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 versatile?
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.
Table of Contents
Mexican Pasta Salad Ingredients
Cilantro Lime Dressing
- Cilantro
- Lime
- Garlic
- Jalapeño
- Garlic
- Red Wine Vinegar
- Salt
- Spicy Mustard
- Olive Oil
Pasta Salad
- Pasta – Your favorite pasta noodle. Bow Tie, Penne, Rotini all work well with this recipe.
- Queso Fresco – Can substitute chihuahua cheese or monterey jack.
- Tomato
- Jalapeño
How to Make a Fiesta Pasta Salad
- Prepare Pasta – In a large pot of salted water boil noodles until al dente. Drain and rinse in cold water to shock the noodles.
- Make the Dressing – In a food processor, combine ingredients and puree.
- Toss – Toss the pasta and dressing together.
- Garnish – Add fresh ingredients to the top – the options are endless!
Want more? Receive the best ideas directly to your inbox and connect on Youtube, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest!
What to Pair With A Mexican Pasta Salad?
You can’t really go wrong with pairing this pasta salad. It might be a mexican pasta salad recipe, but that doesn’t mean you have to serve it with just mexican food.
Serve it as a side with these bacon burgers, or chicken wraps.
If you want to keep the mexican theme, serve it with these chicken tacos, and some flavored margaritas for the perfect mexican fiesta!
Fiesta Mexican Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 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 teaspoon 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
Nutrition
LET’S CONNECT!
instagram | newsletter | facebook | pinterest
I love the flavors in this salad! It’s so unique but soooo good!
So simple, yet so flavorful. LOVED it.
this pasta recipe is incredible. bursting with flavor and so fresh. i loved making my dressing from scratch!
This salad looks super simple, easy to make, & so tasty!! Pasta salads are my go-to all spring/summer, so I will be adding this to the menu!
such a tasty salad! I like to toss in some grilled chicken and have it for lunch all week!!
This is such a fun twist on a traditional pasta salad! I love it so much!!
WOW ! These look delicious and tasty ! I Love this recipe ! I will definitely be trying it !
Thanks, Linda, enjoy!