This Cilantro Lime Pasta Salad uses an easy Cilantro Lime Greek Yogurt dressing that is tossed with pasta, corn, tomatoes, and more! It's super easy to customize with different mix-ins and stores well in the fridge to be used as meal prep.
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⭐️Why I Love It
- Fresh and Bright Tasting - The combination of fresh cilantro with zesty lime is so bright tasting and perfect for spring or summer. For more recipes with this fresh combination, try this Cilantro Lime Marinade on chicken, beef, or veggies.
- Simple Ingredients - I love that it uses, simple ingredients that you can find almost anywhere! And you can easily swap in other mix-ins.
- Cilantro Lime Greek Yogurt Dressing - This is the star of the recipe and it's so easy to mix up and stores well in the fridge.
🥘Ingredients
- Pasta - I like to use a short noodle, like a bow tie (farfalle) or penne.
- Corn Kernels - You can use a can of corn kernels, frozen corn that has been quickly cooked in a pan to reheat, or corn kernels cut off leftover corn on the cob.
- Cherry Tomatoes - These will be halved and tossed in the pasta salad. You can also swap in regular Roma tomatoes that are diced.
- Red Onion - I love the bite that raw red onion adds. If you don't like raw onion, you can omit.
- Plain Greek Yogurt - This is the base of the cilantro lime dressing. I like to use a full fat Greek Yogurt for better flavor.
- Fresh Cilantro - This is the star of the recipe so it's important to use fresh cilantro and not dried.Also try making this Black Bean Salsa with Corn recipe that uses both lime juice and cilantro.
- Lime Juice - I prefer the flavor of fresh lime juice, but in a pinch you can also use bottled lime juice. This Chili Lime Marinade also uses both lime juice and zest.
- Cayenne Pepper - I like to ad a little bit of spice to the creamy dressing, but you can reduce or omit entirely.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
📖Variations
Try customizing this recipe with some other mix-ins or additions!
- Add Cheese - This recipe is great with some crumbled Cotija cheese or crumbed queso fresco.
- Add a Protein - To bulk up this recipe with a protein, I like to add cooked and shredded chicken or a can of rinsed and drained chickpeas. A great option are these Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken Thighs served on the side or sliced on top.
- Store-Bought Dressing - To really save time, you can buy a creamy cilantro lime dressing at the grocery store, but I think the homemade yogurt dressing is worth it!
- Different Veggies - You can easily add or swap in other veggies. I also love adding diced bell peppers (roasted bell peppers are also fantastic!).
🔪Step by Step Instructions
Photo 1 - Add the dressing ingredients to a food processor or blender.
Photo 2 - Give the dressing a whirl until smooth. Cover and store in the fridge until ready to use.
Photo 3 - Cook the pasta until al dente then rinse and allow to slightly cool. Add to a large bowl with the remaining pasta salad ingredients and drizzle the dressing over the top.
Photo 4 - Toss so everything combines and the dressing coats it all. Serve immediately at room temperature or store in the fridge.
💭Recipe Tips
- Rinse Pasta - Normally, I don't recommend rinsing pasta, but for a pasta salad, rinsing helps separate the noodles so they don't all clump together.
- Make it Spicy - As written, this recipe is not spicy. But if you want a kick, you can add more cayenne pepper to the dressing or try adding some diced or sliced jalapeños to the pasta salad mix.
- Dressing is Make Ahead Friendly - You can mix up the cilantro lime yogurt dressing in advance and store in the fridge for up to 5 days. It's great on other Mexican-inspired recipes like a taco salad with romaine or burrito bowls.
- Raw Red Onion - To remove some of the 'bite' from the raw onion, you can soak the diced onion in ice water for 10-15 minutes while you prep the ingredients.
🍽Leftovers and Storage
Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 4 days. For storage, I recommend holding off on the fresh avocado and only adding before serving as the avocado will brown. The cilantro lime dressing can be stored separately as well for up to 5 days in the fridge.
👩🍳Recipe FAQs
1. Overdressing or Underdressing the salad - You want all of the ingredients to be coated but not overly dressed.
2. Overcooking the Pasta - It's best to cook the pasta to al dente, because if the pasta is overcooked then it will get soggy and too soft.
3. Not using a Variety of Textures - You want the salad to have some crunchy ingredients, some crispy ingredients, and some soft, creamy ingredients.
You should rinse pasta when making a pasta salad. Rinsing helps separate the noodles so they don't all clump together.
🍝Related Pasta Recipes...
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PrintRecipe
Cilantro Lime Pasta Salad
This Cilantro Lime Pasta Salad uses an easy Cilantro Lime Greek Yogurt dressing that is tossed with pasta, corn, tomatoes, and more! It's super easy to customize with different mix-ins and stores well in the fridge to be used as meal prep.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Stove
- Cuisine: Mexican
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
Cilantro Lime Yogurt Dressing
- ⅓ cup plain Greek Yogurt, nonfat or full fat
- ¼ cup lime juice
- ⅓ cup chopped fresh cilantro, loosely packed
- 2 garlic cloves
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Pasta Salad
- 16 oz bow tie pasta, or other small shape
- 1 15oz can corn kernels, rinsed and drained
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- ½ small red onion, diced or thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- 1-2 avocados, diced (optional)
- Crumbled Cotija Cheese or Queso Fresco (optional)
Instructions
- Cook Pasta - Start by getting a pot of salted water boiling and cooking the pasta to al dente. Rinse and drain the pasta and set aside.
- Cilantro Lime Dressing - Add the dressing ingredients to a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth. I like to still have some small pieces of cilantro. You can make the dressing thinner by adding a little more lime juice or water, if needed. Store dressing in fridge until ready to use.
- Toss Pasta Salad - Add the cooked and slightly cooled pasta, rinsed corn, halved tomatoes, diced onion, and fresh cilantro to a large bowl. Pour over the desired amount of dressing and toss to combine. If using avocado or crumbled cheese, I like to add that at the end or on the individual servings.
- Serve - Serve immediately at room temperature or store in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Notes
Red Onion - To remove some of the 'bite', you can soak the diced onion in ice water for 10-15 minutes while you prep the ingredients.
Storage - The dressing can be stored in the fridge on its own for up to 5 days. The tossed salad can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days. If storing, I recommend holding off on adding the avocado until just before serving or it will brown.
Corn - You can use a can of corn kernels, frozen corn that has been quickly cooked in a pan to reheat, or corn kernels cut off leftover corn on the cob.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ⅙ of recipe
- Calories: 346
- Sugar: 7 g
- Sodium: 213.2 mg
- Fat: 2.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 68.3 g
- Fiber: 4.1 g
- Protein: 13.2 g
- Cholesterol: 2.1 mg
Katie says
Loved this recipe! The yogurt dressing was so good - I want to use it on other things!