Mexican Pasta Salad
This Mexican Pasta Salad Recipe pulls together black beans, sweet corn, and crumbled cotija cheese in a lime-spiked dressing built from mayonnaise, sour cream, chili powder, cumin, and smoked paprika.
Equipment
- Large stockpot - for boiling pasta
- Colander - for draining and rinsing pasta
- Chef's knife - for chopping vegetables
- Citrus juicer - (optional) for the lime juice
- Large mixing bowl - at least 5-quart capacity
- Small mixing bowl - for whisking the dressing
- Rubber spatula - or large mixing spoon
- Airtight storage container - for leftovers
- Sheet Pan - (optional) for cooling pasta
Ingredients
- 1 lb rotini pasta - 450g
- 1 can black beans - 15 oz or 425g, drained and rinsed
- 1½ cups corn kernels - 225g; fresh, frozen and thawed, or canned and drained
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes - 150g, halved
- ½ cup red bell pepper - 75g, diced
- ⅓ cup red onion - 50g, finely diced
- ½ cup cotija cheese - 75g, crumbled
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro - 10g, chopped
- 1 large avocado - diced, added just before serving
For the Chili-Lime Dressing
- ¾ cup mayonnaise - 180g
- ¼ cup sour cream - 60g
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice - 60ml, about 2 limes
- 2 cloves garlic - minced
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt - plus more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Cook the rotini in a large pot of generously salted boiling water until al dente, about 9-11 minutes.
- Drain the pasta and rinse immediately under cold running water for about 1 minute. Spread on a sheet pan or refrigerate to cool completely.
- Drain and rinse the black beans, dice the bell pepper and red onion, halve the cherry tomatoes, and chop the cilantro.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise and sour cream until smooth, then add the lime juice, garlic, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper.
- In a large bowl, combine the cooled pasta, black beans, corn, tomatoes, bell pepper, and red onion. Pour the dressing over and fold gently until evenly coated.
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.
- Just before serving, dice the avocado and fold it into the salad along with the crumbled cotija cheese. Sprinkle with reserved cilantro and serve.
Notes
- Salt the pasta water generously. Under-seasoned pasta stays bland no matter how flavorful the dressing is.
- Don't skip the cold rinse. It stops the cooking process and washes off surface starch that would otherwise make the salad gummy.
- Add avocado last. Mixing it in early causes it to break down and turn the whole salad brown-tinged within a couple of hours.
- Char the corn in a dry skillet for a few minutes to add a smoky sweetness.
- Soak the red onion in cold water for 10 minutes to mellow the sharp bite if desired.
- Double the dressing if you like your pasta salad extra creamy, as rotini tends to absorb dressing as it sits.
- Use fresh lime juice, not bottled, since bottled juice tends to taste flat and slightly metallic in a cold dressing.
- Cut vegetables into similar-sized pieces to ensure a consistent ratio of pasta to vegetables in every bite.
- Taste the dressing before adding it to the pasta. It should taste slightly over-seasoned on its own, since the pasta will mellow the flavor once everything is mixed.
- Keep the cheese and avocado separate from the rest of the leftovers if prepping more than a day in advance, and fold them in fresh each time you serve.
Nutrition
Serving: 1servingCalories: 385kcalCarbohydrates: 38gProtein: 9gFat: 22gSaturated Fat: 4gSodium: 490mgFiber: 6gSugar: 4g
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