Southwest Pasta Salad is a delicious side for sandwiches, burgers, or anything coming off of the grill.
Southwest Pasta Salad
The delightfully flavorful Southwest Pasta Salad is sure to be a hit at your next summer barbecue. The dressing for the pasta is a mixture of ranch dressing and BBQ sauce which gives the pasta a rich and tangy flavor without overpowering the freshness of the vegetables in the salad. This is a very versatile salad. I like it because I can use my family’s favorite ranch dressing, our Buttermilk Ranch Dressing, and our favorite BBQ sauce, Sweet Baby Ray’s, to give it the flavors we like the most.
Make It Your Own
What you add to the salad is just as versatile. I’ve included in the recipe what I like the best in this salad. You can substitute the green onions for red onions or chickpeas for the black beans. You can use baby corn instead of frozen corn, or even better, corn fresh from the garden. Chopped Roma tomatoes can be used instead of grape tomatoes. If you aren’t a fan of avocados, they can be replaced by green peppers or artichokes. So many possibilities! You can make this BBQ Ranch Pasta Salad a hearty meal on its own by adding some leftover grilled chicken or steak, or by chopping up a Rotisserie chicken from the grocery store.
More Favorite Backyard BBQ Recipes
If you’re looking to serve up the best cuisine at your next backyard barbecue, check out these delicious ideas.
- BBQ Pulled Pork Nachos are the ultimate party food. Crispy tortilla chips, smothered in pulled pork, homemade BBQ sauce, black beans and melted cheddar. You will be reaching for these again and again.
- Crock Pot BBQ Baked Beans are the perfect side dish for your next summer time gathering. Hearty, delicious and full of flavor, everyone will be glad you brought them.
- Saucy BBQ Hot Dogs are simmered in BBQ sauce before grilling, giving them an incredibly sweet and savory flavor.
How To Make Southwest Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb Rotini pasta white or whole wheat
- 15 oz black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 cup frozen corn thawed
- 3 green onions sliced thin
- 1 cup grape tomatoes halved
- 2 avocados
- Lime juice
- 1/2 cup ranch dressing bottled or homemade
- 1/2 cup BBQ sauce
Instructions
- Boil pasta according to package directions. Rinse in cold water until completely cooled.
- In a large bowl, mix pasta, black beans, corn, and green onions.
- In a separate small bowl blend the ranch dressing and BBQ sauce together.
- Coat the pasta mixture with the dressing, cover and refrigerate for at least one hour or overnight.
- Just before serving, cut the avocados and sprinkle with lime juice. This will keep the avocados from turning brown.
- Gently mix the avocados and tomatoes into the pasta and serve.
Liz says
A great salad. Thank you.
Violet says
I’m going to try this on my next get together it would be something different