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Too hot to cook? This Southwest Chicken Pasta is the perfect dinner solution! On super warm days, the last thing that I want to do is cooking over a hot stove when it’s 100 degrees outside.
This recipe is easy to throw together in a matter of minutes and to make it even easier and you could use a rotisserie chicken if you don’t want to cook any chicken! Add whatever vegetables your family likes to make this the perfect meal. Our family likes to take the southwest spin on things and top it off with avocado, bell peppers, corn, cilantro lime ranch, and fresh limes.
Recipe Ingredient Notes
To make our Southwest chicken pasta salad, you will need the following ingredients:
- Rotini pasta
- Chicken breasts (boneless)
- Green bell pepper
- Red bell pepper
- Roma tomatoes
- Olives
- Corn
- Red onion
- Black beans
- Pinto beans
- Taco Seasoning mix
- Colby jack cheese
- Mayonnaise
- Sour cream
- Salsa
- Buttermilk
- Ranch seasoning mix
Equipment Needed
For this recipe, you only need a few simple kitchen tools. We recommend using the following equipment:
How to Make Our Southwest Chicken Pasta Salad
- Cook pasta according to directions on package.
- While pasta is cooking, mix together (in a VERY large bowl) the cooked chicken, bell peppers, tomatoes, olives, corn, onion, black beans, pinto beans, and taco seasoning.
- After pasta is finished cooking, mix it into the bowl with other ingredients (do not add cheese at this point because the hot pasta has a tendency to melt it, so wait to add the cheese until the pasta has completely cooled down).
- In a separate bowl, mix together dressing ingredients and fold into pasta/vegetable mixture. Stir until all ingredients are coated with dressing.
- Fold in cheese at this time and place in the fridge. I prefer to eat this after it has been in the fridge for at least 2-4 hours, but it tastes even better after staying in the fridge overnight.
Recipe Notes
- Mayonnaise substitutions: If you are not a fan of mayonnaise, do not stress it. You can make this recipe using plain Greek yogurt or even ranch dressing. You could also use a sour cream, but we do not recommend fully switching out the mayonnaise for sour cream.
- This recipe calls for rotini pasta. However, you could use any pasta you have on hand. Here are a few other pasta noodle we recommend: bowtie, macaroni, shell, ziti, cavatappi, rotelle, or spaghetti. Really any pasta you have on hand will work great. We just found it’s easiest for little eaters to stab the rotini pasta, with their forks.
Enjoy More Delicious Pasta Recipes
Want to add more veggies to your meals? Browse our comprehensive list of salad recipes.
- Grilled Chicken Bow Tie Pasta Salad
- Homemade Pasta Salad
- Italian Tortellini Salad
- Ramen Noodle Oriental Chicken Salad
- Ranch Pasta Salad
- Spaghetti Salad
- Tortellini Pasta Salad
- Tuna Macaroni Salad
Southwest Chicken Pasta Salad Recipe
This Southwest chicken pasta salad is quick, delicious and full of amazing flavor, for an ideal Tex-Mex spin on a classic pasta salad.
Serving servings
Ingredients
Salad
- 16 ounces rotini pasta
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 2 Roma tomatoes , diced
- 4.25 ounces olives, sliced
- 14 ounces corn, drained
- ½ red onion, diced
- 15 ounces black beans, rinsed and drained
- 15 ounces pinto beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 ounce taco seasoning mix
- 4 ounces Colby Jack Cheese, cubed
Dressing
- 1 ½ cups mayonnaise
- ½ cup sour cream
- 3 Tablespoon salsa
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 1 ounce fiesta Ranch dip seasoning
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to directions on package.
- While pasta is cooking, mix together (in a VERY large bowl) the cooked chicken, bell peppers, tomatoes, olives, corn, onion, black beans, pinto beans, and taco seasoning.
- After pasta is finished cooking, mix it into the bowl with other ingredients (do not add cheese at this point because the hot pasta has a tendency to melt it, so wait to add the cheese until the pasta has completely cooled down).
- In a separate bowl, mix together dressing ingredients and fold into pasta/vegetable mixture. Stir until all ingredients are coated with dressing.
- Fold in cheese at this time and place in the fridge. I prefer to eat this after it has been in the fridge for at least 2-4 hours, but it tastes even better after staying in the fridge overnight.
Notes
This makes enough for 12 large servings and will require that you use a very large bowl to mix it together. If you need a smaller amount, you can easily cut this recipe in half or even in thirds.
Nutrition
Calories: 492 kcal · Carbohydrates: 60 g · Protein: 24 g · Fat: 18 g · Saturated Fat: 6 g · Trans Fat: 1 g · Cholesterol: 44 mg · Sodium: 687 mg · Potassium: 653 mg · Fiber: 10 g · Sugar: 6 g · Vitamin A: 1024 IU · Vitamin C: 26 mg · Calcium: 138 mg · Iron: 3 mg
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.
Sounds yummy! Can’t wait to try this recipe.
This looks fantastic but can you think of a way to substitute the mayo (I’ve tried but even in recipes I just can’t stand the flavor)?
You could try Greek yogurt (I have actually done that and it’s really good!) or you could use Miracle Whip (but it will have a different taste). I hope that helps!
I love the Southwest flavors,,, and pasta salad nothing else comes close to satisfying hunger… Can’t wait to try this…
Could you substitute pre made/prepared chipotle ranch dressing for the fiesta ranch dip mix? I could not find it at my local market but have the pre made stuff. How should I change measurements?
The fiesta ranch dip seasoning gives it the flavor it needs. You could also use ranch dressing mix packet. If you are using chipotle ranch dressing, you may have to taste test it as you go so you will know when it has the right amount of zesty flavor you like.
Made this for a function of about 50 so I doubled it and it made so much I had to use my big stock pot to put it in!
This is fantastic! We fell in love with it after the first bite.
I have never seen Fiesta Ranch Dressing…. is it a mix or in a bottle in the Salad Dressing section? Is there something you can add to regular Ranch if it is not available?
Its from Hidden Valley and it comes in an envelope by the ranch seasoning mixes (by the salad dressing).
Made for church picnic, many compliments! I did use less onion.