Change up taco night and serve Taco Pasta Salad.
It is no secret that my family loves pasta salad. It is easy to make and I don’t have to heat up the kitchen to make it, so it is perfect for hot summer days. It is also easy to make ahead to use for lunches throughout the week. Those are all things that I love this time of year.
For this pasta salad I took all the flavors of tacos and combined them in a pasta salad. You can easily change this up using whatever beans or cheese you like. You can also stir in lots of other taco type topping ingredients. This one is easy to adjust to your family’s tastes.
I made this gluten free by using Heartland gluten free pasta.
If you love pasta salad here are a few more that my family loves.
Taco Pasta Salad
Change up taco night with Taco Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 12 ounces pasta, macaroni, spiral, or other shaped pasta, cooked ( gluten-free pasta works too)
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 package taco seasoning or use homemade taco seasoning
- 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar or Colby jack cheese
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, cut into halve
- sliced olives, optional
- 1/2 cup Catalina style salad dressing
- 1/2 cup salsa, mild or medium
- avocado optional for serving
Instructions
- In a pan cook ground beef until done. Drain off any fat. Stir taco seasoning into meat and let the meat cool.
- In a large bowl combine cooked pasta, cooked ground beef, beans, cheese, tomatoes, and olives.
- In a small bowl combine Catalina and salsa. Stir into pasta mixture until the pasta is well coated.
- Serve with avocado and additional toppings if desired.
Notes
If you are gluten-free use gluten-free pasta and gluten-free taco seasoning.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 538Total Fat: 29gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 79mgSodium: 776mgCarbohydrates: 38gFiber: 8gSugar: 3gProtein: 30g
Nutritional values are approxomite and aren't always accurate.
I love pasta salad and have made it a number of times. The issue I run into is when using gf pasta it is only good for a few days, then the pasta gets hard and is not any good. Any recomendations on a good brand of gf pasta that works great for pasta salad?
I think some brands are worse about this than others. I prefer Heartland brand for pasta salad or at least the brands that are a rice corn blend. It seems to me that the more corn that is in the pasta the harder it gets after a few days.
I make this all the time and my kids LOVE it – I serve it warm though, it makes a fast easy dinner. I just mix salsa and mayo for the dressing and let the kids put their own cheddar and avocado on top. I guess it’s like a burrito bowl with pasta instead of rice. Yum!