Southwest Pasta Salad

Published on July 19, 2022 This Southwest Pasta Salad is the perfect cold pasta salad for potlucks, parties, or a quick and easy meal. It can be made in advance and Your friends and family will love this pasta salad recipe! Plus, pasta salads can be made in advance. I always love having one in the fridge for easy lunches and dinners. This Southwest Pasta Salad is a family favorite and always a crowd pleaser. It is simple to make and the flavors are fresh and delicious. It has all of my favorite ingredients in one bowl. Pasta with tomatoes, avocado, corn, peppers, olives, cilantro, and MORE! This one is loaded with goodness and the refreshing lime dressing is so nice!

Pasta Salad Ingredients

I love the Southwest inspired flavors in this pasta salad:

pastatomatoesblack olivescornyellow bell pepperred onioncilantroavocadoCotija cheese

The salad also has a simple lime dressing that pulls all of the flavors together. It is light and refreshing, which makes this salad perfect for summertime.

How to Make Southwest Pasta Salad

Use small pasta, Ditalini pasta works best. You can find this cut of pasta at pretty much every grocery store. If you can’t find it you can use elbow macaroni. You want to use small pasta so the pasta is the same size as the other ingredients, making the pasta salad easy to eat. Our boys love the small pasta, it is very kid friendly.Cook the pasta, drain it, and rinse with cold water, and drain again, making sure you shake off all of the water. This is a cold pasta salad.While the pasta is cooking, chop up all of the ingredients and make the dressing.Use fresh sweet corn for best results. If you can’t find good corn, you can use frozen corn. If you want to bulk up the salad, you can add black beans or chicken.

How to Store

You can make this pasta salad in advance, just wait to add the avocado and Cotija cheese. When you are ready to eat and serve, add the avocado and cheese, and stir again. The pasta salad will keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.