Mexican Macaroni Salad [Ensalada de Coditos]

Our love for a Mexican-style pasta salad is a marriage of familiar Mexican staple ingredients and al dente elbow pasta. A 20-minute salad that keeps well and is an easy recipe to feed the family.

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Diet Vegetarian

Dietary Vegetarian

Prep Time 12

Cook Time 8

Total Time 20

Servings people

Calories 339kcal

Author Amy Chung

Ingredients

Salad

2 cups macaroni uncooked
1 tsp olive oil
1 cup corn kernels
1 tomatoes medium
½ red onion
1 can mixed beans
1 cup cilantro (coreiander) chopped
salt to taste
pepper to taste

Salad Dressing

1 cup salsa
¼ cup sour cream
¼ cup mayonnaise
½ tsp cumin powder
1 lime

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Salad

Bring a pot of water to the boil and add 1 tsp olive oil. Add macaroni and cook for 7 minutes or until al dente. Once cooked, drain the pot of macaroni and run under some cold water to stop the cooking process. Set aside to dry.
Heat fry pan at medium heat. Add corn kernels and toast for about 8 minutes until you get a lovely char. Set aside to cool down.
Dice 1 medium tomato.
Thinly slice ½ red onion
Drain a can of mixed beans and give it a quick wash. Set aside to dry on paper towels.
Roughly chop coriander to yield 1 cup.

Salad Dressing

In a mixing bowl, add salsa, sour cream, mayonnaise, cumin powder and the juice of 1 lime.
Mix until well combined.

Assembly

In a large mixing bowl, add all the salad ingredients.
Add the salad dressing and mix until well combined.
Serve

Video

Notes

For a vegan version of the Mexican macaroni salad, use vegan sour cream and mayonnaise. The vegan mayonnaise will also provide you with an egg free recipe.
Swap out the full dairy sour cream for a dairy free one for a dairy free Mexican cold pasta salad.
If you want a Mexican pasta salad with ham, simply add diced ham pieces throughout the recipe. For a Hawaiian mix, add some pineapple chunks as well.
You don’t have to char the corn kernels if you're short on time. Perfectly fine straight out of a can.
You can use any salsa you like. Mild, spicy, chunky, extra garlic, you name it, even better if you have homemade salsa ready to go.

Nutrition