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Mexican Chicken Southwest Pasta Salad Recipe
Pasta and tacos, a delicious combination. Chicken, corn, beans, chili, and cheese are combined with pasta noodles, then topped with a creamy avocado sauce.
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Total Time
25 mins
Servings: 10
Calories: 465 kcal
Course:
Side Dish , Main Course
Cuisine:
American , Mexican
Ingredients
Creamy Avocado Dressing
- 2 avocados diced
- ½ cup Mexican crema or sour cream
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise
- 3 limes juiced
- 1 (1-ounce package) spicy ranch seasoning or any flavor
Pasta Salad
- 1 pound rotini cooked according to package directions
- 1 (15.5-ounce can) corn drained
- 1 (15.5-ounce can) black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 (17-ounce can) chopped green chilis
- 1 (6.5-ounce can) black olives
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 green pepper diced
- ⅓ cup cilantro chopped
- ⅓ cup red onion diced
- 1 cup Mexican shredded cheese
Instructions
Creamy Avocado Dressing
- In a mixing bowl, combine all the dressing ingredients and stir to combine. It is fine if some of the avocados get a little mashed but make sure there are plenty of big pieces as well.
Cup of Yum
Pasta Salad
- In a large serving bowl combine all the pasta ingredients and gently stir together.
- Pour the dressing over the pasta and stir to combine.
- Either serve immediately or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
- Flavorful Tip: For an even more flavorful pasta salad, make it a couple of hours or a day in advance to give the flavors some time to more fully develop and blend together.
- Time-Saving Tip: Make it easy on yourself and make the pasta in the Instant Pot. Set the pressure cook time for half the time it says to boil the pasta. That means if the directions on the pasta box say to boil the pasta for 10 minutes, then pressure cook for 5 minutes.
- Chicken Tip: Use up leftover cooked chicken in this pasta salad. That means you can use Rotisserie chicken, or my Rotisserie Chicken Tenders, or from one of my other recipes, such as Skillet Chicken Fajitas, Easy Instant Pot Chicken Thighs, or Oven Baked Chicken Breasts in this recipe.
- Freezing Pasta Salad: If you want to freeze pasta salad, it is best to freeze the pasta separately from other ingredients in order to maintain the texture of the pasta salad as much as possible. If you have leftover prepared pasta salad and want to freeze, it is not optimal, but you can freeze it but the texture may not be quite the same as when it was originally served.
Nutrition Information
Calories
465kcal
(23%)
Carbohydrates
67g
(22%)
Protein
16g
(32%)
Fat
17g
(26%)
Saturated Fat
4g
(20%)
Trans Fat
1g
Cholesterol
16mg
(5%)
Sodium
842mg
(35%)
Potassium
731mg
(21%)
Fiber
11g
(44%)
Sugar
5g
(10%)
Vitamin A
590IU
(12%)
Vitamin C
42mg
(47%)
Calcium
156mg
(16%)
Iron
3mg
(17%)
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 10Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 465
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 465kcal | 23% |
| Carbohydrates | 67g | 22% |
| Protein | 16g | 32% |
| Fat | 17g | 26% |
| Saturated Fat | 4g | 20% |
| Trans Fat | 1g | 50% |
| Cholesterol | 16mg | 5% |
| Sodium | 842mg | 35% |
| Potassium | 731mg | 16% |
| Fiber | 11g | 44% |
| Sugar | 5g | 10% |
| Vitamin A | 590IU | 12% |
| Vitamin C | 42mg | 47% |
| Calcium | 156mg | 16% |
| Iron | 3mg | 17% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.