Go Back
+ servings
A bowl of tasty taco pasta salad

Taco Pasta Salad Recipe

Print Recipe
We combined our two favorites carbs—tacos and pasta—into one delicious, easy-to-make dish with this taco pasta salad recipe!
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 10 servings
Calories 393
Author Cheryl Najafi

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Cook pasta shells in 4 quarts rapidly boiling salted water according to package directions. When ready, drain and shock in ice water or run cold water over pasta until cool. Drain well and set aside. Toss pasta in a small drizzle of oil if you like to help prevent sticking. It will take less oil than you think so be frugal.
  • Brown meat in a large sauté pan breaking it up as it cooks. When no pink remains, drain any excess fat if necessary and add water and seasoning mix. Continue to cook until thick. Remove from pan to cool and set aside.
  • Drain black beans and rinse under cold water. Drain again and set aside. Grill corn on a very hot grill or grill pan 20 25 minutes. Rotate corn only after black grill marks have formed (if you are in a rush, use canned corn). When corn has blackened all around the ear, remove from grill and when cool enough cut kernels from cob. Set aside.
  • Have diced Roma tomatoes, chopped cilantro and salsa ready. In a large bowl whisk together the oil, lime juice, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Add the pasta and toss to combine. You now have the option of serving the pasta in individual bowls with the ingredients arranged on top (resembling a power bowl) or toss everything together and serve in one large bowl. Either way, OLE!

Notes

Don’t limit yourself to shells. Try any pasta you’d like! Angel hair or cavatappi, perhaps?

Nutrition

Calories: 393kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 69mg | Sodium: 832mg | Potassium: 308mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 5g