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Western Dressing Pasta Salad has all your favorite taco toppings. Containing hamburger and pasta, it's hearty enough to make a full meal.
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Western Dressing Pasta Salad

Western Dressing Pasta Salad has all your favorite taco toppings. Containing hamburger and pasta, it's hearty enough to make a full meal.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time0 minutes
Refrigeration Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 20 minutes
Course: Entree, Main Course, Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: cowboy pasta salad, how to make sombrero salad, is western and catalina the same, sombrero pasta salad, sombrero salad, taco inspired recipes, taco pasta salad, western dressing pasta salad, western salad, what is another name for rotini pasta, what is tri color pasta, what is western dressing
Servings: 8 people
Calories: 588kcal
Author: Barbara

Ingredients

  • 12 ounces rotini or spiral pasta
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 medium diced onion
  • 1 ounce dry taco seasoning
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1 large diced green pepper
  • 1 large diced tomato
  • 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
  • 15 ounces Western dressing

Instructions

  • Cook pasta according to package directions; drain well and let cool.
  • In a skillet, brown ground beef and onions; drain excess grease if needed.
  • Add water and taco seasoning; simmer until thickened. Remove from heat and let cool.
    Western Dressing Pasta Salad has all your favorite taco toppings. Containing hamburger and pasta, it's hearty enough to make a full meal.
  • In a large bowl, combine cooled pasta and meat mixture, diced green peppers and tomatoes, and shredded cheddar cheese. Stir gently to combine.
    Western Dressing Pasta Salad has all your favorite taco toppings. Containing hamburger and pasta, it's hearty enough to make a full meal.
  • Refrigerate for one hour minimum before serving.
    Western Dressing Pasta Salad has all your favorite taco toppings. Containing hamburger and pasta, it's hearty enough to make a full meal.

Notes

  • I used tri-colored rotini pasta but the regular version would work too.
  • Try subbing in any type of your favorite pasta shapes for rotini.
  • Substitute Catalina dressing for Western dressing if desired.
  • Add sliced black olives, if desired.
  • Add black beans or kidney beans, if desired.
  • Swap red, orange or yellow peppers for green.
  • Love raw onion? Add it to the salad instead of cooking with the ground beef.
  • Colby Jack, Taco-Blend Cheese or even Monterrey Jack cheese would all be great in this salad. 
  • Be sure the pasta and ground beef mixture are both cooled before mixing together this western pasta salad.  This prevents the cheese from melting and the vegetables from loosing their crunchy texture. 
  • Love anything taco? Try all our favorite taco recipes. 
  • Prepare this the night before to make for an easy dinner.
  • If the salad seems a bit dry after sitting in the refrigerator, add more dressing to this pasta taco salad.

Nutrition

Calories: 588kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 70mg | Sodium: 1163mg | Potassium: 334mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 639IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 232mg | Iron: 2mg