Taco Pasta Salad

4.80 from 5 votes

Make filling lunches a breeze with my taco pasta salad. Hearty taco meat topped with beans, colorful veggies and an easy yogurt dressing, it's sure to be a new staple.

Prep Time30

Cook Time15

Total Time45

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Keyword: meal prep, Pasta Salad

Servings: people

Ingredients

For the salad

2.5 cups fusili uncooked
1 lb ground turkey (or ground meat of choice)
1.5 tablespoon olive oil
1 package low sodium taco seasoning *see note below for homemad version
1 can (540ml) lentils rinsed and drained
1 cup corn kernels (canned or frozen and defrosted)
¼ cup fresh cilantro chopped
1 can (540ml) black beans rinsed and drained
1 pint cherry tomatoes sliced
1 medium red bell pepper diced
3 green onions sliced (both the whites and greens)

For the yogurt dressing

¾ cup plain Greek yogurt 2% works best!
¼ cup mayonnaise
2 limes just the juice
1.5 tablespoon low sugar BBQ sauce Stubb's is my favourite
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon cumin
¼ tsp paprika
½ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

To a pan over medium-high heat add olive oil. Once oil is hot, add the ground turkey. Cook, stirring frequently until no longer pink in colour. Once cooked through season with taco seasoning and stir in lentils. Set aside to cool.
To a large bowl add cooked pasta. Then layer with cooked ground meat/ lentils and all additional toppings.
Make the yogurt dressing by whisking together yogurt, mayonnaise, lime juice, BBQ sauce and spices until smooth and creamy
Drizzle dressing over the salad. Toss to combine.

Notes

Add some leafy greens: I like serving my pasta salad over a bed of shredded lettuce or spinach!

For homemade taco seasoning you can use: 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1.5 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, ½ teaspoon paprika, ¼ garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon onion powder, ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, ¼ teaspoon dried oregano

*I have included an estimation of the nutrition information for this recipe below. However, always remember a recipe is so much more than just nutritional content and these numbers do not need to dictate your food choices. Please don't forget that both your body and soul need nourishment! The owner of this website is not liable for this estimation.

Nutrition

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