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This mexican pasta salad is perfect to serve cold, at room temp or even heated up. It is protein packed thanks to the chicken and beans, flavor loaded, and quick to make! Use pre-cooked chicken to get this dinner on the table in under 30 minutes!

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Mexican Pasta Salad with Chicken

Mexican pasta salad has everything in it

I love everything about this dish. It gives you all the delicious mexican flavor, with so much goodness going on.

We’re got chicken and beans for protein.

Bell pepper, corn and green onion for veggies.

Penne pasta for carbohydrates.

Salsa and yogurt for a creamy sauce.

Plus avocado to top it all because it is delicious and the perfect healthy fat for this dish!

mexican pasta salad

What you’ll need for this dish

how to make mexican pasta salad

How to make mexican pasta salad

  1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. Rub 1 tsp avocado oil over the chicken breasts and season with sea salt and pepper. Bake for 15 minutes, flip, and bake another 10 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked (this can vary based on how large the chicken breasts are).
  2. Allow the chicken to. slightly cool, then dice it and set it aside.
  3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and then cook pasta according to package directions. When done, drain and set aside to slightly cool.
  4. Heat a medium skillet to medium-high heat and add 1 tsp avocado oil. When hot, add the corn and saute for 7-9 minutes until the corn is softened and slightly golden on a few edges.
  5. To assemble the Mexican pasta salad, add the diced bell pepper, green onion, black beans, cooked chicken, and taco seasoning (see note for individual seasonings) together in a large bowl. Toss to combine. Next, add the pasta and corn and mix.
  6. In a small bowl mix together the yogurt and salsa, then stir into the pasta dish. Feel free to top with extra green onion, and/or diced avocado, and enjoy!
mexican pasta salad with chicken

How to meal prep it

Pre-cooking the chicken in advance is the best way to save time!

Some other ways to prep it in advance include chopping all the veggies, mixing up the spices and draining and rinsing the beans ahead time.

Because this recipe can be served cold, you can even make the whole dish in advance and meal prep it for the week! It makes great lunches, and an easy on the go dinner the whole family will love.

More recipes you’ll love

Mexican Pasta Salad with Chicken
Mexican Pasta Salad with Chicken
5 from 1 vote
Servings: 4

Mexican Pasta Salad with Chicken

By Heather
This mexican pasta salad is perfect to serve cold, at room temp or even heated up. It is protein packed thanks to the chicken and beans, flavor loaded, and quick to make! Use pre-cooked chicken to get this dinner on the table in under 30 minutes!
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 25 minutes
Total: 35 minutes
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Ingredients 

  • 1 lb chicken breast boneless skinless
  • 2 tsp avocado oil, divided
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1/8 tsp pepper
  • 8 oz penne pasta
  • 1 cup frozen corn
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 3 green onion, minced
  • 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1.5 tbsp taco seasoning
  • 1/2 cup plain yogurt
  • 1/4 cup salsa
  • optional for serving: more green onion and diced avocado

Instructions 

  • Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. Rub 1 tsp avocado oil over the chicken breasts and season with sea salt and pepper. Bake for 15 minutes, flip, and bake another 10 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked (this can vary based on how large the chicken breasts are).
  • Allow the chicken to. slightly cool, then dice it and set it aside.
  • Bring a large pot of water to a boil and then cook pasta according to package directions. When done, drain and set aside to slightly cool.
  • Heat a medium skillet to medium-high heat and add 1 tsp avocado oil. When hot, add the corn and saute for 7-9 minutes until the corn is softened and slightly golden on a few edges.
  • To assemble the Mexican pasta salad, add the diced bell pepper, green onion, black beans, cooked chicken, and taco seasoning (see note for individual seasonings) together in a large bowl. Toss to combine. Next, add the pasta and corn and mix.
  • In a small bowl mix together the yogurt and salsa, then stir into the pasta dish. Feel free to top with extra green onion, and/or diced avocado, and enjoy!

Notes

Don’t have homemade taco seasoning ready to use? Substitute these individual seasonings for the mix:
3/4 tsp  chili powder
3/4 tsp  cumin
1 tsp  garlic granules, divided
1/4 tsp  dried oregano
1/4 tsp  paprika
1/2 tsp  sea salt
1/4 tsp  onion powder

Nutrition

Calories: 520kcal, Carbohydrates: 72g, Protein: 40g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 77mg, Sodium: 490mg, Potassium: 1071mg, Fiber: 10g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 1257IU, Vitamin C: 45mg, Calcium: 87mg, Iron: 3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Like this? Leave a comment below!
Mexican Pasta Salad with Chicken

If you try this recipe, I’d love it if you left a star rating and comment below letting me know how it turned out!

XO

Heather

*Originally published in December 2011. Updated July 2021.*

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Heather

Hi! I’m Heather, the creator of Fit Mama Real Food, Everyday Muffin Party author, nutrition coach, group fitness instructor, wife, and mom of four. I’m so glad you are here!

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5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

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14 Comments

  1. Cherry says:

    ooohhh! the pasta looks delicious! ok now i’m starving! thanks for the recipe by the way 🙂

  2. Erica says:

    Thanks Heather for this salad recipe! I can’t wait to try it this weekend! I hope you don’t mind if I don’t add the beans!

  3. Annette@EnjoyYourHealthyLife says:

    I like pasta….but cold pasta gives me the heebiejeebies. Weird, I know! Hah.

  4. Sara Grambusch says:

    That sounds pretty good since I’m not a huge fan of traditional pasta salad. Love the picture with the spoon handle 🙂

  5. Averie @ Love Veggies and Yoga says:

    Just passed your info on to my contact for your prize.

    And this looks great. Love the pops of green avocado…mmmm, tasty!

    1. Get Healthy with Heather says:

      Awesome, thanks Averie!

  6. Hilliary @Happily Ever Healthy says:

    Yum this looks delicious! I love avocados, and combined in a pasta salad… YUM!

    1. Get Healthy with Heather says:

      Avocados are pretty much the bomb 🙂

  7. Lauren @ What Lauren Likes says:

    Oooh! This looks seriously good! Yum 🙂

  8. Erica says:

    That last picture is awesomeeee. This looks fantastic. I’m a fan of all of the flavors in there!Yes- pasta salad is SO good. I don’t like mayo ones, but oil ones or ones with mayo subs are fantastical

    1. Get Healthy with Heather says:

      I’m not big on mayo filled pasta salads either. They can get so heavy.

  9. Lindsay @ Lindsay's List says:

    I LOVE that tablecloth(?)!! The print and colors are gorgeous! Where’d you get it?

    1. Get Healthy with Heather says:

      Haha it’s actually not a table cloth, but a quilting square I picked up at JoAnn fabric. It’s only like 2 feet by 2 feet ish. I love it too 🙂