Southwestern Pasta Salad

A Messy Cook's Note:

This is a pasta salad full of fun flavors and vibrant color. I haven’t tried it yet, but I got the recipe off the website coolrunning.com and wanted to keep it to make this summer. Cook time is chilling in the fridge.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 35 mins
• Prep Time: 35 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

Dressing

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped finely
• 2 garlic cloves, minced finely
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt

Salad

• 8 ounces multi-colored bow tie pasta, cooked and drained
• 1 (16 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• 3/4 cup red onion, chopped
• 1 cup frozen corn, thawed and drained
• 1 ripe avocado, peeled and cubed
• tortilla chips (optional)

Directions:

1. Combine dressing ingredients in small bowl and whisk together until blended.
2. Combine pasta, beans, tomatoes, onion, and corn in large bowl; add vinaigrette and toss to coat.
3. Cover and chill 1 hour, add cubed avocado just before serving, and garnish with tortilla chips if desired.

Reviews

[Nancy's Pantry]

I made this dish for a potluck with my neighbors and everyone loved it. I left the avocadas on the side along with some lime flavored tortilla strips. This recipe has a great flavor and I loved the simple ingredients. This would be a great picnic dish. Thanks for the post.

[jane49423]

This was great when I needed a quick potluck dish. I had to do without cilantro, but otherwise, I made the dressing as written. Used a can of diced tomatoes in place of the grape tomatoes, and didn't have an avocado, but it was still great. Next time I'll add both cilantro and avocado, because I think it would be even better.

[LeighLeigh]

LOVED this recipe! I am always on the quest for recipes with a texmex/southwestern feel, and when I had to bring a pasta salad to a luncheon, this one hit the spot! I doubled it, and didn't bother with the avocado (although I love them) or the chips, and still was delish!