Southwest Pasta Salad with a creamy ranch, sour cream, bbq sauce dressing, is a pasta salad side dish that you’ll be devouring all Summer. Black beans and tomatoes give this one a Southwestern feel.
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 bbq 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.
We all like creamy pasta salad recipes and we all like easy pasta salad recipes. This creamy Southwest Pasta Salad is a crowd pleaser.
Let’s take a look:
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Black Beans, canned.
- Pasta
- Sour Cream
- Tomatoes
- BBQ Sauce, your favorite brand.
- Sweet Onion
- Ranch Dressing, use your favorite brand, or better yet, make Homemade Ranch Dressing.
- Mayonnaise
Ingredient Subs and Swaps
- Pasta: I like to use a flexible softer pasta such as Rotini. 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.
- Calories and Fat: You can always use reduced fat sour cream, mayo and ranch dressing for a healthier Southwestern pasta salad.
Instructions
Be sure to see the recipe card below for complete ingredients and instructions.
- Step 1: Cook pasta according to package instructions. Fish out about 1/2 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.
Variations
- 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 yellow bell pepper or red bell pepper.
- Add 1 avocado that’s been chopped.
- Add 2 cups Mexican blend shredded cheese.
Storage
- This Southwest 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.
- This is a mayonnaise based pasta salad. Don’t let it set at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
Tip
To save time, prep all of the ingredients while the pasta is cooking.
BBQ Southwest Pasta Salad Recipe
I hope you give this bbq pasta salad with black beans a try. What we really like about this salad is the combo of sour cream and mayo for the sauce. Creamy with a bit of tang, it compliments the Western themed ingredients.
This is a perfect rotini pasta salad for any bbq party thrown your way and any Summer time main dishes. It feeds a crowd, and is pot luck, picnic perfect. Enjoy.
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Southwest Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound Rotini Pasta
- 1/2 Cup Sour Cream
- 1/2 Cup BBQ Sauce
- 1/2 Cup Ranch Dressing
- 1/4 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 1/2 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 Southwest Pasta Salad … It’s what’s for a Summer Side Dish
This recipe for Southwest 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!