Legendary Tex-Mex Taco Pasta Salad
- Preparation 1 h
- Cooking 35 min
- Servings 6 to 8
- Freezing I do not suggest
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🌮 Tex-Mex is Texas shaking hands with Mexico
A taco pasta salad is what happens when Texas and Mexico end up in the same bowl: grilled corn, black beans, sweet peppers, a fistful of shredded tex-mex cheese and a creamy dressing that has actually been seasoned. So much going on that your tongue is going to explode. Wear a bib. I’m only half joking. This is the dish that quietly steals the table, whether you put it out as a side or make a whole meal of it.
☀️ A cold pasta salad built for summer, good the rest of the year too
It’s a summer salad at heart. Patio lunch, potluck table, right next to something coming off the grill. But let’s be honest, it’s too good to keep for July. In summer I grill my ears of corn on the BBQ for that smoky edge. Off-season I open a can, about one cup per ear, and sear it in a hot pan with a drizzle of olive oil for 10 to 12 minutes until it colors. Honestly? That’s what I do most of the time, and nobody has ever complained.
🌶️ Easy to dial in, easy to turn into dinner
The heat is yours to set. I go with 5 dashes of Tabasco, which lands somewhere between friendly and interesting, but put in more if you like it loud or leave the bottle on the table and let everyone sort themselves out. I love the bacon in here. Grilled chicken or seared chorizo turns the whole thing into a main course. Side dish, lunch, dinner: it does all three without complaining.
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🌽 Grill the corn, or sear it in a pan the rest of the year
Summer means the BBQ. I char the ears whole for that smoky edge, then cut the kernels off once they’ve cooled ten minutes so they don’t steam the rest of the bowl. Out of season, canned corn does the job, about one cup per ear. The part people skip: drain it well and get the pan properly hot, then leave it alone for 10 to 12 minutes until it colors. Corn that just warms up tastes like nothing.
❄️ Cold water, and mean it
Rinse the pasta under cold running water the second it comes out of the pot. That stops the cooking dead and washes off the surface starch that glues everything into a brick. Drain it hard. Wet pasta waters down the dressing and you end up chasing it with more mayo.
🍝 Pick a shape with pockets
Ricciole is what I use, but any short pasta with ridges or curls works: rotini, fusilli, cavatappi, medium shells. The dressing needs somewhere to sit. Long noodles slide out of every forkful and the corn and beans end up abandoned at the bottom of the bowl.
🥄 Thirty minutes in the fridge, then top up the mayo
Give it half an hour cold before it hits the table. The cumin and smoked paprika need that time to stop tasting like separate spices. Pasta drinks dressing while it rests, so taste right before serving and stir in a little more mayonnaise to bring the creaminess back. Same trick on day two.
🫓 Tortilla strips last, always
They go soft in about ten minutes once they hit the dressing. Toss them in as the bowl leaves the counter, or scatter them over each plate at the table. If you’re carrying this to a potluck, bring the bag separately.
🌶️ Set the heat where you want it
Five dashes of Tabasco is my number. The cumin and smoked paprika bring warmth but no burn, so the bottle is doing all the real work. Feeding kids, put in one dash or none and leave the Tabasco on the table.
🍗 Make it dinner
Bacon already makes this substantial, but grilled chicken thighs or seared chorizo push it over into a main course. That’s the version I make for a hot night when nobody wants the oven on.
✅ What to serve with this taco pasta salad
Anything off the grill, honestly. For a bigger southwest spread, put it beside my mexican street corn pasta salad and my grilled corn salad and let people build a plate. If you want a third cold pasta salad on the table that isn’t tex-mex, my chimichurri pasta salad goes with the same grilled meat.
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Ingredients
- 1 lb (500 g) ricciole pasta (or other short pasta of your choice)
- 1/2 lb (250 g) bacon slices
- 2 ears of corn, husked
- Olive oil
- 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 orange bell pepper, diced
- 5 oz (150 g) cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
- 1 cup (250 ml) black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup (250 ml) shredded tex-mex cheese blend
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) mayonnaise (or more to taste)
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) ground cumin
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) smoked paprika
- 1 tsp (5 ml) garlic powder
- Juice of 1 lime
- 5 to 6 dashes of Tabasco
- 1 cup (250 ml) crunchy southwest-flavored tortilla strips
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Preparation
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta al dente according to the package directions. Drain in a colander, rinse thoroughly under cold running water and drain again. Tip into a large salad bowl.
- Preheat the oven to 400 °F (200 °C). Line a large baking sheet with foil and lay the bacon slices on it. Bake for about 20 minutes, until the bacon is cooked through and crisp. Transfer to a few sheets of paper towel and press to blot off as much fat as you can. Chop roughly and throw it in the bowl.
- Preheat the BBQ to high, then turn it down to medium. Oil the grates. Set the corn on the heat and drizzle with olive oil. Grill for 10 to 12 minutes, turning, until the ears are well charred on all sides. Let cool for 10 minutes, then slice the kernels off the cob with a knife and add them to the bowl.
- Add everything else except the tortilla strips, season with salt and pepper and add a drizzle of olive oil. Toss like a ninja and let it sit in the fridge for 30 minutes. Taste and adjust the mayonnaise if it needs it. Add the tortilla strips, toss and serve immediately!
Short pasta, grilled corn, black beans, diced sweet peppers, cherry tomatoes, green onion, cilantro and shredded tex-mex cheese, all bound in mayonnaise spiked with cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, lime juice and Tabasco. Crisp bacon and crunchy tortilla strips are what separate it from a plain cold pasta salad. Nothing exotic on that list, which is part of why it keeps showing up at every potluck.
Yes. In summer I grill the ears for the smoky flavor, but off-season I use canned corn, about one cup per ear. Drain it, get a pan hot with a drizzle of olive oil, and sear it for 10 to 12 minutes until it takes on real color. That’s the version I actually cook most of the year and it’s delicious.
For a cold salad, yes, and it isn’t optional. Cold water stops the cooking on the spot so the pasta doesn’t keep softening in the bowl, and it rinses away the starch that makes everything clump. Drain it thoroughly afterward, because leftover water thins out the creamy dressing.
Three to four days in an airtight container in the fridge. You can absolutely build it a day ahead, just hold back the tortilla strips and add them at the table, otherwise they go soft with the leftovers. Pasta soaks up dressing overnight, so stir a spoonful of mayonnaise into the next-day portions to bring it back.
The heat lives almost entirely in the Tabasco. I use 5 dashes, which most people call pleasantly warm. Add more for a real kick, or leave it out for a mild bowl. The smoked paprika and cumin give depth and warmth without burn, so a no-Tabasco version still tastes like something. At a party, put the bottle on the table and let people set their own level.
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