For the Best Pasta Salad, Make It Cowboy-Style

If you’ve ever felt like traditional pasta salads can be a little… uninspired, it’s time to wrangle up something with real personality. Cowboy Pasta Salad takes everything you love about a classic potluck side dish and cranks the bold Southwestern flavor up to eleven.

Instead of a bland, heavy mayo dressing, this recipe features a smoky, tangy, and slightly zesty sauce spiked with barbecue sauce, taco seasoning, and a hit of hot sauce. Combined with hearty black beans, sweet corn, sharp cheddar cubes, juicy cherry tomatoes, and crispy bacon, every forkful delivers the ultimate crunch-meets-creaminess balance.

Tips and Tricks for Making Cowboy Pasta Salad  

• If you want to make this dish more than four hours ahead, it’s best to prepare the pasta, dressing, and veggies ahead of time and store them separately. When you’re ready to serve, just stir it all together.

• You can also make extra dressing ahead and serve it on the side or use it to perk up leftovers.

• You can substitute the bowtie pasta with wagon wheel pasta and still get a bite-sized, cowboy-themed vibe.

• Make sure to rinse your pasta well so you get toothsome individual pieces rather than one big gummy clump.

Ingredients

• 4 slices bacon, optional

• 12 ounces bowtie (farfalle) pasta

• Salt, for the pasta water

• 1 cup mayonnaise

• 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce

• 2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard

• 2 tablespoons taco seasoning

• 1 tablespoon hot sauce (such as Tapatío)

• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved (about 2 cups)

• 1 large bunch scallions, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish

• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

• 1 (15-ounce) can corn kernels, drained

• 8 ounces smoked or sharp Cheddar cheese, cut into small cubes (about 1 1/2 cups)

Directions

1. Cook the bacon (optional):  

    If you’d like to include bacon in the pasta salad, cook it until crisp in the microwave, air fryer, oven, or on the stovetop. Drain on paper towels and cool, then crumble or chop into small pieces. Set aside.

   
   

2. Cook the pasta:  

   Cook the pasta until al dente according to the package directions in a large pot of salted boiling water. Drain the pasta and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.

   
   

3. Make the dressing:  

   While the pasta cooks, in a large bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, barbecue sauce, mustard, taco seasoning, and hot sauce until smooth.

   
   

4. Finish and serve:  

   Add the cooked pasta, tomatoes, scallions, beans, corn, cheddar, and bacon, if using, to the bowl with the sauce. Toss until the pasta and vegetables are evenly coated in the dressing. Serve immediately or cover and chill in the refrigerator for up to 4 hours. Garnish with additional scallions just before serving.

   Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Loosen with a splash of water if needed before serving

[Source: https://www.simplyrecipes.com/cowboy-pasta-salad-recipe-11730351]