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This Southwestern Pasta Salad with Black Bean Dressing makes the perfect side salad for the weekend! Tender pasta, corn, crunchy red onion, sweet tomatoes, peppers, and black beans are tossed in a spicy creamy bean dressing. This recipe was originally published June 30, 2015
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This fabulous salad is perfect as a side for all your summer bbq plans and for the Burgers! The best part? You can swap in whatever veggies you like. The creaminess of the dressing comes from beans instead of oil making this recipe whole food plant based (WFPB). It tastes best with crunchy red onions and a good load of cilantro.
One of the things I love about this recipe is how fast and easy to make! If you are in a pinch for a delicious side dish with dinner tonight, or just really want a cool and refreshing salad, this one does the trick. In less than 30 minutes, you can have a delicious pasta salad!
Why You’ll Love this Southwestern Salad
- It’s so easy to make!
- Very versatile: you can change the veggies according to preference.
- It’s refreshing and bursting with flavor and texture: spicy, tangy, creamy, and crunchy.
More Sides for Your Next BBQ
Southwestern Pasta Salad with Black Bean Dressing
Ingredients
- 5 to 6 oz pasta, elbows, fusilli or similar shape , use gluten-free if needed
- 15 oz black beans, drained and rinsed , or 1.5 cups cooked
- 1 cup chopped ripe tomatoes, or grape tomatoes
- 3/4 cup sweet corn, thawed if frozen, or 1 corn on the cob
- 1/2 cup chopped green or red bell pepper, or add both
- 1/2 cup chopped red onion
- 1/2 of hot green chile such as serrano, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup packed chopped cilantro, divided
- Salt and Black pepper to taste
Dressing
- 1/3 cup black beans, from the salad ingredients above or from another can, drained
- 1/4 cup Non dairy yogurt
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp or more chipotle pepper ground or flakes
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder or flakes
- 1/2 tsp ground mustard
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp turmeric, for color, optional
- 1/2 tsp or more salt
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tbsp pickled jalapeno, or use chopped jalapeno + 1/2 tsp vinegar
- 1 to 2 Tbsp lime juice to taste
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to instructions. (Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt and pasta and cook until cooked to preference. Drain, rinse with cold water and keep aside)
- Make the dressing: Blend the black beans, non dairy yogurt with the rest of the ingredients. Add a few tablespoons water if needed. Taste and adjust salt, spice and tang. Blend until smooth and keep aside.
- Toast the corn: if using frozen corn kernels, Heat a skillet over medium high heat. When hot add the the corn kernels and cook until they darken on one side, stir and cook another 2 mins. Grill the corn on the cob on a grill or over gas flame until most of the kernels have black spots. Cool for a few minutes, then shell the kernels using a knife and use.
- In a large bowl, combine the pasta, remaining beans, corn, tomatoes, peppers, onions, half of the cilantro.
- Add in the dressing and toss to combine. Taste and adjust salt and tang(lime juice). Garnish with cilantro and a very generous dash of black pepper. Serve at room temperature or Chill and serve.
- Variations: Add chopped avocado tossed in lime juice to the salad. Add 2 tsp tomato paste to the dressing. Use your favorite mexican chili powder blend instead of the spices in the dressing.
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Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredients
- macaroni elbows pasta – any short pasta will work with this recipe
- black beans – you can cook them yourself or used canned and drained black beans
- veggies: tomatoes, corn, green or red bell pepper, red onion, green chile, cilantro. Add color, flavor, and texture. Feel free to improvise and use the veggies you have on hand.
- ground chipotle pepper – adds a spiciness to the creamy dressing. If you can’t find it at your local grocery, you can substitute with any other chili powder.
- nutritional yeast- add a “cheesy” flavor to the dressing. If you don’t like or can’t find it, you can omit it.
- pickled jalapeño- sold in cans in the Mexican section of the grocery store. Adjust the quantity in the recipe according to your spice tolerance.
💡Tips
- Char your corn on the stove using a direct flame to add a smokiness to your salad.
- Add avocado cubes to the salad for extra creaminess.
- If the red onion is too sharp, soak the chopped onion in water for 15 minutes, drain then use in salad.
- Serve at room temperature or chill in the refrigerator and then serve.
How to Make Southwestern Salad
Cook the pasta according to instructions. To make the dressing, blend the black beans and non dairy yogurt with the rest of the ingredients. Add a few tablespoons water if needed. Blend until smooth and keep aside.
Grill the corn on the cob on a grill or over gas flame until most of the kernels have black spots. Cool for a few minutes, then shell the kernels using a knife.
In a large bowl, combine the pasta, remaining beans, corn, tomatoes, peppers, onions, half of the cilantro.
Add in the dressing and toss to combine. Taste and adjust salt and tang(lime juice). Garnish with cilantro and a very generous dash of black pepper.
What to Serve with
Serve this delicious Southwestern salad as a side for this Grillable Veggie Burger or these BBQ Cauliflower Wings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, it is dairy free, soy-free, and nut-free, and can be made gluten-free with gluten-free pasta.
This looks so good! How long do u think it will keep in fridge? 3-4 days?
more like 2 max.
Just made this and ohhhhh sooooo yummy! The black bean dressing is delicious, i didnt have cilantro and it was still amazing! Will be making this all the time.
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you so much for this recipe. So fast to make and turned out super yummy ! Dressing is to the point. Will make again.
I just made the dressing and it is so good! It’s going to be a firm favourite for me!
awesome!
This recipe sounds great, and I would like to try it, but I really don’t like cilantro.
Any ideas for what to use in place of it, or another spice to bump up the flavour profile without using cilantro?
parsley or mint and parsley
I’m looking at the ingredients and I can’t figure out what it is that makes the sodium content so high. I’ve made and enjoyed this recipe before but I’m trying to cut back on my sodium intake. Do you have any suggestions for how I could reduce the sodium?
388 mg is not really high per serve for avg. Most salted meals avg 200-600 mg.
salt amounts for 1300 mg for 1/2 tsp, so if you omit that, the number will drastically reduce. Also use low sodium or salt free black beans
OK!! Well, that explains it! I downloaded and printed the recipe when there was a typo in it apparently that listed the sodium at 838 mg not 338 mg. I agree with you that 388 mg is not unusual. Thanks for your reply.