Cowboy Pasta Salad
Cowboy Pasta Salad is full of all the beef, beans, and sweet and tangy sauce we love about cowboy beans, and it’s all mixed together with perfectly cooked bowtie pasta to create a pasta salad that’s as delicious as it is unexpected.
Summer is our favorite time of year for making sides because there are so many interesting and tasty options. This particular pasta salad is the perfect example of how creative and delicious side dishes can be this time of year. With all the flavor of cowboy beans and the sensibilities of pasta salad, this dish is the ultimate side.
Table of contents
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It uses simple ingredients you can find in your kitchen and local grocery store.
- It’s an easy recipe that only takes a few minutes to make.
- This combination of cowboy beans and pasta salad is the ultimate summertime side.
🛒Ingredients
You’ll only need a few basic ingredients to make this recipe, and you’ll find them all in just a few minutes at your local grocery store. We’ve listed them all here, but the exact amounts can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.
- Bowtie pasta
- Bacon – cooked and crumbled
- Lean ground beef – cooked and drained
- Taco seasoning
- Canned corn – drained
- Canned black beans – rinsed and drained
- Cherry tomatoes – sliced
- Scallions – chopped
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Mayonnaise
- BBQ sauce
- Worcestershire sauce
🔪 How to Make Cowboy Pasta Salad
Making this pasta salad is as easy as shopping for the ingredients. It only takes a few minutes of prep, then you just wait for a few hours while it chills. That’s all there is to it.
Step 1: Boil the Pasta
Boil the pasta according to the package directions for al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water and set aside.
Step 2: Combine the Dry Pasta Salad Ingredients
Add the bacon, ground beef, taco seasoning, corn, black beans, tomatoes, scallions, and cheese to a large mixing bowl. Then, add the pasta on top.
Step 3: Make the Dressing
Combine all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and mix thoroughly.
Step 4: Toss and Chill
Pour the dressing into the bowl with the pasta salad and toss until evenly coated. Chill for 2 hours and enjoy!
📝Variations
- Try adding red pepper flakes or diced jalapenos for a kick of heat.
- You can use ground beef, a ground beef and pork mix, or chorizo for this recipe.
- Any short, texture pasta variety works for this pasta salad.
If you love the zesty flavor of cowboy recipes like this one, then check out our slow cooker cowboy stew.
🥄 Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Skillet
- Pot
- Mixing bowl
🥫 Storage
Refrigerate this pasta salad for up to 3 days in an air-tight container. Do not freeze this pasta. The mayo will break and create a watery, grainy texture.
Serve With
Serve this delicious cowboy pasta salad with all your summertime favorites. It’s combination of beef, bacon, and beans with a sweet and tangy dressing makes it perfect for pairing with burgers, dogs, BBQ, grilled foods, and everything you love during the warmer weather.
💭 Tips
- Be sure to only cook your pasta to al dente. If it’s too soft, it will fall apart when you mix it with the other ingredients.
- Cook your bacon over medium heat. This gets it nice and crispy without burning it.
- Cook the ground beef until it’s no longer pink and no further. Overcooked ground beef is rubbery.
- Toss the pasta salad rather than stirring it. This ensures the pasta holds its shape.
⁉️ FAQ
Do you have questions about this recipe? Here are the answers to the most commonly asked questions.
Cowboy pasta salad is a variation of pasta salad made with the hallmark ingredients of cowboy beans like ground beef, bacon, beans, and a sweet and tangy sauce.
Al dente pasta should be soft but not mushy. When bitten into, al dente pasta should yield while still having a very slight snap.
Rinsing pasta for pasta salad may or may not be necessary, depending on the recipe. Pasta should not be rinsed if the pasta salad uses a light, oil-based dressing. On the other hand, pasta salad made with a thick dressing should be rinsed to allow the dressing to cling to it more readily.
🍽 More Recipes
Do you enjoy pasta salad? Then try these delicious recipes:
🧾Recipe Card
Want to make this recipe? Print the recipe card below, or pin this recipe, so you can find it later.
Cowboy Pasta Salad
Equipment
- large pot
- Colander
- large bowl
- small bowl
Ingredients
- 16 ounces bowtie pasta
- 1 pound bacon cooked and crumbled
- 1 pound lean ground beef cooked and drained
- 1 ounce packet taco seasoning
- 15 ounces corn drained
- 15 ounces black beans rinsed and drained
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes sliced
- ½ cup scallions chopped
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- Dressing
- 1 cup mayo
- ¼ cup bbq sauce
- 2 Tablespoons worcheshire sauce
Instructions
- Boil your pasta until al dente.
- Drain and rinse under cold water and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl combine the bacon, ground beef, taco seasoning, corn, black beans, tomatoes, scallions, cheese.
- Pour the pasta on top.
- In a small mixing bowl combine the dressing ingredients.
- Pour the dressing mix over the top.
- Toss all the ingredients together.
- Chill for 2 hours.
- Serve!
