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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.
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 – you can use shredded cheese like I did, or you can cut cubes from a block of cheese.
- Black Olives
- Avocados
- Green Onions
- Mayo
- Sour Cream
- Salsa
- Taco Seasoning
How To Make Taco Pasta Salad
- Cook Pasta. Boil the pasta according to the package directions, drain and rinse will cold water to stop it from cooking and chill it down.
- Make Dressing. In a small bowl mix together the mayo, sour cream, salsa and taco seasoning until is smooth and well combined.
- Toss Together. 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.
- Chill. 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 – great way to add more protein and fiber to bulk up the salad.
- Bell Peppers
- Red Onions
- Taco Meat – seasoned ground beef or even seasoned chicken would be great to turn this into more of a meal.
- Jalapenos
- Crushed Tortilla Chips – crush them over the top for a little bit of texture.
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
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
- 4 oz 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.3/4 cup mayo, 3/4 cup sour cream, 3/4 cup salsa, 1 packet taco seasoning
- 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.1 pound pasta, 1 cup corn kernels, 1 pint grape tomatoes, 1 ½ cup cheddar cheese, 4 oz sliced black olives, 2 avocados, 4 green onions
- Place in fridge until chilled.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This might be my new favorite pasta salad!
Bring on summer and all the BBQs!! I know this will be a hit!!
This is the perfect dish to bring to any get together especially because you can make it ahead of time. So easy!
I’m always trying to get my kids to eat more veggies too. Can’t wait to try this!
I LOVE this pasta salad!! It looks and sounds SO delicious!! YUM!!
What a great twist – I love the taco flavors in this! It looks so creamy and delicious!
This looks so good! Love those festive colors and flavors!
This looks really good! Love those festive colors and flavors!
Delicious recipe! Best to make your own seasoning mix. I use cumin, mild chile powder and some oregano. Of course, you can personalize it but those are the seasonings of the Mexican kitchen. Instead of salsa, I use pico de gallo. Chopped, seeded tomatoes, green part of the green onion. and at least one bunch of fresh cilantro is mine. If you seed your tomatoes, it will last longer in the fridge. Don’t use sugar or salt until ready to serve or it will make your pico de gallo mushy and watery.
Just made 1st time for a family reunion tomorrow. Delicious!! Cant wait to share with my family.