Elote Pasta Salad (Easy + High Protein)

elote pasta salad on a plate with wooden serving utensils and dressing next to it.

This Elote Pasta Salad recipe combines high fiber pasta, cojita cheese, and fire roasted corn with a creamy dressing that has all of the delicious elote flavors you love. Bring this elote pasta salad to your next summer BBQ or enjoy it as a main dish for weekday lunches.

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Main Course, Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: easy, healthy

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 10

Total Time: 20

Servings: to 6 servings

Calories: 286kcal

Ingredients

For the Pasta Salad

8 oz chickpea pasta or pasta of choice
12 oz fire roasted corn frozen
½ cup cojita cheese grated
¼ cup red onion diced
2 tbsp cilantro finely chopped

For the Dressing

¼ cup Greek yogurt whole milk preferred
¼ cup mayo
1 lime juiced
2 cloves garlic minced
½ tsp salt
½ tsp chipotle powder
¼ tsp cumin
¼ tsp paprika
¼ tsp black pepper

Instructions

Cook pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Drain pasta and rinse with cold water quickly to stop the cooking process. Set pasta aside and allow to cool to room temperature. *See notes below for pasta cooking tips*
In a large bowl, combine cooled pasta, thawed corn, diced red onion, cojita cheese, and cilantro.
In a medium bowl, combine the dressing ingredients and whisk together until smooth. Pour dressing over the pasta salad and toss until well combined.
Top with additional cojita cheese or cilantro if desired. Enjoy!

Notes

It’s key to not overcook your pasta here. I usually will set a timer and cook the pasta for one minute less than the lowest recommended amount of time. For example, if the box says to cook for 6 to 9 minutes, I’ll set a timer for the pasta to cook for 5 minutes in boiling water. This usually ends up being the perfect amount of time in my experience.

I use chickpea pasta or another high protein pasta option here to boost the nutritional value. I’ve made it with both this chickpea pasta and this high protein pasta and they’ve both come out great.

If you can't find frozen fire roasted corn, you can substitute one 15-oz can of fire roasted corn. Be sure to drain but don't rinse these corn kernels.

See full blog post above for more variations and substitutions.

Nutrition