This Rotini Pasta Salad is made with a creamy ranch dressing, sour cream, bbq sauce dressing for an irresistibly Southwestern flavor. With Black beans and tomatoes this is potluck picnic perfect.
Pasta salad … ’tis the season. And it’s hard to beat a good pasta salad. A staple at back yard Summer cookouts, it’s nice to have a variety of recipes to see you through the season.
This rotini pasta salad is seriously delicious and very simple to make. And will compliment any burger, grilled steak, or grilled chicken recipe you throw its way.
For this creation, I wanted something that would stand up to and compliment the wonderful flavor and texture of a beef brisket. And it was perfect.
With a championship lineup of Southwest ingredients, this rotini pasta salad is one you’ll devour all Summer long.
Let’s take a look:
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Black Beans, canned.
- Pasta: For this recipe, we’re using curly fun Rotini pasta. It’s curves, nooks and crannies are great for holding on to the creamy sauce.
- Sour Cream: Full fat please. A big bowl of pasta salad is no time to count fat calories. For a creamier experience, use regular sour cream.
- Tomatoes, Fresh tomatoes when in season, or Grape tomatoes. Tomatoes add a pop of Summer color to this pasta salad.
- BBQ Sauce, your favorite brand.
- Sweet Onion
- Ranch Dressing, use your favorite brand, or better yet, make my recipe for Spicy Ranch Dressing.
- Mayonnaise
Chef Tip: I like to purchase Cherub brand tomatoes. Cherubs are a variety of grape tomatoes which have a stronger outer skin and meatier, less watery flesh. They are easier to slice for salads, hold up better during cooking or roasting and are reliable year round with their mild, sweet flavor.
Ingredient Subs and Swaps
- Pasta: I like to use a flexible softer pasta such as Rotini pasta. Elbow macaroni would be a good substitute, or shells. Avoid thicker sturdy pastas such as rigitoni or penne.
- Onion: Substitute red onion for white or sweet onion.
Instructions
Be sure to see the recipe card below for complete ingredients and instructions.
- Step 1: Cook the rotini pasta according to package instructions. Fish out about ½ cup of the pasta water before draining. In a large bowl combine all ingredients. Using a large spoon gently stir until well combined. Add a little pasta water at a time to make it creamier.
Pro Tip: Why is pasta water good for pasta sauce? Don’t throw all of that pasta cooking liquid down the drain, It’s liquid gold. It’s a must to add to any sauce for any pasta dish. It’s high in starch and this salty starchy water helps the sauce cling to the pasta while helping to thicken the sauce. It turns any pasta dish into a luxurious pasta dish.
Variations
Make this rotini pasta salad your own, here are some suggestions for add-in ingredients.
- Add 1 cup of sweet corn. Use frozen (that’s been thawed) or canned.
- To heat things up, add a 4 ounce can of chopped green chile peppers.
- Add chopped yellow bell pepper or red bell pepper.
- Add 1 avocado that’s been chopped.
- One pasta has cooled, add 2 cups Mexican blend shredded cheese.
Technically you can, however, I feel the texture is compromised when doing so. Its best to enjoy this pasta salad fresh, or as refrigerated leftovers.
Storage
- This Rotini Pasta Salad is a perfect make-ahead pasta salad. It’s one of those dishes that tastes better the next day. It will keep in the refrigerator, well sealed, for three to 4 days. If it becomes dried out during that time, just give it a good stir and add a drizzle of ranch dressing to bring it back to life.
- This is a mayonnaise based pasta salad. Don’t let it set at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
Tips For Success
- To save time, prep all of the ingredients while the pasta is cooking.
- Cook the pasta according to package directions for al dente. Once cooked, the pasta will continue to soften as it absorbs the dressing.
- When draining pasta, rinse with cold water. This will stop the cooking process and also keep the pasta from becoming gummy.
What To Serve It With?
Any Summer grilled entree, but our favorite back yard cookout party meal starts with this pasta salad as a side for our favorite Silver Spur Ranch Blue Cheese Burgers.
Rotini Pasta Salad with Black Beans
This rotini pasta salad becomes irresistibly creamy by using the combo of sour cream and mayo for the sauce. Adding bbq sauce and ranch dressing makes this a Southwest pasta salad that will compliment any Summer entree. Pot luck picnic perfect!
More Pasta Salad Recipes You Might Like
And check out my Chicken Macaroni Salad if you’re looking for a main course pasta dish.
And if you’re looking for even more side dish recipes, don’t miss my Side Dish Category. You’ll find lots of great recipes including the most popular on my site for Broccoli Cheez Whiz Casserole, everyone’s favorite holiday casserole.
If you liked this recipe, please leave a star ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I always appreciate your feedback and hearing how everything went.
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Rotini Pasta Salad With Black Beans
Ingredients
- 1 pound Rotini Pasta
- ½ Cup Sour Cream
- ½ Cup BBQ Sauce
- ½ Cup Ranch Dressing
- ¼ Cup Mayonnaise
- 14.5 ounce Can Black Beans Drained and rinsed
- 1 sweet onion chopped
- 2 Cups Cherry Tomatoes halved
- 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook Pasta according to directions on package. Before draining, reserve about a cup of the starchy pasta liquid.
- In the meantime combine Sour Cream, BBQ Sauce, Homemade Ranch Dressing, Mayonnaise, Black Beans, onion, tomatoes, sugar and vinegar. Drain pasta and allow to cool for about 5 minutes. Add to the salad ingredients and stir to combine. Pour in the pasta water until the pasta seems creamy. I usually use about ½ cup or a little more.
Notes
- Add 1 cup of sweet corn. Use frozen (that’s been thawed) or canned.
- To heat things up, add a 4 ounce can of chopped green chile peppers.
- Add 1 avocado that’s been chopped.
- Add 2 cups Mexican blend shredded cheese.
Nutrition
Creamy BBQ Rotini Pasta Salad … It’s what’s for a Summer Side Dish
This recipe for Rotini pasta salad was first published June 2017 and republished April 2022 with step by step photos.
Why Trust These Recipes? Lea Ann Brown has lived, worked and played in Colorado for 45 years. She has immersed herself in the Colorado Culinary space, is a Culinary School Graduate and publishes her Colorado food Blog, Cooking On The Ranch.
Looks very good Chef and although I’ve never heard of BBQ sauce in pasta salad, I know I would enjoy it. I’ve had pasta once in 2022 and I’m looking forward to some post surgery.
Best wishes for your newest endeavor. You will do great! I graduated from culinary school in 1998 at the age of 46. It was a goal I set up for myself in 1976. I waited until my daughter graduated from high school and was entrenched in college. I worked my full time job during the day and attended school during the evenings. It was a lot of work and effort BUT I enjoyed every minute of it. After graduating, I continued to work my full time job and worked at a resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. I’m retired now but I have very happy thoughts of my time in culinary school and at the resort. It was very satisfying and fulfilling. I hope that you have the same experience.
Love the ranch and bbq combination. I always have it with my grilled chicken! Have fun at school- learning new things is alway exciting.
Exciting news! That sounds like a ton of fun. Work, of course, but fun work. Anyway, this is such a nice salad — what we like to eat at this time of the year. Thanks!