Southwestern Pasta Salad

I can’t get over the flavors in this Southwestern Pasta Salad. Not only is this perfect for the summertime, but it’s made with mostly pantry ingredients and so simple to make! The southwestern sauce is creamy and has a little kick to it that’s delicious in this pasta salad. Make this for your next cookout!

I love a good pasta salad in the summer time and this Southwestern Pasta Salad is a favorite! Not only is it so simple to make, but it uses mainly pantry ingredients. If you want to meal prep this pasta salad to have for lunch during the week, it is great to store in the fridge for easy access for 3-4 days. I like to use chickpea pasta to add a little extra protein to this dish, but you can also add grilled chicken to it too!

Love the southwestern flavors as much as I do? Try this Southwestern Kale Salad if you want more of a green salad!

What you need for Southwestern Pasta Salad:

• Pasta
• Canned black beans
• Mini tomatoes
• Pickled onions or red onion
• Roasted corn
• Green chiles
• Cilantro
• Plain greek yogurt
• Avocado oil mayo
• Olive oil
• Lime
• Minced garlic
• Hot sauce
• Taco seasoning
• Mild Salsa
• Sea salt

Why you’ll love this Southwestern Pasta Salad:

• SO easy! I mean over half of these ingredients are using pantry ingredients that you may already have sitting around waiting to be used.
• This pasta salad is the perfect mix of creamy with a little kick to it!
• It’ll be perfect thing to bring to a cookout or outdoor party. Everyone will love you!
• The chickpea pasta makes it packed with protein and the greek yogurt and black beans are great sources of protein too. We love meals that are full of protein 🙂

I used a gluten free pasta here but you can use any type of pasta that you like. Some that I also like to use:

• Banza Chickpea Pasta
• Brown Rice & Quinoa Pasta
• Lentil Pasta
• Whole Wheat Pasta

How to store your leftover pasta salad:

I recommend keeping any leftovers stored in a sealed container in the fridge! I like to use these storage containers.

If you like this recipe, you may also enjoy these on One Balanced Life:

• Smoked Mozzarella Pasta Salad
• Mediterranean Orzo Salad
• A delicious Southwestern Chicken Salad
• Street Corn Pasta Salad

Looking for more recipes to prep for the week? Try these!

• Healthy Chicken Salad
• This Mediterranean Tuna Salad
• Thai Chopped Chicken Salad

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Southwestern Pasta Salad

Yield: Serves 4

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

This Southwestern Pasta Salad is packed with flavor and makes for a delicious pasta salad for the summertime! Easy to make and filled with many pantry ingredients.

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Ingredients

• 4 cups pasta, cooked
• 1/2 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 pickled onions
• 1 cup roasted corn
• 3 tbsp fresh cilantro
• 1 can green chiles
• 3/4 cup avocado oil mayo
• 2 tbsp plain greek yogurt
• 3 tbsp mild salsa
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1/2 lime, zest
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 tsp taco seasoning
• 1 tsp hot sauce
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

Instructions

1. Add all ingredients to make southwestern sauce: mayo, greek yogurt, salsa, taco seasoning, minced garlic, lime, lime zest, hot sauce, sea salt. Set aside.
2. Cook pasta according to package.
3. Add all the ingredients in one bowl. Pasta, black beans, tomatoes, pickled onions, green chiles, roasted corn and cilantro. Pour sauce on top and mix to combine.
4. Store in the fridge.
5. Enjoy!

Notes

Any type of pasta will work!

I used the frozen roasted corn from Trader Joe's.

until next time...