Description
A refreshing and flavorful Cilantro Lime Pasta Salad recipe that is perfect for a light lunch or as a side dish for a picnic or barbecue. The combination of tender pasta, sweet corn, juicy cherry tomatoes, creamy avocado, and a zesty cilantro lime dressing creates a delightful dish.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Pasta Salad:
- 16 oz. bow tie pasta, cooked and cooled (or your favorite pasta)
- 1 1/2 cups corn kernels (about 2 ears of corn)*
- 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 of a small red onion, chopped or thinly sliced
- 2 Tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
- 1–2 avocados, diced
- Cotija cheese, crumbled (optional)
Dressing:
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped (leaves & stems are ok)
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp cayenne
Instructions
- Make the dressing. Add your dressing ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth. Then cover and keep it stored in the refrigerator.
- Toss the pasta salad. Add the cooled pasta, corn kernels, tomatoes, onion, and cilantro to a large bowl and pour your desired amount of dressing over the top. Toss the salad until it’s fully coated.
- Serve. Top each individual portion with avocado and cotija cheese (if using) and serve immediately.
Notes
- Variations on the dressing: This dressing might be a little too tart for some people. If that’s the case you can do one of the following:
- Lessen the lime juice: Start with 2-3 Tbsp of lime juice + ¼ tsp of salt instead. Taste the dressing with a small amount of salad & adjust the salt & lime juice, if needed.
- Add sweetener: Add a little bit of honey or maple syrup to the original recipe.
- The amounts listed for the salad ingredients are suggested amounts. Please feel free to add more or less of an ingredient if you prefer. (We’ll usually double the dressing if we’re using a full box of pasta.)
- *Cook the corn using your preferred method. (We usually boil ours for 1½ – 2 minutes.)
- For leftovers: Make another ½ batch of dressing to toss the salad in right before serving. (The pasta tends to soak up the dressing while it sits.)
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 320 kcal
- Sugar: 5g
- Sodium: 350mg
- Fat: 8g
- Saturated Fat: 2g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 55g
- Fiber: 6g
- Protein: 10g
- Cholesterol: 2mg
