A cloudy and windy Saturday (Sadly, no rains though)
A walk to the theatre to see Man of Steel (which I enjoyed watching)
A lazy Sunday spent meal planning and grocery shopping (my first time doing a meal plan for the week)
And, eating this mexican pasta salad for lunch today. All of this and more made it a weekend well spent. 🙂
The first time I made this easy pasta salad was for my coffee group friends and everyone enjoyed it. In fact it got my friends’ kids’ approval as well, and one of them is only 15 months old. And I think anything that gets a kid’s approval is a recipe to keep. Just make sure you reduce the spice to make the recipe more kid friendly.
V could not have it the first time I made it because whatever little was left after my friends left I finished greedily before V came home. Oops.
Today when I made it again, just for the two of us, V went for thirds. And V hardly ever goes for thirds. Another reason why this pasta recipe is a keeper.
You will like it not only because of the mexican flavors that get highlighted in this dish but also because of the ease with which it comes together. There’s hardly any prep work. And very little clean up is required afterwards.Only a dish and chopping board and a can opener is required. For me that is a big selling point, you know, what with my love for washing dishes and all.
Plus, being a cold pasta salad recipe, you can also make it ahead. I kept it overnight and it seemed fine the next day.
I found the recipe for this on McCormick’s site, but adapted to what I had and what I thought would be nice in the salad. You can actually be as flexible as you want to be with the ingredients of this pasta salad. The recipe is just an estimate of what I used, so feel free to increase or decrease the amount of an ingredient according to your taste preferences. That’s the best part of this recipe. Its as flexible as you want it to be.
I have used canned fire roasted tomatoes instead of fresh cherry tomatoes. But then other times I have used fresh cherry tomatoes. And both work equally well in the recipe. I replaced the mayonnaise in the original recipe with sour cream. I just feel that’s more mexican than mayo.
Also, in the pictures I have used penne pasta since I had some of that leftover. The original recipe calls for rotini pasta and that’s what I think you should use. Of course you can use either. I just find rotini pasta a bit more fun, being twisted and all.
So please try this simple vegetarian pasta salad that is sure to win you over. And tell me how it goes! 🙂
- 8 ounces rotini pasta
- 2 cups fresh or corn kernels
- 2-3 tbsp sour cream (you can use light sour cream if you like or mayo as the original recipe. For a creamier texture, you could up the amoutn if you like)
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1½ teaspoons Chili Powder (I used peri peri powder)
- 1 teaspoon roasted cumin powder
- Salt, to taste
- 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved (or use 1 can diced fire roasted tomatoes)
- 1 can (4½ ounces) chopped green chiles, drained
- 3-4 tsp taco seasoning
- ¼ cup shredded mexican cheese
- ½ cup chopped spring onions
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- Cook pasta as directed on package, adding corn during last 3 minutes of cooking. Rinse under cold water; drain well.
- Mix sour cream, lime juice, all the seasonings and salt in large bowl with wire whisk until well blended. Add pasta and remaining ingredients; toss until well coated.
- Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.
A scrumptious looking salad and lovely clicks!
Cheers,
Rosa
Thanks Rosa 🙂
Ole! Looks very delicious and healthy. Your little red knife is very cute. We have had the strangest weather in HK. On one end of the apartment it is raining and on the other end we are having torrential rains. I am hoping for some pretty rainbows. Take Care, BAM
I know I love that red knife too. There is a similar yelow and green knife. They are my new favorite things! 🙂 And you lucky girl to have rains and rainbows to look forward too. here it does get a bit cloudy and windy sometimes, giving us hope that there would be rains, but then no such luck!
Very elegant and awesome shots.. looks yummy !!
Hari Chandana recently posted..Iced Lemon Tea Recipe ~ How to Make Iced Lemon Tea
Thanks Hari Chandana 🙂 Checking out your Lemon Iced Tea now!
Looks fantastic! and seems very easy to make…this one’s a keeper 🙂
Thanks Shinu 🙂
with all the ingredients in there, the salad must be flavorful and good.
dassana recently posted..chana dal khichdi
Oh it was Dassana. Plus it’s so easy to make 🙂
My mouth literally watered looking at this.
Then you should definitely try it out! 🙂
Lovely 🙂 looks very tasty. Excellent presentation & color grading. A little dark in some shots, otherwise superb.
Girish recently posted..Tomato Onion Chutney
Thanks Girish for your input. Really appreciate it! 🙂
I will be making this and I will be throwing in some black olives and some diced avocado!
I was thinking of avocados when I made it the second time around, but didn’t have any on hand. Olives sound great. While I love black olives, the husband is not a fan. But maybe when I make it for myself I’ll try your suggestions out!
Thank you. Sounds and looks delicious. Have a great day!
Thanks Liz. 🙂 Hope you have a great day too!
If a recipe has passed the kid test, it is surely a winner. Really like your antiqued pictures.
Ash- foodfashionparty@blogspot.com recently posted..Vegetable Quinoa Spicy Patties with Mango Salsa – Light dinner and lunch box for the next day
Thanks Ash! And kids do know their stuff!
I shudder when I think salads. But this one definitely looks a winner!
indugetscooking recently posted..Stir Fried Brown Rice
Haha, Indu. This is more of pasta than a salad. The salad is just to confuse the brain that its healthy too!
First time here and loving it. I am a pasta lover and this one looks delicious.
Shruti@Part Time Chef recently posted..3 drinks to cool off the summer with
Thanks Shruti for stopping by and for the lovely comment :)!
What a gorgeous salad!
Asmita recently posted..Outrageous Brownies
Thanks Asmita! 🙂
This is one gorgeous pasta salad and I love the flavors!
Nik@ABrownTable recently posted..rose petal and saffron ice cream
Thank you so much Nik 🙂
Whenever my friend’s kid approves a recipe, it almost always ends up in the blog. They approving to food is always a big deal! We are a pasta lover, so have to try it. But what is mexican cheese, never saw it before. Is it what it’s called or a kind of cheese that comes in different brand?
Kankana recently posted..Ginger Lemongrass Basil Spritzer
Oh I am sorry kankana for not being clear. Its a blend of cheeses- moneterey jack, cheddar, queso quesadilla and asadero. I used a packet which had all these mixed together.
Loved how Mexican flavours come together in this awesome salad! YUM!!
Yes, yum is the word Purabi! Thanks! 🙂
what a nice combination. I will be trying this salad soon.
dixya| food, pleasure, and health recently posted..Should I Gluten-Free?
Thanks Dixya. Do let me know if you do try it 🙂
looks so good and summery. love mexican food… this pasta salad would be a winner in my book.
honeywhatscooking recently posted..Dark Chocolate Coconut Banana Bread… birthday part 1
Being in Arizona, you have to be a mexican food lover. So a mexican pasta salad just made sense. Hope you get to try it!
Love the mexican flavors here! Almost too beautiful to eat 🙂
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com recently posted..Soba Noodle Chicken Salad
Oh no Kiran, beautiful food always needs to be eaten! 😉
Thanks a lot for sharing such a fantastic recipe. Looks perfect delicious. I really like to appreciate. I have never made it before, as it seems like a large and daunting task, but I am going to go ahead and get some and try it out now! I am also so much impressed by your glorious images. It’s really awesome.
Thanks again.
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