Cowboy Pasta Salad
A delicious mixture of bowtie pasta, bacon, taco meat, black beans, cheese, and vegetables all tossed in a homemade dressing! An easy summer salad or side dish.
Servings: 12
Calories: 552kcal
Ingredients
For the Pasta Salad:
- 10 slices bacon cooked and crumbled
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 ounce package taco seasoning
- 12 ounces bowtie or rotini pasta uncooked
- 8.75 ounces canned corn (1 can), drained
- 15 ounces black beans (1 can), drained and rinsed
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 8 ounces cheddar cheese cubed
- ½ red onion diced
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
For the Dressing:
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup barbecue sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 Tablespoon spicy brown mustard
- 2 teaspoons hot sauce
Instructions
- Prepare bowtie pasta according to package directions, drain and set aside.
- Meanwhile brown ground beef is a large skillet. Once beef is just about brown add the taco seasoning and the drained and rinsed black beans to the beef and cook for 2 minutes. Drain off any excess grease and allow to cool to room temperature.
- Cook the bacon in a separate pan. Cook the bacon until crisp and then crumble into small pieces.
- In a small mixing bowl whisk together the dressing ingredients. Set aside.
- In a large bowl gently stir together all the pasta salad ingredients except dressing.
- Pour the dressing mixture over the pasta salad. Gently toss to coat the ingredients with the dressing.
- Serve immediately or chill until ready to serve.
Video
Notes
Transfer cowboy pasta salad to an airtight container and then refrigerate for 3-4 days. I do not recommend freezing any leftover pasta salad because it won't really thaw well after being frozen.
Nutrition
Calories: 552kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 65mg | Sodium: 728mg | Potassium: 458mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 546IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 165mg | Iron: 3mg