When it comes to pasta salad recipes, taco pasta salad is an all-time family favorite. It’s got a cool creamy base, rich savory flavors, and enough of a refreshing kick to wake up the senses!
Pasta Recipes are a dime a dozen, but occasionally, you come across something truly special, and this taco pasta salad fits the bill! It’s not just taco meat and pasta. It’s a unique blend of meaty taco, creamy pasta, cheesy goodness, refreshing herbs, and the perfect amount of crunch. You’re going to need a very large bowl for this amazing salad!
Best Ever Taco Pasta Salad Recipe
It’s the perfect pleasure to have a taco pasta salad with Mexican flavors! If you’re looking for more delicious pasta salad recipes, try my Greek, Italian, and tuna pasta salads. If you want another taco experience, my Dorito taco salad is in my continual dinner rotation and is a hands-down family favorite! Remember, we publish new recipes weekly!
I love that this taco pasta salad awakens each of the senses and hits almost all the benchmarks of a perfect dish. Of course, it’s a taco pasta salad recipe with Doritos! It’s savory, refreshing, and delicious with just the right amount of crunch, and it’s ideal for potlucks or large gatherings.
Who doesn’t love a delicious cold pasta salad during the super hot dog days of summer?
Taco Pasta Ingredients
- Mayonnaise: I live on the West Coast, so I use Best Foods mayo. If you can get it, use Dukes!
- Sour Cream: I use regular sour cream.
- Milk: I use whole milk.
- Lime Zest: Use a microplaner to remove zest. Try to avoid the white part of the peel, as it tastes bitter. Zest the limes first before juicing.
- Lime Juice: Use fresh lime juice.
- Jalapeno Pepper: This is considered a medium-spicy pepper. Most of the heat in the pepper is contained in the seeds and ribs. You can control the amount of heat you add to the dish by adding or omitting those parts of the pepper.
- Granulated Sugar: Good old table sugar.
- Salt + Black Pepper: Table salt and freshly cracked is best.
- Spiral Pasta aka Rotini Pasta: You can, of course, use any shape of pasta you’d like.
- Meat: We use a whopping 2 pounds of ground beef in our salad, so you know it’s going to be hearty and eat like a meal! Many similar recipes only use a pound of ground beef.
- Taco Seasoning: To keep things easy, I use convenient prepared taco seasoning.
- Red Onion: I love the sweet, mellow flavor red onion adds. Again, you can use any type of onion you have on hand. If you use a more pungent type of onion, use less and consider soaking it to remove some of its pungency.
- Red Bell Pepper: Use any color of bell pepper you like best.
- Grape Tomato: I love these tomatoes because they’re sweet and have fewer seeds. Any type of tomato will work!
- Cilantro: I love the flavor this fresh herb adds to the salad. Some people hate the taste. If you’re in that camp, just omit it.
- Sharp Cheddar: I like sharp or extra sharp cheddar because it adds more flavor.
- Monterrey Jack Cheese: I often will substitute pepper jack. It has more flavor but can be spicy.
- Nacho Doritos are my favorite tortilla chip flavor! Of course, you can use plain tortilla chips, but the nacho flavor adds so much overall flavor to the pasta salad.
- Avocados: I use Haas.
Tips
- Assembly: This salad is so easy to make but it doesn’t sacrifice one bit of flavor! It’s kind of a two-parter in the sense that you combine most ingredients and toss it in the fridge. Then you fold in the cheese, crushed Doritos and avocados just before serving for the perfect combination of flavor and crunch.
- Enough For A Crowd: This recipe makes a generous amount of taco pasta salad. It will serve 12-15 people conservatively and even more at a potluck.
- Pasta: This recipe calls for spiral pasta, which is my favorite choice. Believe it or not, pasta shape does matter! It should catch the perfect amount of sauce (or dressing) in every delectable bite. Cooking your pasta al dente works best with this recipe.
- If you undercook it, you’ll end up with cardboard, and if you overcook it, it’ll turn mushy. I like to assemble the salad with cooled pasta.
- Bulk It Up: If I make this salad and have unexpected guests, I add chopped iceberg lettuce to bulk it up. You may need more salad dressing.
Storing + Freezing, + Make-Ahead
- How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? According to the USDA, your taco pasta salad will keep in the fridge for 3-5 days when stored properly. They recommend storing cold foods below 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Can You Freeze This? In a word, Nope. Unfortunately, you cannot freeze taco pasta salad. The creamy dressing base and fresh summer veggies just can’t withstand freezing temperatures.
- Make-Ahead Tips: There are a couple of things you can do to prepare for this recipe ahead of time. Depending on how far you are preparing ahead, the taco meat can be prepared and frozen in pre-portioned baggies for time-saving convenience.
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- Mix up the dressing and store it in a sealed jar in the fridge until you are ready to make your salad. On prep day, chop the veggies and store them in an airtight container next to the dressing. The day before serving your salad, go ahead and thaw your taco meat and cook your pasta.
- Combine your ingredients and let them get acquainted in the fridge overnight. Toss in your last-minute ingredients and garnish before serving to an extremely lucky crowd.
- Food Safety: If you’d like more info on food safety, check out this link.
Recipe Variations
This is your baby, so you can tweak things to suit your taste. Here are some great additions you can add to make this salad your own:
Cumin, Corn, Black beans, black olives, Green Onions, Fresh Salsa, Extra Cheddar Cheese, A squirt of Catalina Dressing or French dressing, Substitute The Ground Beef With Ground Chicken Or Ground Turkey, Switch The Pasta to Farfalle (bowtie pasta), or Penne.
How to Make Taco Pasta Salad
- Mix the dressing ingredients.
- Cook the ground beef on medium heat.
- Mix the veggies and pasta
- Add the dressing and mix. Chill
- Just before serving, mix in the cheese, Doritos, and avocado.
- Enjoy.
***See full instructions below.
More Taco Recipes
Here are some of my favorite tacos
- Taco Spaghetti
- Taco Stuffed Shells
- Walking Tacos
- Taco Casserole
- Taco Joes
- Taco Rice
- Taco Lasagna
- Bisquick Taco Bake
- Spaghetti Tacos
- Taco Mac and Cheese
- Taco Pie
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Taco Pasta Salad
Taco pasta salad is a crowd-pleasing metropolis of taste that lends a myriad of refreshing flavors and textures to the plate.
Servings: 12 -15 People
Ingredients
Dressing:
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 3/4 cup milk (plus more as needed)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lime zest
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded, ribs removed and finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 teaspoons black pepper
Salad:
- 1 pound spiral pasta
- 2 pounds ground beef, 80/20
- 2 envelopes taco seasoning
- 3/4 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/4 teaspoons black pepper
- 3/4 cup red onion, small chopped
- 1 medium red pepper, small chopped
- 1 (16.5-ounce) container grape tomato, cut in half
- 1 cup cilantro, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar, shredded
- 1 1/2 cups Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
- 1 (14.5-ounce) bag nacho Doritos divided, crushed
- 2-3 avocados, firm but ripe, diced
Garnish
- 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together dressing ingredients until well mixed and smooth. Set aside.
- Cook pasta (1 pound) according to package directions just until al dente. Rinse, drain, and cool.
- In a large skillet, cook the ground beef (2 pounds) until no pink remains. Remove fat, stir in both taco seasonings (2 envelopes), and cool.
- In a large serving bowl, toss together pasta, beef, dressing, red onion (3/4 cup), red pepper (1 medium), tomatoes ( (16.5-ounce) container), and cilantro (1 cup) until evenly coated. Cover and refrigerate for 4-6 hours, or overnight, for the best flavor.
- Just before serving, toss and adjust seasoning. Add more milk (I generally add about 1/4 -1/2 cup), as needed, to loosen the dressing. Gently fold in cheeses (1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar and 1 1/2 cups Monterrey Jack cheese), 3/4 of the bag of Doritos, and avocado (2-3). Pour onto a decorative platter and garnished with more of the remaining crushed Doritos and 2 tablespoons of cilantro and serve. serve. Enjoy!
Fans Also Made:
Notes
- Assembly: This salad is so easy to make but it doesn’t sacrifice one bit of flavor! It’s kind of a two-parter in the sense that you combine most ingredients and toss it in the fridge. Then you fold in the cheese, crushed Doritos and avocados just before serving for the perfect combination of flavor and crunch.
- Enough For A Crowd: This recipe makes a generous amount of taco pasta salad. It will serve 12-15 people conservatively and even more at a potluck.
- Pasta: This calls for spiral pasta and its my favorite choice for this recipe. Believe it or not, pasta shape does matter! It should catch the perfect amount of sauce (or dressing) in every delectable bite. Cooking your pasta al dente works best with this recipe. If you undercook it then you end up with cardboard and if you overcook it then it turns mushy. I like to assemble the salad with cooled pasta.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 859kcal | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 56g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 14g | Monounsaturated Fat: 19g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 99mg | Sodium: 815mg | Potassium: 754mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1173IU | Vitamin C: 26mg | Calcium: 323mg | Iron: 3mg
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Your latest blog post was truly inspiring and had some great insights. I can’t wait to see what else you have in store.
Thank you so much!!
Absolutely delicious and flavorful! Thank you for the great recipe!
Thank you too, Erika! I’m so happy you like this recipe. 🙂
I’m keeping this recipe. Thank you!
Yaaay! Thank you, Ivy!
Can I use lite mayo, lite sour cream?
Looks yummy!!
Hi Amanda! Yes, you can use lite versions. 😀 Happy cooking!
First time making it and cut recipe in half. I actually ate this warmed up.it was great-it’s a chilly day in Wisconsin!Added taco sauce because I wanted more of that flavor. Enjoyed the fresh taste of it!
Thank you, Sarah! Glad to hear you enjoyed it! 😀
Yum!! I think I can eat 3 servings!!
Thanks, I hope you enjoy!