Post updated with new photos 7/26/23
The PERFECT summer salad! This cilantro lime pasta salad is loaded with fresh veggies & avocado all tossed in a creamy cilantro lime dressing! Quick, flavorful & an easy potluck idea!
Cilantro lime pasta salad – the official dish of summer! This is not your traditional pasta salad. Dare I say it…it’s better!😉 Loaded with fresh seasonal veggies including sweet corn, tomatoes and avocado then tossed in the creamiest cilantro lime dressing!
We take this salad with us all the time to parties – and we’re always asked for the recipe. It’s so simple, flavor-packed and couldn’t be easier to make! Everyone loves how different it is from our usual pasta salad!
Ingredients For Cilantro Lime Pasta Salad
Pasta: We love using bow tie pasta (farfalle) but any type of short pasta will work. (Rotini would be another great choice!)
Corn: Fresh corn works the best for this recipe but canned or frozen corn can be used instead.
Tomatoes: We love using cherry or grape tomatoes! (They have such great flavor!)
Red onion: Red onions are slightly sweeter and don’t have a harsh “onion flavor” like white or yellow onions.
Cilantro: Use the leaves and stems for maximum flavor! We’ll be using cilantro in the pasta salad and for the dressing.
Avocado: A must for this salad! Add as little or as much as you want.
Plain Greek yogurt: Used as the base for your dressing. We use 0% plain Greek yogurt for ours!
Limes: Used to thin out the dressing and adds so much flavor!
Garlic: Two garlic cloves are needed for the dressing! (Don’t worry about mincing them. We’re blending all our dressing ingredients together.)
Spices: Salt and a pinch of cayenne are used to season your dressing!
How To Make Cilantro Lime Pasta Salad
1. Make the dressing. Add your dressing ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth. Then cover and keep the dressing stored in the refrigerator.
2. Prepare the pasta. Cook the pasta according to the package’s directions then let it cool completely. Add it to a large bowl once cooled.
3. Prepare the rest of your ingredients. While the pasta cools, cook your corn using your preferred method and cut the kernels off each cob. Cut your tomatoes, red onion and cilantro.
4. Mix! Add your prepared ingredients to the bowl with your pasta and pour your desired amount of dressing over the top. Toss the salad until it’s fully coated.
5. Serve. Top each individual portion with diced avocado and cotija cheese (if using) and serve immediately.
Quick Tip: Double the dressing recipe to use for leftovers! We’ll usually double the dressing if we’re making a full box of pasta too.
Variations & Tips
- Grill the corn for added flavor!
- Add a sprinkle of cotija cheese!
- Top it with diced or grilled chicken to make it a full meal!
- For leftovers: Toss your leftover pasta salad in another half batch of dressing right before serving! (The pasta tends to soak up the dressing as it sits.)
Storing
Store your leftover pasta salad in an air tight container in the refrigerator. We usually pick out the avocado pieces before storing because they tend to turn brown. (You can always add more avocado when you eat it next!) Your pasta salad should stay good for 2-3 days if stored properly.
FAQ’s
Can I prep any ingredients beforehand? Yes! You can prepare the pasta, corn, tomatoes, onion and dressing at least 1-2 days in advance. (Cut the avocado right before serving.)
What’s the easiest way to cook fresh corn for this pasta salad? Boil your corn cobs for 1½ – 2 minutes. (They should be plump and bright yellow.)
Can I freeze my pasta salad? No. Freezing can cause a few of your ingredients to become mushy after they thaw.
Why you’ll love this cilantro lime pasta salad recipe!
- Lightened up & healthy! We’re using protein-packed Greek yogurt as the base for our dressing & loading it up with fresh veggies and healthy fats!
- A different type of summer pasta salad! No typical pasta salad ingredients here! It’s a fun change of pace everyone’s going to love!
- So much flavor! Creamy, tangy, zesty & everything in between! This pasta salad has all the flavors and textures!
[Made one of my recipes? Make sure to tag my Instagram @kalefornia_kravings & leave a review in the comments. I love seeing what you create!]
Cilantro Lime Pasta Salad
Ingredients
For the pasta salad:
- 16 oz. bow tie pasta, cooked and cooled (or your favorite pasta)
- 1½ cups corn kernels (about 2 ears of corn)*
- 1½ cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- ½ of a small red onion, chopped or thinly sliced
- 2 Tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
- 1-2 avocados, diced
- Cotija cheese, crumbled (optional)
For the dressing:
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice
- ¼ cup cilantro, roughly chopped (leaves & stems are ok)
- 2 garlic cloves
- ½ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp cayenne
Instructions
- Make the dressing. Add your dressing ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth. Then cover and keep it stored in the refrigerator.
- Toss the pasta salad. Add the cooled pasta, corn kernels, tomatoes, onion and cilantro to a large bowl and pour your desired amount of dressing over the top. Toss the salad until it's fully coated.
- Serve. Top each individual portion with avocado and cotija cheese (if using) and serve immediately.
Such a delish & easy recipe, 😊 thanks
Yayy! I’m so glad you like it Natali! 🙂
Do you have any nutrition information for this recipe?
Hi Julie! Unfortunately I do not, I’m so sorry! I’m working on having that inofrmation available soon though!
Easy to make but for me it was a little to tart. I will use less lime juice next time. Overall I liked it. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Hi Gloria! I’m sorry it was a little too tart for you, but using less lime juice sounds like the perfect solution! I’m so glad you liked it overall though!
This looks delicious and I am going to try it. One question, is the corn cooked or raw off the of the cob?
Oh yay, I can’t wait to hear what you think! It can be both actually! We’ll usually boil the corn for about 1 minute or so and then cut the kernels off but if I’m short on time then I’ll cut them off raw. They taste the same either way. 🙂
How long does this salad keep in the fridge? I’m hoping for yummy leftovers!
Hi Melissa! I would say about 3-4 days. The pasta tends to soak up some of the dressing while it sits so I would suggest saving any leftover dressing you have too. I can’t wait to hear what you think! 🙂
hey there! quick q – should the plain greek yogurt be 0% fat? 2% fat? just confused by that. thanks so much!
Hi Kathleen! It really depends on your personal preference. I usually use 0% fat because it doesn’t have as strong of a yogurt flavor. I hope this helps!
Can this salad be made the day before serving and then just toss right before serving?
Hi Patti! Absolutely! We’ll usually leave the salad and dressing separate and toss them together right before serving. It’s so easy! 🙂
This looks amazing!! Making me hungry.
Thanks so much Ella! It’s one of our favorite pasta salads! 🙂
Hey! I was wondering what the macros and calories were per serving. Thank you!
Hi Alonna! Unfortunately I don’t have that information yet. I’m working on getting it soon though!
Hi there, what kind of cheese would you recommend using with this? I see there’s cheese in the picture but wasn’t seeing it listed anywhere.
Hi Rachel! I would suggest using cotija or queso fresco. They both should be pretty easy to find at most grocery stores. I hope this helps! 🙂
This is reeeeally good — definitely a keeper. The corn I bought was really sweet adding the sweetness the recipe needs, plus the sweet tomatoes. I added a little more yogurt than called for to dampen the tartness a bit. Doing so gave me more delicious dressing for the salad. I also added more salt to taste. Thank you so much for the recipe!
Hi there! I’m so happy you enjoyed it! And love the adjustments you made too! 🙂
Hello, is there a substitute for Greek yogurt ? Or would it not taste a good ??
Hi Karyn! I personally wouldn’t suggest substituting the greek yogurt. I’ve tried a few different versions of the dressing with different substitutions and they didn’t come out the same. I’m sorry! If you have a strong aversion to greek yogurt though and would need a substitute, the closest one would probably be sour cream. It will change the flavor of the dressing though. I hope this helps!
This is my new favorite summer salad! You cannot tell that it is a greek yogurt once it has been mixed together. I tell everyone I serve this to that it’s basically a “Mexican Pasta Salad” and they love it.
Aww Jackie, that makes me so happy! I’m so glad it’s a hit! 🙂
This looks tasty. I’ll have to try this out on the family.
Hi Keira! Thank you so much – definitely let me know if you do! 🙂
This looks incredible! I wanted to make a blackbean salad and was wondering if you think the dressing would go well on that also?
Hi Andrea! Thank you so much! And yes, this dressing would be amazing on my black bean salad. That’s such a great idea! Let me know if you try it. 🙂
So excited to try this … but grocery store options are limited where I live. Do you have a coija cheese substitution suggestion … feta, goat cheese, parmesan, Romano maybe?
Hi Brandi! No problem at all! I would say feta cheese would be the best replacement for cotija. I definitely recommend using block feta and crumbling it yourself too. (I just think block feta has such better flavor than store-bought crumbled feta.) Hopefully that helps! Let me know if you try it or if you have any other questions!😊
I made this for my family last night and everyone loved it! I was anticipating a large amount of leftovers, as there are only 3 people in my family, but we ate all of it. I used a little less lime juice than the recipe required after reading the comments and it was perfect. I can’t wait to make this again. It is definitely a new family favorite. Thank you!
Hi Sonya! Aww yayy, that makes me so happy! I’m so glad you and your family enjoyed it! 🙂
Can you tell me how much one serving is?
Hi there! I’d say it’s about 1 cup if serving this as an entree. 🙂
This looks so good! What a great combination of flavors for summer!
Hi Suzanne! Thank you so much! It’s one of our favorites! 🙂
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
Hi there! It should stay good for 2-3 days if stored in the refrigerator. (We’ll usually pick out the avocado pieces before storing it.) I hope this helps!
I absolutely loved this salad. Shared some with a friend and she liked it too.
Had more the next day and added more dressing. My avocadoes didn’t turn brown in the salad. They were actually creamy and blended in with the salad. I definitely will be making this again, though probably less cayenne.
Hi Darlene! Yayy I’m so happy you enjoyed it! (And good to know about the avocados too.😉) Thank you so much!
Good day,
Thank you for the Cilantro Lime Pasta Salad recipe. What would you recommend if I substitute the corn? I do not want to compromise the taste of the salad, unfortunately I am unable to eat corn.
Thank you!
Hi Jamie! I would probably suggest black beans or red bell pepper. Black beans would make it more hearty while the red pepper would add the same sweetness and crunch as the corn. I hope this helps! 🙂
In the process of preparing this but a little worried about the amount of pasta. 8oz for 6 servings doesn’t sound right – did you mean two cups perhaps?
Hi Melissa! Apologies for that – it should read 1 pound (16oz) for 6-8 people. Thank you for bringing that to my attention!