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This Taco Pasta Salad is packed with seasoned ground beef, tender pasta, sweet corn, crisp lettuce, and crunchy chips, all tossed in a zesty dressing and served cold or at room temperature. It’s a simple dish you can use as a quick weeknight meal or a potluck side dish everyone loves!
Us Midwesterners love our salads…but when we talk about salad, they tend to be mayonnaise-based or drowning in whipped cream (have you tried Snickers Salad?!)! This one is a little more hearty and can really be used as a light lunch on the weekends or as a side dish. Let’s get started!
Ingredients Needed
The full list of ingredients and amounts are in the recipe card below, but I wanted to draw attention to a few of them along with some substitutions:
- Ground Beef – Feel free to use ground turkey instead if you prefer.
- Southwestern Style Canned Corn – Aka Mexicorn. You can also used regular canned whole kernal corn and add a couple tablespoons of diced bell peppers (or skip the peppers, that’s fine too!).
- Shredded Cheese – I typically use shredded cheddar, but a Mexican cheese blend would work great too.
- Pasta – Though I list rotini pasta in the recipe card, you can choose about whichever you’d like! Bowtie, elbow macaroni, medium shells, cavatappie, etc. all work great!
- Salad Dressing – My #1 pick is actually Western dressing (though I can’t always find it). French or Dorothy Lynch (for you midwesterners!) is a close second. Catalina is another popular option.
How to Make Taco Pasta Salad
Start by making the seasoned ground beef. Cook the ground beef until no pink is showing. If you have lots of grease, go ahead and strain it first. Then add the water and taco seasoning, stir and bring to a simmer. The liquid will thicken slightly and be delciious!
You’ll also prepare the pasta to al dente. You can use bowtie noodles or other medium-sized shapes. Once the noodles are done, place them in a strainer and rinse them off with cold water. This stops the pasta from cooking so they don’t turn to mush.
To the noodles, you’ll add the meat, the drained corn, cheese, and vegetables. Then add the dressing and toss to coat evenly.
At this point, you can either refrigerate until ready to serve or enjoy right away. Once you’re ready to serve it, crush the chips and stir them into the salad!
Recipe Substitutions and Variations
- Feel free to replace the ground beef with ground pork or ground turkey.
- Add some heat by adding some diced jalapenos and using a “medium” or “hot” taco seasoning.
- Try a different type of cheese. Colby Jack, pepper jack, cheddar, and Mexican blend are all great options!
- Lighten it up! Be sure to drain the grease from the meat, use “baked” chips, and use light dressing instead of regular.
- Make it just the way you like it! Add a can of black beans (drained and rinsed), chopped bell peppers, diced onion, green onions, chopped cilantro, etc!
Tips for Making the BEST Taco Pasta Salad!
- Don’t add the chips until you’re ready to serve the salad. You want the chips to stay nice and crunchy (I love the combo of crunchy chips with the tender pasta!).
- If you don’t think you’ll use the whole bowl the first time you serve it, only add chips to a portion of the salad and save the rest!
- I recommend making this a few hours in advance so all of the flavors can really meld together! If it seems a bit dry when it’s time to serve it, add a bit more dressing.
Storage
Store the Taco Pasta Salad in the fridge (without the chips) until ready to serve. It’ll stay good for up to 5 days in the fridge. I do not recommend freezing the salad.
Other Pasta Salad Recipes to Try
Taco Pasta Salad
Equipment
- 1 large pot
- 1 large mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 12 ounces rotini pasta*
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 1-ounce package taco seasoning
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 7-ounce can Mexicorn (whole kernel corn with diced red and green bell peppers)** drained
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese or a Mexican blend
- 2 cups lettuce chopped or sliced
- 1/2 cup diced tomatoes
- 1 9.25-ounce bag nacho-flavored tortilla chips, ie. Doritos crushed
- 1 1/2 cups French dressing or Catalina or Western
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the box instructions for al dente; drain and rinse with cold water; set aside.12 ounces rotini pasta*
- In a saucepan, cook the ground beef until no longer pink; drain the grease and discard it.1 pound ground beef
- Add the taco seasoning and water; stir until bubbling.1 1-ounce package taco seasoning, 1/3 cup water
- In a large mixing bowl, add the cooked pasta, seasoned ground beef, drained corn, cheese, lettuce, and tomato,
- Add the dressing, stir, and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- When ready to serve, stir in the crushed tortilla chips.1 1/2 cups French dressing
- If the salad seems a bit dry, you can add a little more dressing!
