Mexican Pasta Salad

Easy 20 minute Mexican Pasta Salad – a light, and delicious pasta salad recipe makes the perfect side dish or stand alone dinner.

I tend to have a lot of cravings for Mexican food, but living in the suburbs of St. Louis, good Mexican is hard to come by without a 20 to 30 minute drive. Due to that unfortunate fact, I’m always playing with food to find new ways to get my fix.

I turned my favorite Cilantro Lime Dressing into a Mexican Pasta Salad recipe that is light, refreshing and has just enough kick!

Last year I shared a light and easy pasta salad recipe which proved very popular both in our home and with readers. Growing up, I had never cared for pasta salad because I had mostly had mayonnaise based pasta salads which felt a bit heavy.

With this salad being a vinegarette dressing based, it makes for a great summer dish. It’s light enough to be a delcious side dish, yet flavorful enough to stand alone as the main dish.

We love pasta salads, especially for lunch! Some favorites include Seafood Pasta Salad and Italian Pasta Salad

What’s not to love about a pasta salad recipe this versitile?

Most of my vinaigrette recipes make a great pasta salad, including the ever popular cilantro lime vinaigrette I’m using today to mix up this mexican pasta salad.

As far a toppings go, its all about your preference, you can put almost anything you want, and leave out anything you don’t like. It’s what I love about pasta salad recipes, they are so easy to tweak to make them perfect for what you like.

Fiesta Mexican Pasta Salad

Julie Blanner

Easy, fresh and flavorful Mexican Pasta Salad recipe that’s the perfect summer side dish!

5 from 6 votes

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Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 11 mins

Total Time 21 mins

Course Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine American, Mexican

Servings 8

Calories 78 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1/2 bunch cilantro
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/2 jalapeno de-stemmed {remove seeds for less kick}
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 8 cracks salt
• 3/4 teaspon spicy mustard
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 pound dry pasta
• 1/4 cup queso fresco
• 1 tomato diced

Instructions

 

• Boil a pot of water over high heat.
• Meanwhile, in a food processor, combine cilantro, lime juice, garlic, jalapeño, red wine vinegar, salt, spicy mustard and olive oil.
• Boil noodles 10-11 minutes and drain.
• In a large bowl, combine noodles and dressing. Top with diced tomato, queso fresco and optional jalapeño.
• Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Notes

It’s your preference, you can put almost anything you want in this easy pasta salad, and leave out anything you don’t care for.

Nutrition

Calories:78kcalCarbohydrates:2gProtein:1gFat:8gSaturated Fat:1gCholesterol:3mgSodium:419mgPotassium:50mgFiber:1gSugar:1gVitamin A:202IUVitamin C:6mgCalcium:25mgIron:1mg

Keywords Fiesta Pasta Salad, Mexican Pasta Salad

Did you Make This Recipe?Mention @JulieBlanner

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