Southwest Pasta Salad

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This Southwest Pasta Salad is a twist on the classic. Wagon wheel pasta tossed with corn, beans, roasted red peppers, and creamy ranch dressing creates a flavor combination you and your guests will love. This Southwest Pasta Salad recipe is a delicious side dish for any get-together.

This Southwest Pasta Salad may become your new go-to summer side dish. #pastasalad #pasta #salad #southwest #beans #corn #recipe

Southwest Pasta Salad:

Summer is the season of pasta salad, which is why I whipped up another fun pasta salad recipe to share with you today! You’re going to love this Southwest Pasta Salad.

As much as I enjoy classic pasta salad (You can find my go-to recipe here.), you know I also like to put my spin on it. To me, it’s always exciting to serve something a bit different at a party, picnic, or barbecue. I’ve noticed it’s the unexpected that gets conversations going among guests, including requests for the recipe.

Made with pasta, beans, corn, peppers, cheese, and jalapeños - this Southwest Pasta Salad is a winner! #pastasalad #pasta #salad #southwest #recipe

This Southwest Pasta Salad recipe likewise reminded me of how wonderfully designed wagon wheel (a.k.a. rotelle) pasta is. The little openings in the pasta have a way of holding onto lots of that delicious dressing and even some beans and corn.

Ingredients for Southwest Pasta Salad:

In addition to the wagon wheel pasta, you might be wondering what else goes into this pasta salad recipe that makes it so delicious. Here’s a full list of ingredients:

  • wagon wheel (rotelle) pasta
  • fire-roasted corn
  • roasted red peppers
  • black-eyed pease
  • pinto beans
  • black beans
  • jalapeños
  • Monterey Jack cheese
  • homemade ranch-style dressing

It’s perfect! Almost too perfect, I’m still trying to drop a few pounds before summer, and this pasta salad didn’t help. (Totally worth it though!)

Made with pasta, beans, corn, peppers, cheese, and jalapeños - this Southwest Pasta Salad is a winner! #pastasalad #pasta #salad #southwest #recipe

Made with pasta, beans, corn, peppers, cheese, and jalapeños - this Southwest Pasta Salad is a winner! #pastasalad #pasta #salad #southwest #recipe

How do you make Southwest Pasta Salad?

It’s simple!

  • Prepare the ingredients and toss them into a bowl.
  • Mix up the homemade ranch dressing.
  • Add the dressing to the pasta mixture.
  • Then mix it all together!

This Southwest Pasta Salad may become your new go-to summer side dish. #pastasalad #pasta #salad #southwest #beans #corn #recipe

This Southwest Pasta Salad may become your new go-to summer side dish. #pastasalad #pasta #salad #southwest #beans #corn #recipe

Voila! Your pasta salad is ready! I’m really loving this combination of ingredients, not only do they taste delicious when combined, but they also make for a really colorful and beautiful looking pasta salad.

I like to let the salad chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour, however, you can serve it right away. At first, it may seem like a lot of dressing, but I recommend using all of it. The pasta will soak it up.

This Southwest Pasta Salad may become your new go-to summer side dish. #pastasalad #pasta #salad #southwest #beans #corn #recipe

No matter when or where you serve it, this salad is a winner!

This Southwest Pasta Salad is a twist on the classic. Wagon wheel pasta tossed with corn, beans, roasted red peppers, and creamy ranch dressing creates a flavor combination you and your guests will love.

This Southwest Pasta Salad may become your new go-to summer side dish. #pastasalad #pasta #salad #southwest #beans #corn #recipe

Want more pasta salad recipes? Try these:

Made with pasta, beans, corn, peppers, cheese, and jalapeños - this Southwest Pasta Salad is a winner! #pastasalad #pasta #salad #southwest #recipe

Southwest Pasta Salad Recipe:

Southwest Pasta Salad

This Southwest Pasta Salad is a twist on the classic. Wagon wheel pasta tossed with corn, beans, roasted red peppers, and creamy ranch dressing creates a flavor combination you and your guests will love.
4.67 from 6 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Appetizer, Salad
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 12 people
Calories: 406kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 pound wagon wheel rotelle pasta, cooked al dente
  • 1 cup frozen fire-roasted corn thawed
  • 1 cup chopped roasted red peppers
  • 2/3 cup canned black-eyed peas rinsed
  • 2/3 cup canned pinto beans rinsed
  • 2/3 cup canned black beans rinsed
  • 2 jalapeños thinly sliced
  • 4 ounces Monterey Jack cheese cut into small cubes
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Dressing:

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, toss together the pasta, corn, red peppers, beans, jalapeños, and cheese.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, dry ranch dressing, and milk.
  • Pour the dressing on the pasta salad mixture. Toss gently to evenly combine. Add salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until you're ready to serve.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 406kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 21mg | Sodium: 1007mg | Potassium: 254mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 518IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 114mg | Iron: 2mg

Made with pasta, beans, corn, peppers, cheese, and jalapeños - this Southwest Pasta Salad is a winner! #pastasalad #pasta #salad #southwest #recipe

This Southwest Pasta Salad was originally published on May 25, 2018.

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20 Comments

  1. Does this have chopped onion in it? It looks like it does in the picture, but I dont see it in the ingredients list.Just wondering? Thanks for the great recipe!

  2. This sounds delicious, Michael. I’m trying this. I love black beans and a few jalepenos, so it’s right up my alley. Thanks for sharing.

  3. So delicious! Couldn’t find wagon wheel pasta, so used tri color rotini… we love spicy, so we use Fiesta ranch mix instead of original. So good! Our new favorite go-to salad!

  4. Grocery store was out if the pin-wheels so I used bow-tie pasta.Still came out great!
    Next time I’ll use fresh jalapenos instead of pickled,which was all I had.
    Made the full recipe which I ended up eating by myself.Seems no-one in my family cares for pasta salads (their loss)
    Thanks for this great recipe!

  5. Made this on Memorial Day for a gathering and it was delicious! I did sub pepperoncini for the jalapenos because I didn’t have any, but kept everything else the same. Keep the great recipes coming.

  6. Oh my! Another delicious pasta salad! So much for low carb diet! 😉 I can’t wsit to try! Your Really Good Macaroni Salad has been the star of graduation parties, Fourth of July family picnics, Easter, etc. My family loves it! Thank you for sharing!