest flavors? Try these! 

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