Complete any summer meal with this zesty, creamy, and hearty Taco Pasta Salad! It makes a filling main dish or versatile side, a go-to recipe for backyard BBQs, the Fourth of July, pool parties, and summer get-togethers. Easy to make in less than 30 minutes with everyday ingredients!
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Table of Contents
No summer get-together is complete without at least one pasta salad. They're versatile, tasty, easy to make ahead, cooling, and great for a crowd. You can also easily adapt them to your favorite flavor preferences, adding your veggies, proteins, and cheeses of choice. The series of combinations is virtually endless.
This summer, I'll be bringing this recipe for taco pasta salad to all my events. Topped with a zesty and tangy taco ranch dressing and tossed with taco-seasoned ground meat, veggies, avocado, and shredded cheese, this cool salad is creamy, cooling, zingy, and hearty.
Though many taco salad recipes call for French or Catalina Dressing, I'm personally more of a ranch girl, so I decided to hang my hat on that easy-to-find and classic dressing. We'll give it a good whisk with salsa, taco seasoning, sour cream, and lime juice to give it a delicious tacolicious twist.
I like to toss the taco ranch-dressed pasta with tomatoes, cheese, avocadoes, shredded cabbage, and green onions, but there's really no limit to the ways you can make it your own. Stir in or swap any of the recommended ingredients with black beans, corn, chopped bell peppers, cilantro, jalapeños, iceberg lettuce, or even tortilla chips, Fritos, or Nacho Doritos.
Season the salad to taste with additional lime juice, salt and pepper, or taco seasoning before serving, tweaking the ratios as you see fit, for the most tasty summer pasta salad experience.
For more taco-inspired recipes, check out my Taco Mac and Cheese and Taco Tater Tot Casserole.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Small Pasta - Choose a small shape like farfalle, mini farfalle, macaroni, wagon wheels, small shells, or rotini pasta. Their small shapes hold the dressing well and allow you also enjoy bites of the salad toppings in every forkful.
Ground Meat - Ground beef, turkey, or chicken add savory heartiness to the taco pasta salad recipe. Choose the ground meat of your preference.
Taco Seasoning Blend - For that traditional taco taste! Use your favorite premade blend or make your own; it's pretty simple to make it with pantry staples.
Salad Toppings - Shredded sharp cheddar cheese adds rich savoriness, cabbage contributes a fresh crunch, and classic taco toppings like sliced black olives, chopped green onions, halved cherry tomatoes, and avocado finish the taco salad pasta.
Creamy Taco Ranch Dressing - For this tangy, smoky, and slightly spicy dressing, you will need more taco seasoning, ranch dressing (use your favorite brand!), sour cream, salsa, milk, and fresh lime juice.
Salt and Pepper - Add these to the pasta taco salad recipe to taste before serving if desired. You can also stir in additional lime juice and taco seasoning.
How to Make Taco Pasta Salad
For the complete recipe and measurements, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1: Boil the pasta according to package instructions in a large pot of heavily salted water until al dente. Drain in a colander and rinse with cold water until cool.
Step 2: While the pasta cooks, make the taco meat. Add the oil to a medium or large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the ground meat and cook for 4-5 minutes, crumbling as it cooks, until cooked through.
Step 3: Add the taco seasoning. Stir and cook for 1 minute or until the mixture is combined and fragrant. Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool at room temperature for 5-10 minutes.
Step 4: In a large bowl, whisk together the ranch dressing, sour cream, salsa, taco seasoning, and lime juice until well combined.
Step 5: Add the cooled and drained pasta, cooled taco meat, cheddar cheese, green onions, black olives, avocado, baby tomatoes, and shredded cabbage to the pasta salad dressing.
Step 6: Gently toss the salad until combined and coated in the dressing. Season to taste with additional taco seasoning, lime juice, salt, and pepper to taste.
Recipe Pro-Tips
- Recipe Variations. Add spice by stirring in or garnishing the salad with jalapeño slices, swap Monterey Jack or Mexican shredded cheese blend for a more dimensional cheesy flavor, add up to ⅓ cup chopped cilantro for a citrusy and herbal finish, or stir in black beans, corn, sweet peppers, crushed Doritos, tortilla chips, or iceberg lettuce.
- Cook the Pasta in Salted Water. Doing so seasons the water, enhancing the pasta's flavor. I recommend adding 1-2 tablespoons of kosher or coarse sea salt to for every half gallon of cooking water.
- Cool the Pasta Completely. After straining, rinse the hot pasta with cold water until it is cool to the touch. Adding hot pasta to the dressing can cause it to absorb too much of the dressing, making the pasta salad mushy and dry.
Serving Suggestions
This pasta taco salad makes a great main dish for warm evenings or a hearty side for backyard barbecues, potlucks, and picnics, alongside grilled chicken, burgers, or steak.
The salad does require refrigeration, so always serve it cold and return it to the refrigeration within an hour.
Storage Directions
Leftovers keep covered in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. I do not recommend freezing it.
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Tools Needed to Make This Recipe
More Pasta Salad Recipes
Recipe Card
Taco Pasta Salad
Ingredients
Taco Pasta Salad
- 8 ounces small pasta shapes rotini, small shells, wagon wheels, etc.; roughly 2.5 cups
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- ⅓ cup sliced green onions
- ⅔ cup sliced black olives
- 1 avocado pitted and diced
- 1 cup baby tomatoes halved
- 2 cups shredded cabbage or cole slaw mix without dressing
Taco Meat
- 1 tablespoon olive or avocado oil
- 1 lb. ground beef, turkey, or chicken
- 1 ½ tablespoons taco seasoning
Taco Ranch Dressing
- 1 cup ranch dressing
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons milk
- ½ cup salsa
- 1 teaspoon taco seasoning + more to taste
- 2 teaspoons lime juice + more to taste
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package instructions in heavily salted water. Drain in a colander and rinse with cold water until cool.
- While the pasta cooks, make the taco meat. Add the oil to a medium skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the ground meat and cook for 4-5 minutes, crumbling as it cooks, until cooked through.
- Add the taco seasoning. Stir and cook for 1 minute or until the mixture is combined and fragrant. Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool at room temperature for 5-10 minutes.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the ranch dressing, sour cream, salsa, taco seasoning, and lime juice until well combined.
- Add the cooled and drained pasta, cooled taco meat, cheddar cheese, green onions, black olives, avocado, baby tomatoes, and shredded cabbage to the pasta salad dressing.
- Gently toss the salad until combined and coated in the dressing. Season to taste with additional taco seasoning, lime juice, salt, and pepper to taste.
Notes
- Recipe Variations. Add spice by stirring in or garnishing the salad with jalapeño slices, swap Monterey Jack or Mexican shredded cheese blend for a more dimensional cheesy flavor, add up to ⅓ cup chopped cilantro for a citrusy and herbal finish, or stir in black beans, corn, sweet peppers, crushed Doritos, tortilla chips, or iceberg lettuce.
- Cook the Pasta in Salted Water. Doing so seasons the water, enhancing the pasta's flavor. I recommend adding 1-2 tablespoons of kosher or coarse sea salt to for every half gallon of cooking water.
- Cool the Pasta Completely. After straining, rinse the hot pasta with cold water until it is cool to the touch. Adding hot pasta to the dressing can cause it to absorb too much of the dressing, making the pasta salad mushy and dry.
Sounds very good. I am all about quick easy meals these days
Thanks for your kind words, Libby! I hope you enjoy. 🙂