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Taco Pasta Salad – a creamy pasta salad with all your favorite taco toppings! Great to make ahead and have in the fridge for dinner or to take to any get together.
Summer seems to be the season for entertaining. Maybe even more so than the holidays. It seems that every weekend we have a different barbecue to go to, pool party, family reunion or something else. Something about the nice weather has everyone wanting to get outside and spend time with friends and family.
One thing almost all of these events have in common? You usually need to bring a dish to share. I always go for something easy I can make ahead of time like Southwestern Corn Salad. Or sometimes I will bring dessert. But it is always a no bake dessert. Like Boston Cream Pie Ice Box Cake.
In the summer I kind of live on pasta salads. I have them for lunch during the week, bring them to parties, make them as a side dish when we have burgers or grill Cilantro Lime Chicken, or even just serve them for dinner.
For years my son didn’t think he liked pasta salad. Something about cold pasta, he just didn’t like. Last year that changed! Pasta Salad with Summer Sausage and Grilled Veggies is now a way I can get him to eat his vegetables. So when I made this taco pasta salad, I was excited to see what he thought. He loved it, and I know it will be on repeat all summer long.
What You’ll Need
Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the post for the FULL PRINTABLE recipe card.
- Dried Pasta – you can use any short cut pasta shape you like
- Corn Kernels – I use frozen corn, but you can use canned or fresh as well
- Grape Tomatoes
- Cheddar Cheese
- Black Olives
- Avocados
- Green Onions
- Mayo
- Sour Cream
- Salsa
- Taco Seasoning
How To Make Taco Pasta Salad
- Boil the pasta according to the package directions, drain and rinse will cold water to stop it from cooking and chill it down.
- In a small bowl mix together all of the ingredients for the dressing and set aside until ready to use.
- Once the pasta is cooked and cool, toss together the pasta with tomatoes, corn, black olives, cheese, avocado and green onions. Pour over the dressing and mix until everything is well combined.
- Store in the fridge until ready to serve.
What Else Can I Mix In
Taco pasta salad is made with a creamy salsa dressing, and mixed with your favorite taco toppings. I used tomatoes, black olives, avocado, and corn. But you could do whatever your family likes.
- Black Beans
- Bell Peppers
- Red Onions
- Taco Meat
- Jalapenos
- Crushed Tortilla Chips over the top
Mix and match and use what you like! If you don’t like black olives, skip them!
Absolutely! If you want to turn this into a hearty meal you could add taco meat made with ground beef or ground turkey or you could mix in shredded chicken.
You can make this taco pasta salad the day before, or in the morning and have it waiting for you for dinner. The flavors come together if you let is sit for a couple hours.
More great Summer Dinner Recipes
- Turkey Burgers
- Mediterranean Pasta Salad
- Chicken Skewers
- Southwest Cobb Salad
- Pasta Carbonara with Corn and Chiles
- Smoked Tri Tip
- Caesar Pasta Salad
- Honey Sesame Chicken Salad Wraps
Taco Pasta Salad Recipe
Video
Ingredients
Dressing
- 3/4 cup mayo
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 3/4 cup salsa
- 1 packet taco seasoning
Salad
- 1 pound pasta, cooked according to package directions
- 1 cup corn kernels
- 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
- 1 ½ cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 small can sliced black olives, drained
- 2 avocados, diced
- 4 green onions, thinly sliced
Instructions
- In a bowl whisk together mayo, sour cream, salsa, and taco seasoning until smooth. Set aside.
- In a large bowl mix together cooked pasta, corn, tomatoes, cheese, olives, avocado and green onions. Add dressing, and mix until everything is evenly coated.
- Place in fridge until chilled.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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What can I use in the place of avocados?
You can just leave them out. Or add black beans or jalapenos or any other taco topping you like.
What can you use to substitute the mayo?
Sour cream or Greek yogurt would both be good.
Think I could add some protein like shredded chicken?
Absolutely! You could add shredded chicken or even taco meat.