Avocado Ranch Pasta Salad for a Crowd
Our value-size Taylor Farms Avocado Ranch Chopped Salad Kit already feeds the whole family their greens. But if you love that salad blend (and who doesn’t), go full picnic-mode and make it more of a fully-fledged meal or substantial side dish! Turn it into a creamy, fragrant pasta salad. Just add chilled bowtie pasta, black beans, avocado, and fresh lime juice for a delightful bite. This dish can rest for a whole day and be served chilled whenever the potluck or BBQ starts.
- Active Time:
- 15 minutes
- Total TIME:
- 20 minutes
- SERVINGS:
- 6–8
Ingredients
- 1 family-size Taylor Farms Avocado Ranch Chopped Salad Kit
- 8 oz farfalle pasta (bowties), cooked and cooled
- 1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1–2 avocados, diced
- Juice of 1–2 limes
- Optional: Fresh cilantro for garnish
Directions
- Boil farfalle pasta in salted water until al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water to cool completely.
- In a large bowl, combine the greens, veggies, toppings, and Avocado Ranch dressing from the salad kit.
- Fold in the cooled pasta, black beans, and diced avocado.
- Drizzle with fresh lime juice and gently toss to combine.
- Chill or serve immediately. Garnish with a few lime wedges or extra avocado on top.
Pasta + Salad = Pasta Salad
Usually, when we think of pasta salad, we don’t think it has pasta and salad. Consider the classic pasta salads: Italian Penne Pasta Salad with mozzarella, tomatoes, olives, cucumber, and Italian dressing. Or a macaroni pasta salad with hard-boiled eggs, mayo, and dijon mustard. Or a Southwest pasta salad, with corn, black beans, red pepper, and cilantro. The list goes on.
But if it’s really a salad, we have to ask, where are the greens? To get in some nutrients and live up to the name, try adding these greens to your pasta salads:
- Add arugula or spinach leaves to the Italian salad
- Add butter lettuce or cabbage to the macaroni salad for extra texture
- Add shredded iceberg or romaine lettuce to the Southwest recipe for a taco salad feel.
Of course, we have a few ideas up our (green) sleeves.
- Like a Bacon Caesar Tortellini Pasta Salad, which combines tortellini with our Bacon Caesar Chopped Kit.
- Or a Mandarin & Sunflower Pasta Salad featuring our Sunflower Crunch Chopped Kit mixed into Farfalle pasta.
- Or even the Dill Pickle Pasta Salad, which mixes together our Dill Pickle Chopped Kit and the pasta of your choice for a tangy side that will have you licking your lips and getting your leafy greens.
We’d call it having our cake and eating it too, except, well—we’re talking greens, not sweets! Check out all of our delicious Pasta Salad recipes.
