Packed with ground beef, beans, and veggies, this easy to make Cowboy Pasta Salad is filled with zesty Tex-Mex Flavors and a creamy homemade dressing featuring your favorite BBQ sauce.
Pasta Salad gets a Tex-Mex Makeover!
I have a lot of different pasta salad recipes in my cookbook, but none of them have quite the amount of bold flavor that this Cowboy Pasta Salad punches!
Smoky ground beef, black beans, and sweet corn are tossed with pasta and coated in a creamy, sweet and tangy dressing. It’s the perfect side dish for potlucks and barbecues, and because of the meat and beans, it can also be a full meal on its own.
Ingredient Notes
- Ground Beef: Cook lean ground beef with seasonings before mixing up this salad. I like to use 90/10 beef in this recipe, as I think it has plenty of flavor without being greasy. This recipe will also work with ground turkey or ground chicken.
- Pasta: The spiral shape of fusili pasta lets it pick up and hold onto the dressing for this salad, so it’s one of my favorites. You’ll see I’m using gluten-free pasta today, but any short standard pasta shape is fine too. Try this recipe with rotini, cavatappi, or shells.
- Corn and Black Beans: I use canned corn and beans for convenience. Be sure to drain the corn well, and drain and rinse the beans. Fresh or frozen corn can also be used. For even more flavor, char the corn kernels in a hot skillet before mixing them in.
- Bacon: Cook and dice 8 or so slices of bacon for this salad, or use pre-cooked bacon bits to make this easier.
- Cheese: Shredded sharp cheddar cheese pairs wonderfully with the BBQ flavors here. Be sure to shred your cheese from a block rather than using pre-shredded cheese. It’s cheaper and tastes better that way!
- Fresh Produce: While most of what goes into this salad can be found in your pantry, you’ll want to have fresh cherry tomatoes, green onions, a lime, and some cilantro to add fresh, bright flavor.
- Canned Green Chiles give this dish a bit of heat. Feel free to use less of them, or leave them out entirely for a more kid-friendly taste.
- Creamy BBQ Dressing: Make this easy dressing with mayonnaise, BBQ sauce, sour cream, and some key Tex-Mex seasonings.
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Tips for Making the Best Pasta Salad
- When cooking pasta for pasta salad, you should cook it just until al dente, or a bit more if you prefer a softer bite. The pasta should be rinsed and cooled as soon is it’s drained, so there won’t be any carry over cooking.
- Full-fat sour cream and mayo will give your salad dressing the best flavor and texture. I don’t recommend substituting with low-fat alternatives.
- Adjust the seasoning as needed. Add more salt, pepper, or honey until it’s exactly how you like it.
- Mayonnaise based pasta salads should be stored in the refrigerator. Once mixed and dressed, the salad can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. Avoid leaving the salad out of cold storage for more than an hour or so to avoid any spoilage.
- To make a vegetarian cowboy pasta salad, replace the ground beef with additional beans or your favorite vegan meat crumble product. Skip the bacon.
- Make Ahead Tip: For the best texture, the cooked pasta, dressing, and mix-ins should be stored separately in the fridge for no longer than 24 hours. Combine just before serving.
- This Texas-style pasta salad will pair perfectly with grilled steak, smoked mississippi pot roast, smoked flank steak, or grilled BBQ chicken.
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Cowboy Pasta Salad
Servings
Equipment
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Large pasta pot
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Colander
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Large skillet
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Mixing Bowls
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Chef’s knife and cutting board
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Large serving bowl and spoon
Instructions
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Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a rolling boil. Add pasta and cook just to al dente, about 9 minutes. Drain, rinse briefly under cold water, and shake off excess moisture.
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While the pasta cooks, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground beef, oregano, chili powder, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper.
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Cook, breaking up the meat, until browned, 6-7 minutes. Drain any fat and spread the beef on a plate to cool completely.
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the barbecue sauce, mayonnaise, sour cream, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, lime juice, honey, smoked paprika, and garlic powder until smooth. Season with salt and pepper; thin with a splash of chile brine if thick.
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To a large mixing bowl, add the cooled pasta, cooled beef, bacon, corn, black beans, cherry tomatoes, cheddar, green onions, chiles, and cilantro. Add the dressing reserving about ½ cup if serving later, and toss to combine.
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Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes so flavors meld. Just before serving, taste and refresh the reserved dressing, lime juice or salt if needed.
Notes:
- Make-ahead: For best texture, store cooked pasta, dressing and mix-ins separately up to 24 hours, then combine just before serving.
- Storage: Once mixed and dressed, the salad can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Heat level: Adjust chiles amount to taste. I used mild fire roasted from Trader Joe’s.
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen