Creamy Vegan Southwest Pasta Salad - bow tie pasta, tons of veggies & soyrizo topped off with a creamy southwest dressing that is to die for!
I know it seems a little early in the year to start sharing BBQ side dish recipes, but I couldn't wait any longer to share this one with you.
Plus the Super Bowl is right around the corner and this recipe will not only make enough to serve a small village, it is also a total crowd pleaser. It has the perfect amount of spice, crunch, creaminess...I'm telling you, you will not be disappointed!
Now, when you take a look at the ingredient list for this Creamy Vegan Southwest Pasta Salad, don't freak out! I know there are a lot of ingredients, but most of them you will already have in your pantry and none of them are difficult to find.
Just be prepared to put on some music while you chop away in the kitchen.
The dressing obviously gives this recipe its "southwest" name - filled with green chiles, lots of spices and ketchup (just trust me on that last one, it makes all of the difference).
But to give this a little more spice and A LOT more flavor, I also added soyrizo into the mix. I love the Trader Joe's version, but you can find other brands of soyrizo at your local grocery store too. Feel free to omit it if it isn't your thing, but I think it adds some really great texture and flavor to the dish.
The other thing you need for this southwest pasta salad is a HUGE mixing bowl. I'm talking the biggest one you can find. You could also prepare this is patches, but be warned that this makes a HUGE amount of food.
If you want to make this ahead of time, I would get your salad ingredients combined and your dressing mixed, then keep them separate until you're ready to serve. As with all pasta salads, the pasta will continue to absorb the dressing the longer it sits so mixing it right before serving is important.
Bring this to your next party. Whether the weather is warm or cold, it will definitely be a hit!
Need more pasta salad inspo? Check out these recipes:
- Vegan BLT Pasta Salad
- Tomato Corn Avocado Pasta Salad
- Roasted Veggie Pasta Salad
- Vegan Orzo Pasta Salad with Grilled Veggies
- Vegan Mediterranean Couscous Salad
Creamy Vegan Southwest Pasta Salad
Ingredients
FOR THE DRESSING
- ⅓ cup ketchup
- ⅔ cup vegan mayo
- 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 4-ounce can diced green chiles
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- salt & pepper* to taste
- hot sauce to taste
FOR THE SALAD
- 1 lb bowtie pasta dry
- 12 oz vegan soyrizo
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 1 15-ounce can black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 jalapeño diced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes cut in half
- ¼ red onion diced
- 1 cup frozen corn thawed
- 2 tablespoon cilantro plus more for topping
Instructions
- Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Place in the fridge until ready to use.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package instructions.
- While pasta is cooking, place a pan on the stove over medium heat. Add soyrizo and cook until slightly browned (approx. 5-7 minutes). Remove from the heat and place in a bowl to cool.
- When pasta is done, drain and rinse it with cold water.
- To assemble add pasta, soyrizo, bell pepper, black beans, jalapeño, cherry tomatoes, red onion, corn and cilantro to a large bowl. If serving right away, add dressing and mix until combined.
- If serving at a later time, keep salad and dressing separate until right before serving.
- Top finished salad with additional cilantro.
Video
Notes
This post may contain affiliate links. If you click on one and make a purchase I will receive a small percentage of the sale. Please know I would never link a product unless I have personally used it and loved it!
If you make any of these recipes be sure to snap a photo + post it + and tag #thissavoryvegan and @thissavoryvegan!
Mika
This looks delish! Do you sauté the soyrizo crumbles before adding to the salad?
Rene
Hi Mika - yes! It is step 3 of the recipe 🤗
Sarah
This is FANTASTIC. I’m a big fan of pasta salads. I normally just whip one up with whatever we had. I wanted to try this recipe but was a little out off by ketchup and mustard being in the dressing, I thought it wouldn’t taste right with southwestern flavors. I was wrong! Everything comes together perfectly and it’s SO GOOD. I added a lot of jalapeño because we love spicy food. Thanks for the recipe!
Rene
Hi Sarah! I know the ingredient list sounds funky, but it just works 😂 So glad you gave it a try!
Lea
This looks like one of those dishes that would be PERFECT to bring to a potluck or family get-together so people can see how delicious vegan food actually is!
Anahi
Not to exaggerate, but this is literally the best pasta salad I have ever tried! Everything about it is absolutely mouthwatering. I may or may not have eaten an entire family size bowl by myself. 🤤
KellyQ
HAHAHAH! I'm with you!
Rene
So glad you liked it 😉
Jenna
Made this tonight vegan and gf. So good. Ty
Rene
So glad you liked it 🎉
Alana
I made this recipe for my family last night and everyone loved it! It's hard finding recipies that fit my vegan lifestyle but that my family can enjoy as well. I'm hoping to make a double batch and save some, and idea how long it will stay good? Thanks!
Rene
I would say 3 days. The canned beans won't last longer than that. So glad the whole family liked it!
Steven
Made this today and amazing is an understatement!!!! This is a keeper recipe for sure!!! I used Trader Joe's soyrizo, but this recipe would be just as amazing without the "meat"!!! Bravo and thank you for sharing!!!!
Rene
So glad you liked it! That is my go-to soyrizo too! So good!
Kelly Quinby
Oh my, YES!!! This is fabulous! I couldn’t find soyrizo at my store, so I bought vegan crumbles and added my own taco seasoning. It wasn’t the prettiest picture after I added the dressing, so I’m not posting that, but hands down a GREAT dish that I will be making all summer.
Rene
haha - as long as it tastes good, that's all that matters. So glad you liked it!
Gina
SO yuuuum!
madison
SO GOOD. I halved the recipe and it still came out to be so much food, if you're thinking about this, make it!
Sarah Oleachea
Do you ever have the nutrition information for your recipes?
Lynn
So yummy! Made it for a party yesterday and everyone loved it! I'm already craving to have it again and wishing there were leftovers. Thanks for the recipe.
Rene
Yay! So glad it was a hit!
Adrienne
This looks so yummy., going to make this tonight. Where can I find Vegan soyrizo?
Rene
I can find it at just about any grocery store. But my favorite is from Trader Joe's.
Adrienne
This dish was incredible! I will make it over and over!
Melissa
Super excited to try this and we lerrrrrve Trader Joe’s soy chorizo so this is a no brainer. I am wondering though because my mom had this trick she used with her tuna pasta salad to keep the pasta from sucking up all the dressing. She always marinated the pasta the night before (sounds weird but it worked) in French dressing. That worked for that flavor combo but I am wondering if it could work for this too just a different dressing or one of the ingredients in this dressing. Again, can’t wait to try this recipe!!
Rene
Hey Melissa - you could definitely add some olive oil to the pasta to keep it moist. I think that would be similar to adding french dressing to a traditional pasta salad. Let me know how it turns out!