Nothing hits the spot during a Southern heatwave like a good pasta salad. Zesty and refreshing but hearty enough for the whole family, Texas Pasta Salad is easy and made with pantry staples, so you can quickly get back to all the summer fun.
Table of Contents
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🗝️ Key takeaways
- This delicious pasta salad combines mouthwatering taco meat, fresh vegetables, and tangy dressing made with limes!
- Texas pasta salad is a perfect summer side dish, but you can also serve it as an easy main dish for quick dinners.
- No more mushy, sticky macaroni. Read on to learn how I get perfectly tender pasta—it's a meal prep hack I swear by!
This easy pasta salad is the perfect summer BBQ dish and goes great with burgers, smoked pork, hot dogs, and whatever else you're tossing on the grill.
It's made with simple ingredients because—let's be real—that's how Mom did food back in the day, and that's how it tastes best!
🧾 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
📖 Variations
- I prefer lean ground beef, but if you've got another type of ground meat to use up, it'll do the trick!
- Rotini pasta grips the lime juice dressing really well, but you can use whatever shape you like—elbow macaroni, shells, etc.
- Kick up the heat by tossing in a can of green chiles or chopped chipotles in adobo. Otherwise, garnish with a little hot sauce.
- Pepper jack adds great flavor to Texas pasta salad, but you can use cheddar cheese or cotija (similar to feta cheese) if you like.
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page. Click on the image to see it full size.
Brown the ground beef and red onion. Add the taco seasoning.
Mix up the dressing in a small bowl. Add to cool pasta in a large bowl.
Stir in beef, black beans, red bell pepper, sweet corn, and tomatoes.
Add the cheese, green onions, and cilantro and comine.
🤫 Cook's secrets -
If your ground beef is oily after browning, be sure to drain off the excess fat before adding the taco seasoning.
🍴 Equipment
- Large skillet
- Large pot (of water) and pasta strainer
- Small and large mixing bowls
🥫 How to store leftovers
Keep leftover Texas pasta salad in an airtight container or a bowl covered with plastic wrap in the fridge. It'll keep for about three days.
Let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes to take off the chill before enjoying. The pasta will soak up a bit of dressing the longer it's stored, so feel free to freshen it up with more lime juice and some olive oil.
Marye's Tip o' the day
After draining, give the noodles a good rinse under cold water. If there's even a little heat left from the cooking process, the noodles stick and get mushy. They also soak up dressing more quickly when warm, which creates a dry pasta salad.
💭 Things to know
- Let the ground beef cool down a bit before stirring it in.
- You can give noodles a better flavor by salting the boiling water until it tastes as salty as the sea!
- Unlike some macaroni salad recipes, Texas pasta salad doesn't have creamy dressing, so it holds up better at summer potlucks. It does have meat, though, so don't let it sit out too long!
- Have a vegetarian guest? This is the perfect side dish—skip the ground beef and add the taco seasoning to the beans instead.
- Skip pre-shredded cheese—fresh from a block is much better!
- Refrigerate cilantro and green onions in a jar with some water (like flowers in a vase) to keep it fresh 'til you're ready for it.
- Texas pasta salad is best at room temperature, which is great because you don't have to let it chill like creamy pasta salad!
👩🍳 FAQs
Have other questions? Ask me in the comments!
I don't recommend it! The fresh veggies won't have a good texture after thawing, and the salad dressing might taste weird, too.
If you don't like ground beef, leftover rotisserie chicken works great, too. Ground turkey, ground pork, or even meatless "meat crumbles" will also do the trick.
Sure! Just let it thaw and drain it well before adding it to the mix. You can also use fresh corn in Texas pasta salad if you like, but you'll need to steam/cook and cool it first.
I like to fill a larger bowl with ice, then nestle the bowl of pasta salad into it. The ice won't last all day, but it's a great way to keep it chilled while setting up and serving!
Also, cover the bowl with aluminum foil instead of plastic to better reflect the heat away from the pasta salad.
Absolutely! You can make this a day ahead of time. However, be sure to cool the pasta and meat completely before combining everything so the pasta salad keeps moist.
📚 Related recipes
- My Black-Eyed Peas Salad is made the proper Southern way—no Italian dressing, of course! Some people add noodles and call it Texas Caviar pasta salad. It's so good either way!
- More of a traditionalist? Classic Macaroni Salad is always a great choice, and this one tastes just like Mom used to make.
- Perfectly creamy and with flavors so good you can't even describe 'em, every potluck needs a Homemade Potato Salad.
📞 The last word
Y'all, here in Texas the summers get hot and the last thing I want to do is cook at 5 in the afternoon when it's 110F degrees outside. Once that part of summer hits you'll find me getting up early and making a main dish salad like this Texas pasta salad early in the morning.
By dinner time the flavors are all melded together and it tastes absolutely divine! Don't even think about bringing home leftovers if you take it to a potluck.
It literally evaporates.
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.
If you love this recipe please comment below and give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Texas Pasta Salad
Print Pin Recipe Rate RecipeIngredients
- 16 ounces rotini pasta, uncooked
- 1 pound lean ground beef, I use 97/3 but 90/10 is fine
- ½ cup red onion, chopped)
- 1 ounce taco seasoning mix, 1 package
- Salt
- Pepper
- ½ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup lime juice, about 2 limes
- ¾ teaspoon ground cumin
- 15.25 ounces whole kernel corn, drained
- 15 ounces black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 ½ cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- ½ cup chopped red bell pepper
- 8 ounces pepper jack cheese, shredded from a block. About 2 cups
- ½ cup sliced green onions
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped. Optional
Instructions
Cook pasta and ground beef
- Cook pasta until done to your liking. I prefer it on the softer side, some like it al dente.
- Drain and place in a large bowl.
- Set aside.
- Cook ground beef and onion in a large skillet, moving around the pan so it crumbles.
- Add the taco seasoning.
- Stir well, taste, and add salt and pepper if needed.
- Remove from heat and set aside.
Dressing
- Whisk olive oil, lime juice, cumin, ½ teaspoon of salt, and ½ teaspoon of pepper in a small mixing bowl.
- Pour mixture over cooled pasta, and toss to combine thoroughly.
Pasta salad
- Gently stir in the ground beef mixture, corn, black beans, tomatoes, and red bell pepper into pasta mixture.
- Gently fold in cheese, green onions, and cilantro until combined.
- Garnish with more cilantro.
- Serve at room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
Louise Neeb says
Thank you for sharing this recipe
Sally says
All Great Ideas