A Southwestern style pasta salad featuring rotini pasta with taco seasonings, salsa, veggies and beans. Drizzle with your favorite salad dressing and garnish as desired.
Taco Pasta Salad
Pasta salads are such a welcome addition to the summertime menu, aren't they?
Some days it's just so hot that the thought of putting a lot of effort into a full out meal can be daunting and overwhelming, nevermind the fact that I may not even have an appetite for that!
What happens with me during those times is that I end up snacking on a whole bunch of junk, instead of having a "meal."
Not great.
When it comes to pasta salads, they are easy to throw together and I can make a meal out of one no problem, though I can't get The Cajun (aka my husband) to! He loves hot pasta dishes, but salads made with pasta just don't get him too excited.
No worries though because there is always a supply of leftovers in the fridge as well as sandwich meat, so I can enjoy a pasta salad for supper once in awhile!
Here's what you'll need to make my Taco Pasta Salad:
Here's how to make it!
Prepare pasta al dente according to package directions, drain well and transfer to serving or storage bowl.
While the pasta is cooking, brown turkey or ground beef in a skillet over medium heat until cooked through. I had some ground turkey I needed to use so I used that this time. I do find that with turkey you'll likely need to bump up on the seasonings, so be sure to taste and adjust when everything is mixed together!
Add taco seasoning.
Toss.
Add 1/2 cup water.
Toss and continue cooking about 15 minutes, or until most of the water is absorbed
Transfer the meat to the bowl with the pasta.
Toss.
Add salsa to pasta and toss.
Top with all of the remaining ingredients except salad dressing and garnishes. Toss together.
Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. May serve right away, or cover tightly and refrigerate.
When ready to serve, garnish individual bowls with drizzle of additional salsa, or your favorite salad dressing, and top with additional garnishes you like.
For more of my favorite pasta salad recipes, check out this collection on my Pinterest page!
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When it comes to pasta salads, they are easy to throw together and I can make a meal out of one no problem, though I can't get The Cajun (aka my husband) to! He loves hot pasta dishes, but salads made with pasta just don't get him too excited.
No worries though because there is always a supply of leftovers in the fridge as well as sandwich meat, so I can enjoy a pasta salad for supper once in awhile!
Just a quick reminder.... if you aren't interested in the chit chat, info, photos, tips and such on a blog, as always, you'll find the complete recipe text with measurements and instructions, as well as a printable document, a little bit further down the page. Just swipe or scroll down to the bottom of the post!
This pasta salad combines the flavors of a taco salad, minus the lettuce, and with the addition of cooked pasta and some additional vegetables, although some folks do still include shredded lettuce.
The idea of including lettuce in this one just didn't appeal to me, because I didn't want a taco salad with pasta. I wanted a pasta salad.
As to dressing, I settled with just the salsa mixed in instead of the usual entire bottle of salad dressing, and finished mine with a drizzle of Catalina on top.
The idea of including lettuce in this one just didn't appeal to me, because I didn't want a taco salad with pasta. I wanted a pasta salad.
As to dressing, I settled with just the salsa mixed in instead of the usual entire bottle of salad dressing, and finished mine with a drizzle of Catalina on top.
For the other ingredients, that's really where you can make this pasta salad your own. I've chosen a mixture that I like, black beans and corn, crunchy vegetables, tomatoes, olives, pickled jalapenos and cheese - but use what you like!
Here's what you'll need to make my Taco Pasta Salad:
- 1/2 pound plain or garden rotini noodles (about 3 cups uncooked)
- 1 pound ground beef or turkey
- 1 (1 ounce) packet taco seasoning or equivalent homemade
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup salsa
- 1 cup chopped red onion or sweet onion
- 1 green onion sliced
- 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
- 2 tablespoons chopped pickled jalapeno, optional
- 1/2 cup sliced black olives, drained
- 1/2 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 (11 ounce) can Mexican style corn
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh tomato or tomato relish
- 1 cup shredded cheese
- Your favorite salad dressing (see suggestions below)
- Garnishes, as desired (see suggestions below)
Prepare pasta al dente according to package directions, drain well and transfer to serving or storage bowl.
While the pasta is cooking, brown turkey or ground beef in a skillet over medium heat until cooked through. I had some ground turkey I needed to use so I used that this time. I do find that with turkey you'll likely need to bump up on the seasonings, so be sure to taste and adjust when everything is mixed together!
Add taco seasoning.
Toss.
Add 1/2 cup water.
Toss and continue cooking about 15 minutes, or until most of the water is absorbed
Transfer the meat to the bowl with the pasta.
Toss.
Add salsa to pasta and toss.
Gather up the remaining ingredients. I'm using red onion, green onion, green bell pepper, pickled jalapeno, sliced black olives, black beans, Mexican style corn, chopped fresh tomato and shredded cheese.
Top with all of the remaining ingredients except salad dressing and garnishes. Toss together.
Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. May serve right away, or cover tightly and refrigerate.
When ready to serve, garnish individual bowls with drizzle of additional salsa, or your favorite salad dressing, and top with additional garnishes you like.
For more of my favorite pasta salad recipes, check out this collection on my Pinterest page!
Unable to view the printable above on your device? Tap/click here for a backup printable.
Thank you for supporting my work! Please note that Images and Full Post Content including photographs and recipe ©Deep South Dish. Recipes are offered for your own personal use only and while pinning and sharing links is welcomed and encouraged, do not copy and paste post or recipe text to repost or republish to any social media (such as other Facebook pages, etc.), blogs, websites, forums, or any print medium, without explicit prior permission. Unauthorized use of content from ©Deep South Dish is a violation of both the federal Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and copyright law. All rights reserved.
Material Disclosure: Unless otherwise noted, you should assume that post links to the providers of goods and services mentioned, establish an affiliate relationship and/or other material connection and that I may be compensated when you purchase from a provider. You are never under any obligation to purchase anything when using my recipes and you should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline.
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