Southwest Pasta Salad with Lime Vinaigrette for #BBQWeek

Welcome to day three of BBQ Week!! Christie from A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures said: "Put your thinking caps on and make some BBQ party worthy recipes!  Grilling meats, rubs, sides, salads, desserts!  If you've seen it at a BBQ then make it and share it!"

We will be here ALL WEEK LONG with gorgeous recipes to inspire your warm weather cooking - I cannot wait to see what everyone is bringing to the table!

Wednesday #BBQWeek Recipes

• DIY Hot Dog Onion Sauce by Palatable Pastime
• Grilled Italian Sausages with Peppers and Onions by Blogghetti
• Jalapeno Popper Potato Salad by The Spiffy Cookie
• Poppy Seed Slaw by Our Good Life
• Smoked Ribs with KC Style Sauce by A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
• Southwest Pasta Salad with Lime Vinaigrette by Making Miracles
• Southwestern Deviled Eggs by The Freshman Cook
• Sugar Cone Chocolate Chip Cookies by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Summer Berry Spinach Pasta Salad by Sweet Beginnings
• Tortellini Pesto Salad by Our Crafty Mom
• Tri Color Potato Salad by A Day in the Life on the Farm

We loved this pasta salad! The vinaigrette is fresh and inviting, and it's just delicious with the Sweet Chili Lime Grilled Chicken I shared on Monday. It refrigerates well and keeps for a few days - the cucumber and tomatoes won't last much longer than that though.

I love the combination of textures and flavors in this pasta salad! It's a great side dish and would mix and match with lots of different proteins. You could easily make this an all in one dish by chopping in your favorite protein and tossing it all together.

Southwest Pasta Salad with Lime Vinaigrette adapted from Kylee Cooks

Ingredients
12 oz pasta
15.25-oz can sweet corn
15-oz can black beans
2 small tomatoes, diced
1 small cucumber, diced
1 medium / large avocado, diced

Dressing
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup white distilled vinegar
¼ cup lime juice
1 TBS minced garlic
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cracked pepper
1 TBS cilantro paste

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook pasta per the package directions and then run under cold water until cooled completely.
2. Add in the remaining ingredients.
3. Meanwhile, prepare the dressing by combining all dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisking to blend, or pouring ingredients into a mason jar and shaking to blend. 
4. Pour dressing over all of the pasta salad ingredients and gently toss to combine.
5. Taste, and adjust seasonings as desired.
6. Serve immediately, or refrigerate until ready to serve.