Southwestern Pasta Salad

I really enjoyed this dish. I added Adobo multipurpose seasoning to up the flavor, I used cilantro seasoning instead of fresh and I used the entire 12 oz box of pasta. I’m not a fan of raw peppers but they were delicious mixed with all the flavors. I would make this again.

Great recipe. I had to put my stamp on it with adding some jicama strips that I had marinated in lime juice, some chopped red onion, chopped jalapeños (deseeded) and a couple healthy squirts of taco sauce.

Personally, I think the chilli powder is a bit much. Would reduce next time.

My whole family loved this recipe. It has amazing flavor and a creamy texture…great leftover meal, too. Will definitely make this again!

We didn’t have rotini, so we substituted Super Green spaghetti pasta and LOVED it!!! We took it to a picnic and noticed that all the friends with meat or sugar had bugs flying around them, so it was a bonus that the bugs didn’t care for it

This was great – perfect for picnics or lunch. Will make again!

The pasta salad looked amazing, but it was missing the “wow” factor in taste. It was good, but not great…. I’m not sure what was missing.

I made this recipe twice and it was well-received both times. I have also added chicken.

I cut the amount of cumin in half because it seemed like a lot. I’d make it again, but cut way back on the cilantro too. It was too much.

A perfect summer pasta salad! I did make a few changes/additions which I think made it a 5 star recipe. First, I took the suggestion of other reviewers by swapping the amounts of the oil & lime and reducing the chili powder to 1 TBSP. I added 1 tsp sugar, 1/4 tsp onion powder, 1/8 tsp garlic powder (in place of the fresh garlic), and 1/8 tsp ground cayenne to the dressing. I replaced the green bell pepper with a 4 oz can of diced green chilies and added 1/2 cup diced pepper jack cheese for an extra kick. (I also omitted the tomato but that is just personal preference.) Then I topped each serving with sliced black olives and diced avocado along with the cilantro. Scrumptious!

I doubled the ingredients but the lime was WAY too much. I might try again and just use the amount of lime indicated for the half a box of pasta. I had added 2 shredded chicken breasts for this as a main dish summer meal so this was really disappointing. I googled how to correct for too much lime and did add some smokey honey I had, which made this edible, but hubs who rarely complains made a face. Wasted time and ingredients.

We enjoyed the flavors and would like to kick it up next time. I plan to add more cumin. I hope that more people list their recipes with 16 oz of pasta, how most bags come.

This was so good…but I did make a few minor changes for my tastes. I substituted Penzey’s Fajita seasoning instead of chili powder. Every brand of chili powder tastes different and so I smell the seasonings to help decide if that is the flavor I want. My nose told me to go with Fajita seasoning and am glad I did. I prepared the salad dressing first so the flavors would meld while I prepped the vegies and boiled the pasta. Also, I didn’t have green pepper so used red and yellow bell peppers instead. Since this was south of the border flavors, I added about 1/2 cup of black olives cut in half. Also didn’t have roma tomatoes and so subbed a cup of drained Ro-Tel tomatoes and that took the salad over the top! I didn’t have fresh cilantro so didn’t use that but am sure that would totally add to the overall flavor. For serving, I thinly sliced lettuce and placed the pasta salad on the lettuce, diced half an avocado and placed 1/2 of it on the pasta followed by a teaspoon dollop of sour cream (kind of like nachos). That gave it the creaminess some said was missing. It was divine!!!

It’s very easy and was a hit at a party. I would reduce the amount of oil a bit.

Simple, fast and easy to make for dinner. Add leftover chicken to top off the meal

Very good – thank you for sharing your recipe. For me, I made a small quantity and added some of a bag of C&W Southwest Blend (frozen beans, corn, Poblano peppers) to the boiling pasta 2 mins. before draining. Worked better for me to do – small family. (The rest of the bag of frozen veg. works well in tortilla soup, scrambled eggs, etc. and keeps well in a tightly closed plastic container in the freezer.)

Made it the night before a carry-in at work. Added additional lime juice right before serving, and it was a big hit!

I liked all the ingredients in this salad, but was a bit underwhelmed by the texture. As some other reviewers stated, it lacked creaminess and the chili powder was too grainy just in oil. I ended up adding about half a cup of mayo to the entire thing and it was delicious. Also added shredded pepper jack.

It is delicious. I doubled the recipe for a 16 oz. box of pasta. I used one half cup olive oil. I used grape tomatoes cut in halves. I added sliced olives and chopped onion and some hot sauce. I added extra fresh garlic. I also used half the recipe amount of chili and cumin. i did not use cilantro. Thanks so much!

Crowd pleaser! I always make a double batch.

Mostly good, but I followed the recipe quantity for the chili powder and it was way too much. My noodles ended up looking completely brownish red, which was weird and not appetizing looking. I should’ve cut the amount of chili pepper in half. I subbed cucumber for the red pepper since I didn’t have one and still wanted the crunch. I thought it needed more kick, so I threw in a finely chopped jalapeño.