Cowboy Pasta Salad - The Keep At Residence Chef

This is likely one of the most filling pasta salads on the market! It’s full of meat, cheese, beans, and greens. Convey to a BBQ or make as a fast and straightforward dinner at dwelling and we promise there received’t be any complaints about leaving hungry!

When you love this recipe, you’ll love our “cowboy caviar” Black Bean and Corn Salad.

Why Our Recipe

Loaded with all the great things. We’re speaking beef, bacon, cheddar, and veggies.
Our creamy home made salsa verde dressing brings a smoky kick you’ll love.
Makes for a brilliant filling dinner, or carry it to a potluck or BBQ to feed a crowd.

A Bowl full of Cowboy Pasta Salad displaying the ingredients on top.

Half of this pasta salad’s flavorful goodness comes from our scrumptious, home made dressing. It’s our secret ingredient! Bear in mind, pasta salad is simply pretty much as good because the dressing you placed on it. Our cowboy dressing is made with salsa verde, lime juice, and loads of smoky spices and seasonings. The salsa means that you can actually mess around with the warmth stage, so when you prefer it scorching, be sure to make use of medium to scorching salsa.

Ingredient Notes

Overhead layout of Ingredients for Cowboy Pasta Salad.

Rotini Pasta: Rotini’s nice for grabbing onto all that dressing. No rotini? Use one other quick pasta like fusilli or penne.
Floor Beef: We like utilizing 80/20 beef for the most effective taste. Floor turkey or rooster works too if you’d like it slightly lighter.
Cheddar Cheese: Sharp cheddar brings slightly further punch, however truthfully, any cheese you’re keen on will work. Pepper jack could be superior if you’d like slightly kick.
Cherry or Grape Tomatoes: Both one is ideal. Reduce them in halves or quarters so that you get the proper chew. A mixture of pink and yellow tomatoes appears to be like actually fairly too.
Black Beans: Give them rinse and drain to maintain issues from getting soggy.
Canned Corn: Completely wonderful to make use of straight from the can, however you may as well use uncooked recent corn or frozen corn.
Pink Onion: Pink onions are the most effective for consuming uncooked.
Jalapeño: Completely optionally available! Contemporary jalapeños add a pleasant spicy crunch, or use pickled for rather less warmth.
Bacon: Crumble it up! Prepare dinner your personal or seize the pre-cooked sort.
Salsa Verde: Seize a jar of your favourite gentle or medium salsa verde. Use no matter warmth stage you want.
Lime Juice: Contemporary-squeezed is at all times going to have the most effective taste, however bottled lime juice works too.

Alter the Warmth

Among the best issues about cowboy pasta is how straightforward it’s to tweak the spice. When you’re into warmth, seize a scorching salsa verde, bump up the chili powder, and toss just a few further jalapeño slices on prime. Not a fan of spicy? Follow gentle salsa and skip the chili powder and jalapeños. Simple!

Closeup image of Cowboy Pasta Salad with dressing drizzled over it.

Make-Forward Directions

This salad’s tremendous straightforward to make forward. You may whip up the dressing 1 to 2 days early and stash it within the fridge. Prepare dinner the pasta and floor beef the night time earlier than, too. Simply preserve them separate so every little thing stays recent. Once you’re able to eat, all you’ve bought to do is chop the cheese and tomatoes and toss all of it collectively in an enormous bowl. Finished and performed.