Southwest Black Bean Pasta Salad

Spring is here and summer is just around the corner! That means gardens will be growing soon. I love salads - potlucks through the summer are my favorite since there are usually so many salads to choose from. It is no surprise to my family to have a salad of some kind on the menu most nights during the summer. Many times, I let it be the main dish. 

Since we eat lots of salads, I like to have a lot of recipes to rotate through. Here is a new favorite! It will make great use of your salsa garden ingredients. I took some of our favorite homemade salsa ingredients and stirred them together with pasta then I created a dressing to compliment all the flavors. I took it to the first potluck of the season and had many requests for the recipe. I hope your family and friends enjoy it as much as mine do.

Southwest Black Bean Pasta Salad

Ingredients:
8 oz salad pasta of your choice, cooked

2–3 large tomatoes, chopped

½ cup chopped green onion

½ cup chopped green pepper

3 cups cooked black beans

1 ½ cups frozen corn, thawed

Dressing:

¼ cup lemon or lime juice

¼ cup vegetable oil

4–5 Tbsp chopped cilantro

1–2 tsp minced garlic

⅛ tsp cayenne pepper

⅛ tsp cumin

Salt to taste

Combine pasta, tomatoes, green onions, green pepper, and black beans in a large bowl.  In a small bowl, combine the dressing ingredients. Drizzle over salad and toss to combine before serving.