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Taco Pasta Salad

Taco pasta salad with taco-spiced ground beef, black beans, corn, cheese, and a tangy salsa-sour cream dressing. Cook the pasta al dente, cool everything, then chill for a scoopable Tex-Mex pasta dinner.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Chilling 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Tex-Mex
Calories: 620
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Pasta base
  • 12 oz rotini or shells
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1 packet taco seasoning
  • 0.25 cup water
  • 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained
  • 1.5 cup frozen corn, thawed
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
  • 0.25 cup cilantro
Taco salsa dressing
  • 0.5 cup sour cream
  • 0.33 cup salsa
  • 1 tbsp taco seasoning
  • 2 tbsp lime juice
Serving
  • 1 tortilla chips
  • 1 sour cream

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Cook and cool the pasta and beef
  1. Cook the rotini or shells until al dente, then drain and rinse cold; cool it until no longer steaming (about 10 minutes).
  2. Brown the ground beef in a hot pan, drain the excess fat, then stir in the taco seasoning and water; simmer until the liquid is absorbed and the beef looks glossy (about 5–7 minutes). Cool completely.
Make the salsa-sour cream dressing
  1. Whisk the sour cream, salsa, taco seasoning, and lime juice together until smooth and pourable, then let it sit while you prep the mix (about 5 minutes).
Toss and chill
  1. Combine the cooled pasta and cooled beef with the black beans, corn, cherry tomatoes, shredded cheese, and diced red onion.
  2. Pour the dressing over the pasta mixture and toss; fold in the cilantro until evenly coated.
  3. Refrigerate for 30 minutes so the pasta firms up, then serve chilled with tortilla chips and extra sour cream.

Notes

For best texture, cool the pasta and taco beef completely before mixing so the salad doesn’t turn watery. Refrigerate in an airtight container up to 4 days; it does not freeze well due to the dairy dressing. For a lighter swap, use plain Greek yogurt in place of sour cream in the dressing for a similar tang.