Creamy Avocado Pasta Salad – an easy pasta salad recipe for summer. Mix in corn, black beans, tomatoes and toss with a creamy avocado dressing. Great for potlucks, lunch or an easy dinner!

When you think about summer and side dishes, one thing comes to mind.  At least in my head.  Pasta Salad. It can be a Caesar Pasta Salad that is a mix of a traditional salad with pasta thrown in.  Or can be something over the top. Like Taco Pasta Salad.

There is just something about a cold pasta salad that makes me happy in the summer.  I like it for lunch during the week, to bring to a potluck or barbecue, or to even have for a light dinner. Really, it fits all meals and all occasions in the summer.

I love avocados. Homemade guacamole is one of my favorite things.  I mean if I could have chips and guacamole every day I would be one happy girl.  Throw in a margarita and I am even happier.  So making a creamy avocado dressing for a pasta salad only seemed like a great idea!

I used black beans, tomatoes, corn, avocado, and red onions for the veggies in this pasta salad.   I am not a fan of bell peppers, but those would add more color and crunch to this pasta salad recipe if you wanted. Any color would work!.  Just toss with the avocado salad dressing and you have one crazy delicious pasta salad.

With summer around the corner, this creamy avocado pasta salad would be a hit to bring to any barbecue or potluck.  Or to make on those hot nights when you don’t feel like turning on the oven. I like to make it at the beginning of the week and have it for lunches all week long.  And when you can find fresh sweet corn and fresh tomatoes, this salad is even better!

If you can get your hands on fresh corn, Southwestern Corn Salad is so good when you have fresh sweet corn.  There is just something about the dressing that pulls it all together.  That salad has chunks of avocado, not like this avocado dressing in this. But still so good!

Yield: 6

Creamy Avocado Pasta Salad

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Creamy Avocado Pasta Salad - an easy pasta salad recipe for summer. Mix in corn, black beans, tomatoes and toss with a creamy avocado dressing. Great for potlucks, lunch or an easy dinner!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

Pasta Salad

• 12 oz pasta, , cooked according to the directions and cooled
• 1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup grape tomatoes, , sliced in half
• 1/2 cup red onion, , diced
• 1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
• 1 California Avocado, , diced
• 1/2 lime
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Creamy Avocado Dressing

• 2 small California Avocados
• 3 Tbls plain Greek Yogurt, (I used nonfat)
• 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 2 cloves garlic, , minced
• 1 Tbls cilantro, , chopped
• 2 Tbls green onions, , chopped
• 1/2 jalapeno, , minced
• 1 lime, , juiced
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Instructions

1. To make the Creamy Avocado Dressing, combine all the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. You can also use a food processor.
2. In a large bowl combine the pasta and all of the veggies. Toss with about 1/2-2/3 of the dressing. Season with the salt and pepper. Squeeze the 1/2 of a lime over the salad, and toss together. Add additional dressing if desired.
3. Store the leftover dressing in the fridge for up to a week. Add additional buttermilk if it gets too thick.

Notes

Adapted from Two Peas & Their Pod

Nutrition Information

Yield

6

Serving Size

1
Amount Per ServingCalories 389Total Fat 16gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 12gCholesterol 5mgSodium 662mgCarbohydrates 47gFiber 12gSugar 8gProtein 19g

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Erin S

Welcome to Dinners, Dishes, & Desserts where my love of food meets my busy life. My name is Erin and I’m a casual home cook who loves to feed people. On this blog, you’ll find hundreds of quick and easy recipes made mostly from scratch. My days are spent in the kitchen, creating new recipes to share with family and friends.

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