Salsa Pasta Salad

My husband loves this salad and repeatedly asks me to make it. I omit the olives and green chilies and add only 2 teaspoons of white sugar. I also add just one teaspoon of chili powder since 1 tablespoon is way too spicy for us. Adding a can each of dark red kidney beans and whole kernel corn and using a red onion makes the salad even more attractive. If it weren't for the adjustments I've had to make on my own, this salad is definitely worthy of 5 stars. Its a keeper in my house!

I was looking for a low-calorie pasta salad. This was the lowest I found and it sounded different. I was hesitant about only using 2 cups of dry pasta but it turned out to be plenty. I did add about 1/2 cup extra fresh cilantro to the salad. After letting it chill/marinade in the fridge for a few hours I've tasted it and think I will also add a finely diced jalapeno for some spice. It tastes really good now but I think I would enjoy the flavor of a jalapeno. Very good recipe.

This is such a great recipe for those work related potluck/BBQ's. I never have any to bring home!! :(

This is the best!! I did add avocados and black beans and corn. Everyone loved it!!! Thanks!!

This was a great salad. I used six roma tomatoes and a couple of jalapenos. If I make it again I'll add a bit more pasta and some chunks of avocado.

Awesome! I used Olive Oil instead, and only 1/3 cup...Splenda instead of sugar, and took out the bell pepper, doubles the onion and added cucumber! Gotta try this one!

Too much going on all at once. The vinegar was way overpowering for me. I could not eat more than a few bites.

I've made this a couple of times for potluck BBQs and everyone liked it. I used a red onion and yellow pepper for a little more color, and it makes a lot of the dressing so the second time I used 3 cups of dry pasta instead of 2 and there was still plenty of dressing to coat everything well.

OMG! This is sooo good! I followed the recipe exactly on everything except I used about 3 cups of pasta. Once I finished making it I tasted it and wanted to just eat the whole bowl right then. I can't wait to see how yummy it must taste once it completely cools and sits a bit. I wouldn't change anything other than add a few more noodles. I will definitely make this recipe A LOT!

Loved this recipe. I did take one reviewer's advice and added some fresh chopped jalapeno to the cilantro dressing. I also substituted purple onion and yellow bell pepper to make the dish more colorful! Also used regular penne pasta, rather than the rainbow pasta - it is all that I had on hand. Great mixture of flavors!

I love this recipe and have made it several times. Great side dish for a BBQ or potluck. I like to add both black and green olives, but other than that I think it is perfect "as is."

I made this salad one day and people were over, they tried it and right away asked for the recipe... It really is a good summer time salad..

Yummy. Made this for the first time for 4th of July weekend with the following changes: omit black olives and white sugar, add 1 jalapeno pepper.

Amazing pasta salad! I was looking for something different to add to the kids' lunches and they love it. Fresh and healthy!!!

I love pasta salads, and this one was a hit. I omitted the green chiles (just personal taste), and added a can of black beans (rinsed), a can of corn, and cubed cheddar cheese. I also decreased the chili powder to 1 tsp., used red onion, and one yellow pepper and one red pepper. YUMMY!

This was GREAT last night and even better today. I added the minced jalapenos too... YUMMY!

Took this on a family 'reunion' camping trip, and everyone loved it. We kept adding more tomatoes because it's that time of year when they are abundant, and it made the salad go further. Will make this one again.

Very good! Especially for us ADD chefs :) It's got alot going on with all the different ingredients but a good blend. I have made this several times and it's easy to change for fussy eaters.

Very good, easy to make, will definitely make again this summer. It's a nice complement to a healthy grilled meal. I omitted the olives and tomatoes because my husband won't eat those ingredients, but instead I added tri-color bell peppers. The dish looked beautiful and the dressing to pasta/veggie ratio was appropriate. I may double the green chiles next time and slightly decrease the amount of cilantro.

We really enjoyed this salad, my biggest change was the fact I was out of lemons, so used lime juice instead and that worked just fine. I think next time I'd try another flavor vinegar, like cider, and maybe up the spices a bit. I eyeballed the amount of veggies and cilantro and added much more than called for, but then I always do. Made this up early in the morning and let it marry all day long. A great summertime pasta salad.

I made this recipe for some friends who were coming to dinner and it was an instant hit. Now it's a request when we potluck! Only changes I made were I used olive oil instead of vegetable, reduced the chili powder to 1 tsp. subbed garlic powder for garlic salt and didn't add the green chiles.

Very good. The only change I made was add more noodles.

Didn't change a thing!

Good, but a bit bland for my taste.

This was very good! I added more salt, vinegar and lemon juice to the dressing to make it a little more zippy. Also, I added to cheese to give it a little more variety of flavor. I will definitely make this again.

This recipe is a great alternative to traditional mayonaise based pasta salad. It's light and refreshing. I used bow tie pasta and fresh jalapeno peppers for extra "kick" and the salad does taste better the longer the flavors blend. Try it-- I will definitely make again for our next barbecue. Omitted the olives--they are not neccesary--and I don't care for them.

This was a great southwest style pasta salad!!! I did add the jalapenos and fresh sliced avacados. WONDERFULL!!! katie,EL Reno Oklahoma

This salad was a hit at our BBQ just subsituted a red onion and added a avacado for more flavor it was delicious

I left out the olives and added peas and diced sharp cheddar cheese. After letting it sit overnight in the fridge it got rave reviews at a work meeting.

this was a great receipe for picnic/bbq.

Pretty spicy, but very good.

This is the best pasta salad I've had in a long time. My partner and I almost ate the entire bowl without even chilling it. I look forward to making this a staple in my household. The only thing that I didn't use was the green chilies, but I substituted it with banana peppers for extra zing without being too spicy. Excellent recipe!

Delicious. Made a few changes using flame roasted red pepper as I had no fresh. Added extra fresh cilantro, hot paprika, as i ahd no chili powder, no olives and added garlic granules as i had no garlic salt. Used ground nut oil, recipe is lovely and will definitely make again and shop for the right stuff next time!

This was quite good, it needed more pasta, the bottom of the bowl was full of liquid. and the suggestion of jalapenos might help too. Will make again.

Very good & tasty. Sub veg oil for Olive oil and sub white pasta for wheat pasta. Xcellent

It was good, but not what I was looking for to feed my pasta salad pregnancy craving.

I agree, very good but had a wee bit too much dressing. I would add a half cup or a full cup (dry) noodles. I don't like raw onion so I omitted that. The whole family really liked it!

This was delicious. I made it for a picnic and everyone enjoyed it. I only used 3/4 Tb. of chili powder since I was afraid a full Tb would be too much. It was the perfect amount of flavor. I used a small can of slice olives too instead of the big one. This is a change of pace from generic pasta salad and was wonderful. I would definitely recommend this recipe.

Wonderful! Lots of compliments from my guests. Don't change a thing.

YUM!!! I omitted the olives & green chilies, added a yellow bell pepper, a little extra cilantro & some mixed greens and it was extra delicious! Almost had a thai-salad type taste. Will definitely be making again

I made this just for my husband who thrives on spicy foods and used habanero powder instead of chili powder. Also, as he enjoys entree salads, I added a can of pinto beans. I also added three fresh jalapeno peppers, just in case it wasn't hot enough - and it usually isn't. I heeded the advice about using less vinegar and am glad that I did.

Great salad, but tasted probably 100 percent better the second day. I added a little more vinegar and lemon juice for an extra kick. Will be making this again. But I will make it the day ahead of when it will be eaten.

I'm not a big fan of pasta salads, but this one was great! It had a very unique taste to it. It's not your normal pasta salad. It was rather spicy. I added 2 jalapenos after reading the reviews and they gave it a kick! Be careful when cutting them though.. I had a cut on my finger and it was burning for the rest of the night. :)

Very good

Wonderful. I added some corn and black beans, used some fresh premade pico de gallo, and doubled the dressing. I will be making this lot. People were all over this pasta salad.

I made this for a work potluck. Everyone kept saying how fresh it tasted. Next time though I will add the fresh jalapeno's as suggested by others. I will be adding this one to my favorites.

I have made this salad about ten times this summer already! It is so delicious and easy to make. I have added red kidney beans,black beans and corn to vary the taste. I also add a cucumber to add some more crunch. Thanks so much for a wonderful recipe!

I made this last night for a block party. I used the whole box of rainbow pasta as I had read there could be a lot of dressing in the bottom. I had no problem with that. I also added chipolte cheese and a small hot pepper (seeded and ribbed) and a bit more chili pepper since I used more pasta. It was one of the first to go and I enjoyed the little bowl I snitched for breakfast! Great recipe!!!

I'm sorry. We just didn't care for the flavor of this salad. Maybe if I put salsa in, that might save it.

I LOVE this pasta salad! I rarely eat pasta salad because I don't care for mayonaise based sauce or Italian dressing (which most recipes call for). This one is a winner! I've made a few changes based on personal preference: - Half the amount of oil the recipe calls for. The whole amount is a little overwhelming and adds a lot of unneeded calories! - Omit the cilantro (I loathe cilantro) - Replace green chiles with jalepenos - Omit black olives

I like to try new recipes whenever I have to bring a dish and this was a huge hit.

I wound up veering from the recipe quite a bit. I accidentally forgot the cilantro, I didn't have enough lemon juice, so i had to add more oil to counter the vinegar. I only used 1 tsp of chili powder and sugar and I used 3 cups uncooked pasta, red onion and cherry tomatoes. STILL, this came out awesome! So goodI was sad when it was gone. I think next time I will try the whole box of pasta. Thanks for the recipe because I never would have used white vinegar and chili powder in a pasta salad on my own.

Very light, cool and refreshing. I served this at a BBQ gathering and it was a hit, none was left.

I normally make Spiral Pasta Salad from this site but thought I would try this since a new summer will soon be here and had ingredients on hand. I followed recipe exactly. Served it 5 hrs after making it and it didn't WOW anyone. Before putting the leftovers away, I added corn and hot sauce. Tasted it a day later and it did taste better. Will not be my go to Pasta salad though since it just lacks something. Others loved it so just follow your gut! UPDATE: I initially gave this 3 stars but now rate it a 5. This salad sat in the fridge not being eaten for 4 days. I was ready to toss it but tasted it again and it was GREAT and consumed by all! Submitter was correct in saying that this gets better as it sits. Would be a great salad to make ahead of time for a party.

Made for graduation celebration party after trying different recipes. Serving walking tacos and this should be a nice compliment. Might cut back on the vinegar a little bit.

This recipe was so good! I was a little skeptical at first but I'm glad I tried it. I followed the directions exactly except that I added cucumber and swapped green chilies for a fresh jalapeño. I ate it at room temperature when I first made it because I couldn't wait to eat it.

Taste like summer in a bowl. Did not do any changes but may consider adding corn and/or black beans in the future, but it was delicious as is.

A very good and versatile salad. Didn't use the chili. I used the only pasta I had on hand--black bean pasta- which didn't go as well as I think a regular pasta would. Looking forward to making it with variations.

Great! Quadrupled the recipe. Used green bananas. Will try with corn and bacon crumbles and corn and red beans next. A keeper!

Apart from using apple cider vinegar, I made this pretty much as written. Husband liked it especially. Thanks, Kathy! I'll be making this again!

A very good and versatile salad. Didn't use the chili. I used the only pasta I had on hand--black bean pasta- which didn't go as well as I think a regular pasta would. Looking forward to making it with variations.

To make this recipe a little more "kid friendly" for the next time, I would not add the olives and use little or no chiles.