Salads & sides

Mexicali Pasta Salad

photo by:kraft

Who needs a mariachi band? Fresh cilantro and lime juice make this smart taco-inspired pasta salad sing out loud with tangy flavor.

time

prep:

20 min

total:

35 min

servings

total:

8 servings, about 1 cup each

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What You Need

cups wagon wheel pasta, uncooked

can (15.5 oz.) black beans, rinsed

cup frozen corn, thawed, drained

1/2

cup chopped red peppers

green onions, thinly sliced

1/2

cup KRAFT Lite Ranch Dressing

Tbsp. TACO BELL® Taco Seasoning Mix

Tbsp. fresh lime juice

1/2

cup KRAFT Mexican Style 2% Milk Finely Shredded Four Cheese

1/3

cup minced fresh cilantro

Make It

COOK pasta as directed on package, omitting salt. Rinse with cold water; drain well. Place in large bowl.

ADD next 4 ingredients; mix lightly.

MIX dressing, seasoning mix and lime juice until blended. Add to salad; toss to coat. Add cheese and cilantro; mix lightly.

TACO BELL® and Logo are trademarks owned and licensed by Taco Bell Corp.

Kraft Kitchens Tips

Substitute

Substitute fresh parsley for the cilantro.

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twinec

posted:5/23/2013

This is so easy and my husband really liked it we ate it two nights I did add cooked shrimp chopped small and it made a meal.

mzglorybe

posted:5/21/2013

I recommend using fresh roasted corn, hulled off of the cob. Makes a big difference in flavor, and adding diced avocado. I eliminate the taco seasoning & ranch and use olive oil w/fresh lime juice for lighter dressing than ranch. I prefer that, and the addition of diced avocado is a must for our family. Wonderful.

jenanderson91

posted:7/7/2012

Definate family favorite!!!

a cook

posted:7/5/2012

Made this for the 4th & everyone raved about it. Made a few adjustments; used whole bottle of ranch dressing, entire packet of taco seaasoning mix and more corn. I am sure I will be makeing this many times this summer.

crts

posted:6/19/2012

We liked this very much, but I follow some others suggestions and doubled the sauce.

a cook

posted:6/18/2012

I didn't have plain black beans so used a can of the sweet mesquite flavored black beans in sauce. It made the salad creamier and gave it some punch. (It's a bit spicy.) Very good!

divasuzie

posted:5/31/2012

this recipe was amazing simple and very savory. My family loved it!

disneymom37

posted:5/30/2012

This salad turned out great!! I doubled the dressing and used rotini pasta instead of the wheels. Next time will probably cut back on the black beans (personal preference) and use alittle more red pepper. This will be my new "go to" recipe for cookouts!

a cook

posted:5/28/2012

Not one family member liked this. Had to trash the whole thing. :(

sapphiredragonn

posted:5/26/2012

I couldn't find the wagon wheels so replaced them with a 16 oz package of small macaroni salad pasta. Like others, I felt the salad was too dry so tripled the ranch dressing, lime juice, and taco seasoning and added some sliced olives. Delicious!! I will definitely be making this again.