mexican pasta salad

This Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad is PACKED with sweet corn and tossed in a creamy chili lime dressing. With plenty of queso fresco, bacon, jalapeño, and green onions, this flavor-packed recipe is perfect for a potluck! Can be made with frozen, fresh, or canned corn. Plus, no grilling required! For extra smoky and charred flavor without grilling, the corn is sautéed in bacon fat.

Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad

mayonnaise

juice and zest of one lime

chili powder

cumin

hot sauce (I used chipotle tabasco)

kosher salt (to taste)

black pepper (to taste)

farfalle pasta

bacon (preferably thick cut)

corn (frozen and thawed, fresh removed from cob,

jalapeño pepper (seeded and diced finely)

green onions (green parts only, thinly sliced)

queso fresco (crumbled,

cilantro (chopped, plus more for garnish)

Mix all ingredients for dressing in a large bowl. Set aside.

Cook pasta according to directions in heavily salted water. Drain and rinse with cold water until completely cool. Shake off as much excess water as possible.

Meanwhile, cook the four slices of bacon in a heavy skillet, such as cast iron, until crispy. Remove to a paper towel lined plate and allow to cool. Crumble when cool. Drain all but one tablespoon of bacon grease from the skillet (enough to coat the bottom).

Heat the skillet with the remaining bacon grease and add the 4 cups of corn kernels. Cook over medium-high heat until starting to brown- don&#x27;t stir too often. You should get nice dark color on some pieces.

Add the cooked and cooled pasta, crumbled bacon, corn, jalapeño pepper, green onions, queso fresco, and cilantro to the large bowl with the dressing. Stir to combine.

Serve garnished with extra cheese, cilantro, and a little bit more chili powder, if desired.

This Mexican Pasta Salad recipe is the best ever. It's loaded with creamy avocados, sweet corn, black beans, crunchy green peppers and red onions, and pasta. Then it's smothered in a creamy (and easily vegan!) chipotle lime dressing. You will LOVE it!

Mexican Pasta Salad

pasta (Chickapea Pasta Spirals are

cobs of corn (or 2 cups frozen and thawed corn)

cherry tomatoes

red onion

cilantro

green pepper,

avocado, diced

– 1 jalapeño, finely minced

yogurt (regular or vegan, both work)

lime juice

avocado oil (or another neutral-flavored oil)

adobo sauce

sea salt

oregano

black pepper

garlic clove, grated on a Microplane

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the 2 cobs of corn and the pasta to the pot and cook for 7-9 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente. Remove the corn from the pot then drain the pasta with a colander and rinse it under cold running water. Cut the kernels from the cobs of corn.

While the pasta is cooking, add all the Chipotle Lime Dressing ingredients to a 2-cup mason jar and shake to mix.

Place the cooked pasta, corn, cherry tomatoes, black beans, red onion, cilantro, green pepper, avocado, and jalapenño in a large salad bowl. Pour the dressing over the top and toss to mix everything together.

Oh wow, Kristen, this healthy pasta salad has got everything I love in a great dish.  I'm a texture person and i need both creamy and crunchy - fantastic!  These flavors!

Everything I love in a summer meal! I also am not really a pasta salad fan -- but put Chickapea and all of these other amazing things in the mix, and I am totally in! On the meal plan this week.

This Chipotle dressing is seriously incredible! Can't wait to make this healthy salad, loaded with my favorite Chickapea pasta! YUMMY!

This looks so yummy! Chickapea pasta makes it that much more filling! Love the flavors you've got going here, Kristen! Sharing!

This pasta salad is right up my alley Kristen!  I love Mexican flavors and Chickapea Pasta is so healthy that I love serving it to my family.  I'll definitely be making this!

You totally killed it with this one Kristen! I've got a box of chickapea pasta sitting in my cupboard ready to go and this looks like the perfect thing!

Oh goodness. My belly is growling HARD over here. I am so in love with all of these ingredients! Everything is so fresh—and that dressing is *everything*. I love when you can indulge in a creamy dressing yet not feel guilty about it. Greek yogurt is magical. Beauty recipe!

I have no words Kristen! No words!! Just stupidly drooling over my keyboard right now!

Can't wit to try this ASAP!! I know we already love Mexican salads and the addition of Chickapea makes it perfect for an easy summer dinner

You're right this is the best pasta salad ever! I was skeptical about the chickapea pasta cause I've tried some gluten free pasta that I didn't like but this one was just like you said it is. Making this again for a family bbq next weekend!

Holy expletive, I just made this, and it is delicious! It’s a beautiful way to make winter in NYC a little cheerier. A number of notes:

Proving I’m a tragic saltaholic, I actually would probably double the amount of salt next time, but the recipe as is would satisfy normal people :)

I didn’t have enough tomatoes or pasta on hand, so I supplemented with minced carrot. I used more cilantro than called for because yum. I recommend a less than ripe avocado to withstand the dressing and tossing without becoming an unrecognizable mushy mess. I suspect you could get creative with the ingredients and use almost any combo of crunchy veggies. Radish would be great, just like they serve on Mexican street tacos!

I used red lentil rotini, which worked great, especially because of the color. Using alternative pastas is a great idea because they hold up well to the saucing and tossing!

I used slightly hot Anaheim pepper rather than bell, and I used a whole jalapeño. That is zesty!!

Next time I will use a food processor to blend the chilis in sauce and strain the liquid into the dressing to intensify the flavor and texture. 

Measuring dressing ingredients into a mason jar was a pain, and I think whisking in a bowl would suffice. 

Overall a really delicious and genius recipe. I can’t wait to taste again tomorrow after the flavors have melded. I think serving at room temperature would be divine. Thanks so much for a wonderful recipe.

I made this for my grandsons scout camp family day. It was a hit! Brought home a empty dish.

This recipe is SO easy and delicious!! The chipotle lime dressing is so tasty. I used fat-free greek yogurt and only 2 Tbsp of oil to cut down the fat &amp; calories, and it was still very flavorful. I usually make twice as much dressing in pasta salad recipes because I hate when a pasta salad is too "dry," but this was the perfect ratio of dressing to salad. I also omitted the jalapeno- The adobo sauce from the chipotle peppers gave it plenty of kick. I made this for myself (and brought it for lunches at work), but I'm going to bring this to my next work putluck and I'm sure it will be a hit! Thanks for the great recipe!

Delicious summer salad.  I used gluten free spiral pasta and Hellman’s mayo as out of vegan option.  Grandkids went back for seconds and thirds! 

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/mVEqicJI.mp4

Mexican pasta salad with corn, black beans, avocado, and a creamy chipotle lime dressing. 

Creamy Mexican pasta salad with corn, black beans, avocado, and a Southwestern yogurt dressing. Easy, healthy, and always a favorite!

whole wheat pasta (bow tie, elbow, or similar)

corn

large avocados (peeled, pitted, and diced)

green onions (thinly sliced)

jalapeno

feta cheese

Greek yogurt

olive oil

limes (plus 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice)

Tabasco (or similar hot sauce)

salt

smoked paprika

Cook

Cook the pasta to al dente according to package instructions. Rinse with cool water, drain, and place in a large serving bowl. Add the corn, black beans, cherry tomatoes, avocados, green onions, jalapeno, and cilantro.

Stir

To make the dressing, in a small bowl or large measuring cup, stir together the Greek yogurt, olive oil, lime zest and juice, hot sauce, salt, chili powder, and smoked paprika. Taste and add additional salt or spices as desired. Pour over the pasta mixture. Toss to coat, then sprinkle the feta over the top. If time allows, chill for 2 hours prior to serving or enjoy immediately.

This Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad is loaded with corn, cotija and a deliciously tangy, creamy dressing that is the stuff dreams are made of. It's quick and easy to throw together and is made up of mostly pantry ingredients that you've probably already got in your kitchen! 

rotini pasta

cheese

sour cream

garlic powder

cayenne pepper

lime zest

Kosher salt

cracked pepper

Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Toss with 2 teaspoons olive oil, salt, and pepper and set aside to cool to room temperature. Or pop in the fridge to speed up the cooling process. 

In a medium bowl combine sour cream, mayo, 2 tablespoons olive oil, chili powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, lime zest and juice, and a couple large pinches of salt and pepper. 

Add cooled pasta, corn, Cotija, and cilantro to a large bowl.

Pour most of the dressing over the pasta and toss until everything is well coated. 

Transfer to a serving platter, drizzle with the remaining dressing, and garnish with fresh chopped cilantro.

My daughter made this a couple months ago when we had a weekend getaway and we had it for the next 3 days in a row (so yes, it can be eaten the next day), my only thing is I would make extra dressing or hold some back, because the pasta does dry it up. Besides that, AMAZING! Going to 2 separate parties this weekend and it has been requested at each gathering :)

This was so good and so easy to make!!!!!

We love the Mexican street corn from Rubio's so when I saw this, I knew I had to try it....and I'm SO glad I did! The flavors are fabulous, so it's hard to not go back for seconds or thirds.  I have been requested to make this several times, tonight is another one of those occasions! 
Thanks so much for the great recipe, going to try your taco pasta salad for another gathering tomorrow night :))

I followed the recipe just as it is. I made it the night before so I am going to whip up some extra dressing to mix in just before serving. The pasta really does soak up the dressing overnight.  
I used 6 ears of fresh corn on the cob. I roasted the corn in the oven. I peeled the corn, coated with softened butter, and roasted at 400°f for 45 minutes, let cool, then cut off the cob with a serrated knife.
I might add some finely chopped red onion and/or hatch peppers next time for a twist.
Such a fun and versatile recipe!

Best salad I have ever eaten! Would highly recommend it for your next family get together, office  party, or any other large event!

so yummy! i dry-roasted the corn on a pan before mixing in and WOW, so good. i make it with chickpea pasta now so i can eat it as a easy lunch!

I recommend following the recipe to a T, or using chickpea pasta like another reviewer suggested. This is such a fresh, flavorful side to bring to a barbecue, and it's also one of my favorite make-ahead lunches. I like it served room-temp or slightly warm.

Excellent, crowd pleaser. However, made the night before and the dressing seemed to congeal on the pasta over night. It still tasted good but would’ve preferred the creamy original texture. Is this why you recommend adding milk or like juice? Or do you know why this happened?

I found this recipe about 3 months ago and have made it half a dozen times. I cannot even get over how good it is. I share your recipe with every person I know. So good!

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/2sYNC9a6.mp4

This 20 minute Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad is loaded with fire-roasted corn, Cotija, and a deliciously tangy, creamy dressing. 

Top 5 mexican pasta salad recipes from across the web

The most viewed mexican pasta salad recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Top Tags

Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad

Mexican Pasta Salad

Mexican Pasta Salad

Mexican Pasta Salad

Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad

Top 5 mexican pasta salad recipes from across the web

The most viewed mexican pasta salad recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad

Mexican Pasta Salad

Mexican Pasta Salad

Mexican Pasta Salad

Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad

The most viewed mexican pasta salad recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine