Some recipes just belong at a folding table under a canopy. You know the ones - the dishes that show up in a giant bowl covered in plastic wrap, get demolished in the first ten minutes, and leave three people asking for the recipe before dessert is even out. This Cowboy Pasta Salad is exactly that dish.

It's got everything a crowd could want: rotini pasta, seasoned ground beef, crispy bacon, black beans, corn, cherry tomatoes, melty Mexican cheese, and a smoky BBQ mayo dressing with just enough sriracha to keep things interesting. It feeds a small army (hello, 12–16 servings), takes about 25 minutes of actual work, and gets even better after an hour in the fridge. Make-ahead magic for the win.

This is not a delicate pasta salad. This is a cowboy pasta salad - and your cookout crowd is going to love every single bite.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

✔️ Feeds a crowd - 12 to 16 servings from one bowl
✔️ Easy make-ahead - just chill for an hour before serving
✔️ That BBQ dressing is everything - smoky, creamy, with a little kick
✔️ Budget-friendly ingredients, big flavor payoff
✔️ Hearty enough to be a main dish, not just a side

Ingredients

For the salad:

• 16 oz rotini pasta
• 1 lb ground beef
• 6 slices bacon, chopped
• 15.25 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 15 oz can corn, drained
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved or quartered
• 1 cup Mexican blend cheese, shredded
• 2–3 green onions, diced

For the dressing:

• ¾ cup mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoon barbecue sauce
• 1½ tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1½ teaspoon Sriracha sauce

Tools You'll Need

• Measuring cups and spoons
• Cutting board and knife
• Large pot
• Colander
• Medium skillet
• Large skillet
• Spatula or wooden spoon
• Large bowl
• Medium bowl

How to Make Cowboy Pasta Salad

Prep your fresh ingredients. Halve or quarter your grape tomatoes depending on their size, and dice your green onions. Set both aside.

Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the rotini according to package directions. Drain into a colander and run cold water over the noodles until completely cooled. This stops the cooking and keeps your pasta from soaking up all the dressing.

Cook the bacon. Chop the bacon into small pieces and add to a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Cook until crispy, then drain the grease and set the bacon aside on a paper towel-lined plate.

Brown the ground beef. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the ground beef, breaking it apart as it cooks, until no longer pink. Drain any excess grease and let it cool slightly.

Make the dressing. Add the mayonnaise, barbecue sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and Sriracha to a medium bowl and stir until smooth and combined.

Dress the pasta. Add your cooled rotini to a large bowl and toss with the BBQ mayo dressing until the noodles are well coated.

Add everything else. Toss in the ground beef, bacon, black beans, corn, tomatoes, cheese, and green onions. Stir gently to combine everything evenly.

Chill. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

Serve it up. Top with additional diced green onions right before serving for a little fresh pop of color and flavor.

Tara's Tips

🤠 If you're making this more than an hour ahead, hold back half the dressing and toss it in right before serving. Pasta is greedy - it will absorb the dressing as it sits, and this keeps everything creamy instead of dry.

🤠 Let your beef and bacon cool before adding them to the bowl, or your cheese will melt into a puddle. Still delicious, but not quite the look we're going for.

🤠 Rotini is the right call here - all those little spirals grab onto the dressing and hold it. Don't substitute a smooth pasta if you can help it.

🤠 Want more heat? Add an extra half teaspoon of Sriracha to the dressing or throw in some pickled jalapeños.

🤠 Budget tip: Swap the grape tomatoes for a diced Roma tomato if they're on sale - works perfectly.

Yield: 16

Cowboy Pasta Salad

Print

Loaded with pasta, ground beef, bacon, BBQ dressing, and all the fixings, it feeds a crowd and gets better the longer it chills. Bring it once and you'll be asked to bring it forever!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Additional Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 16 oz rotini pastanoodles
• 1 lb ground beef
• 6 slices bacon, chopped
• 15.25 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 15 oz can corn, drained
• 1 pt grape tomatoes, halved or quartered
• 1 cup mexican blend cheese, shredded
• 2-3 green onions, diced
• ¾ cup mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoon barbecue sauce
• 1 ½ tablespoon worcestershire sauce
• 1 ½ teaspoon Sriracha sauce

Instructions

1. Cut the tomatoes in halves or quarters depending on the size. Dice the green onions.
2. Cook the pasta noodles in a large pot according to package directions. Pour the cooked noodles into a colander and run cold water over them to cool.
3. Chop the bacon into small pieces and add to a medium skillet and cook over medium low heat until cooked. Drain the grease and set the bacon aside.
4. Cook the ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat, breaking the meat apart as it cooks, until no longer pink. Drain any grease.
5. Add the mayonnaise, barbecue sauce, worcestershire sauce and sriracha sauce to a medium bowl and stir to combine.
6. Add the pasta noodles to a large bowl and toss with the mayonnaise mixture.
7. Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl and toss to combine.
8. Cover and chill for 1 hour, then serve.
9. Top with more diced green onions to serve.

Notes

Storage: refrigerate

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

16

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 336Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 6gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 47mgSodium: 236mgCarbohydrates: 22gFiber: 4gSugar: 3gProtein: 17g

Serving Ideas

This salad is a full meal in a bowl, but it plays beautifully alongside:

• Grilled burgers or hot dogs
• BBQ chicken off the grill
• Corn on the cob
• Watermelon slices (yes, really - the contrast is perfect)
• A basket of soft dinner rolls

Storage

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Give it a good stir before serving again - and if it looks a little dry, a spoonful of mayo stirred in brings it right back.

Not recommended for freezing.

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A Note Before You Go

This is the pasta salad that earns you the reputation. The one people ask you to bring every single year. The one that disappears before the potato salad even gets touched. Make it once for a cookout and you'll understand why!