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Taco Pasta Salad

Stacey LittlebyStacey Little
5 from 1 vote
8 Comments
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This easy Taco Pasta Salad is packed with bold Tex-Mex flavor, hearty enough for a main dish, and perfect for potlucks, cookouts, or quick weeknight meals.

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Taco Pasta Salad ingredients before mixed
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Taco Pasta Salad. Call it strange. Call it familiar. Just call it delicious. It’s a GREAT summer pasta salad that’s actually pretty perfect any time of the year. And it’s full of amazing flavor… not to mention pretty dang easy, too!

This taco pasta salad recipe can really be customized to suit your tastes. Add sliced black olives. Ditch the tomatoes. Use fresh or even Mexican-style corn. Top with diced green onions. Once you have the basics down, you can customize it to make it your own. You could even make this into a one-dish meal by adding some diced or pulled rotisserie chicken or ground beef to up the protein. The options are nearly endless.

Taco Pasta Salad ingredients before mixed with dressing on the side

Can I Serve This Cold or Warm?

This is one of those flexible recipes that works either way. It’s typically served chilled after storing in the refrigerator, but you can serve at room temperature by chilling the pasta a little first by running it under some cool water. But if you prefer it a little warm, you can absolutely serve it that way. I just recommend being very careful not to add too much hot pasta to the other ingredients, or your cheese might melt more than you’d like when it’s time to stir it all together.

Taco Pasta With Yummy Dressing.

Will the avocados brown?

The lime juice will certainly delay the browning of the avocado, but browning will still happen, which does shorten the life of this salad. You could mix it all together and refrigerate and then add the avocados right before you serve it if you wish. This option would help your salad last much longer. You can also just leave them out completely if you wish.

Above photo of Taco Pasta Salad
Taco Pasta With Yummy Dressing.

Taco Pasta Salad

5 from 1 vote
Author: Stacey Little
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 8
Calories: 654kcal
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Ingredients

  • 1 (1-pound) box rotini pasta
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1 (1-ounce) packet taco seasoning
  • 2 ripe avocados diced
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • 1 small red onion finely diced
  • 1 ½ cups Mexican blend shredded cheese
  • 1 (15.25-ounce) whole kernel corn drained
  • 1 (15-ounce) can black beans drained and rinsed
  • 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes washed and sliced in half
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions

  • Cook the pasta according to the pasta instructions to just al dente.  Cool completely by running cool water over the pasta, then drain.  
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, and taco seasoning.  Set aside.  
  • Once the avocados are diced, toss them in the lime juice to prevent them from browning.  
  • Combine the pasta, avocados, onion, cheese, corn, beans, tomatoes, and cilantro in a large bowl.  Add the dressing and mix to combine.  

Nutrition

Calories: 654kcal · Carbohydrates: 69g · Protein: 19g · Fat: 34g · Saturated Fat: 7g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 14g · Monounsaturated Fat: 11g · Trans Fat: 0.1g · Cholesterol: 25mg · Sodium: 930mg · Potassium: 790mg · Fiber: 10g · Sugar: 5g · Vitamin A: 1050IU · Vitamin C: 19mg · Calcium: 291mg · Iron: 3mg

* If nutritional values are provided, they are an estimate and will vary depending on the brands used. The values do not include optional ingredients or when ingredients are added to taste. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, I recommend grabbing your favorite brands and plugging those ingredients into an online nutritional calculator.

Taco Pasta With Yummy Dressing.
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Stacey Little cutting vegetables on cutting board in kitchen

Hey, y’all! I’m Stacey

Feeding people makes me happy. There’s just something special about having the people I love gathered around the table, sharing good food and even better company. Go ahead and pull up a chair. You’re always welcome here.

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8 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Turned out great. I did make a few minor adjustments to accommodate what I already had on hand. One was 2 canned diced tomatoes drained. They worked but I love fresh tomatoes best. Mine are just not ready in the garden yet.
    I also add some salsa with peaches and pineapple. Making it even more of a summery salad. Also an extra can of black beans for added protein.
    I left out the cheese because in the past when I’ve made a salad like this with cheese, the cheese gets gooey. I will just sprinkle a bit on top when serving.
    Thanks for sharing your recipe.

    Reply

  2. Stacey, this looks and sounds delish. I love a taco salad, and this one sounds even better than my standby taco salad recipe. As soon as we can entertain again (Go away, Covid!!!) I’ll be making this one for the crowd.

    Reply

  3. Looks delicious and I am thinking of making for a cookout.However,if I leave out the avocados, do I also leave out the lime juice? Thanks

    Reply