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Mexican Macaroni Salad

Mexican macaroni salad with creamy elbow pasta tossed in a chili-lime mayo dressing, plus jalapeño, corn, black beans, and cotija crumbles. It’s an easy Tex-Mex macaroni salad that chills for at least 1 hour so the flavors meld into a spicy, fiesta-style pasta side dish.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
chilling 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Tex-Mex
Calories: 430
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

elbow macaroni
  • 12 oz elbow macaroni cooked and cooled
black beans
  • 1 can (15 oz) black beans drained and rinsed
corn kernels
  • 1.5 cup corn kernels fresh or frozen
jalapeños
  • 1 jalapeños seeded and finely diced (use 1–2 total)
red onion
  • 0.5 red onion finely diced
red bell pepper
  • 1 red bell pepper diced
fresh cilantro
  • 0.25 cup fresh cilantro chopped
cotija cheese
  • 0.5 cup cotija cheese crumbled
mayonnaise
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
fresh lime juice
  • 3 tbsp fresh lime juice
lime zest
  • 1 tsp lime zest
chili powder
  • 1 tsp chili powder
cumin
  • 0.5 tsp cumin
garlic powder
  • 0.5 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper
  • 1 salt and pepper to taste
Tajin for topping
  • 1 Tajin for topping
lime wedges
  • 1 lime wedges for garnish

Method
 

Make the chili-lime mayo dressing
  1. Whisk mayonnaise, lime juice, lime zest, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, salt, and pepper until smooth, with no visible lumps.
Cook and cool the pasta
  1. Boil elbow macaroni in salted water until al dente, then drain and cool it completely (about 10 minutes cook time total, then cool before mixing).
Toss the salad
  1. Combine cooled macaroni, black beans, corn, jalapeño, red onion, red bell pepper, and cilantro in a large bowl.
  2. Pour the chili-lime dressing over the pasta and toss until evenly coated and glossy.
Chill and serve
  1. Refrigerate the salad for at least 1 hour to let the flavors meld.
  2. Top with crumbled cotija and a dusting of Tajin just before serving so the topping stays vibrant.
  3. Garnish with extra cilantro and lime wedges and serve chilled.

Notes

For best texture, cool the macaroni completely before tossing so the dressing doesn’t turn runny. Refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 4 days; it’s freezer-freezing not recommended due to the mayo. If you want a lighter option, swap mayonnaise for Greek yogurt mayo-style dressing while keeping the chili powder and lime zest the same.