Street Corn Pasta Salad

With a delicious pairing of pasta and butter beans, my Mexican street corn pasta salad is my ideal meal prep. Whip it up in just 20 minutes and have high protein lunch or dinner for the whole week! It tastes like Mexican street corn…but in meal form!

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It can be difficult to prepare meal-prep lunches that taste good all week. But after many late nights eating street corn from taco trucks, I knew I had the solution…street corn and pasta in a jar (reminiscent of the incredibly practical styrofoam cup my favorite street corn is served in).

not your average pasta salad

• Greek Yogurt: Instead of using all mayonnaise, I’ve added Greek yogurt to make the salad healthier and pack in a bit more protein.
• Baby Pasta: I have a real issue with pasta salads that are difficult to get a bit of everything at once. I’ve eliminated this issue by using a small pasta, ditalini pasta, in this case.

Meal Prep It!

This pasta salad is so delicious as a vegetarian meal prep. Like my tempeh taco salads in a jar, the trick to layering salads is to put the dressing on the bottom to prevent the veggies from getting soggy.

for the dressing you’ll need:

All the ingredients for this salad are easy to find in the store. And if you can’t find ditalini pasta, I’ve included other small pasta you can use instead. This is just an overview; jump to the recipe card for full measurements!

• Creamy Base: For the dressing base, you’ll need plain Greek yogurt and mayonnaise.
• Lime Juice: This adds tang and that essential brightness to the street corn salad.
• Spices: To season the pasta salad, grab salt, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper.

for the pasta salad, grab:

• Ditalini Pasta: This is a round, hollow pasta with plenty of space to be filled with the delicious sauce. If you can’t find this one, you can also use mini shells or star pasta.
• Butter Beans: I prefer these because of their soft texture and mild flavor, but canned beans will also work.
• Corn: Any canned corn works just fine. In the summer, I will grill corn and use fresh kernels.
• Greens: For a bit of crunch and punch, I like adding green onions and cilantro.
• Cotija Cheese: This is like crumbled queso meets feta. Its saltiness is the perfect complement to the salad’s acidic and bright flavors. If you can’t find it, feta is a good swap!

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Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad Jars

4.85 from 13 ratings

By: Sarah Bond

Prep: 15 minutes minutes

Cook: 10 minutes minutes

Total: 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 large servings

With a delicious pairing of pasta and butter beans, this Mexican street corn pasta salad is the ideal meal prep, high-protein lunch. And with a specific method for storing this in jars, you won't have any soggy veggies to contend with. Whip it up in just 20 minutes and have lunch or dinner for the whole week!

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

Sauce

• ▢ 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• ▢ ¼ cup mayonnaise
• ▢ 2 Tbsp lime juice
• ▢ ½ tsp salt
• ▢ ¼ tsp each garlic powder and cayenne pepper

Pasta Salad

• ▢ 8 oz uncooked ditalini pasta
• ▢ 1 tsp olive oil, 5 mL
• ▢ 2 15-oz cans butter beans, drained and rinsed
• ▢ 2 15-oz cans corn, drained well
• ▢ 4 green onions, sliced
• ▢ ¼ cup chopped cilantro
• ▢ ⅓ cup crumbled cotija cheese
• ▢ Optional: sprinkle of chili lime seasoning, like tajin

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Instructions 

• Pasta: Cook 8 oz uncooked ditalini pasta to al dente according to package instructions. Drain then transfer back to the pot. Toss with 1 tsp olive oil to prevent sticking, then let it cool while you prepare everything else.
  
• Sauce: Stir together all Sauce ingredients.
  
• Assemble: Either toss everything together in a large bowl, or meal prep it in jars.

  To meal prep, spoon Sauce evenly into 4 large (32-oz) mason jars. Evenly divide ingredients into the jars in this order: beans, corn, pasta, green onions, cilantro, and cheese (sprinkle with optional tajin). Close lids and store in the fridge for up to 5 days. To serve, dump the contents of a jar into a bowl and stir!
  

Notes

Storage: This salad gets better in the fridge! Leftovers will last up to 5 days in the fridge, and when stored layered in jars, the texture will be perfect on day 5. If stored mixed all together, the green onions and cilantro will start to get a bit soggy but will still be tasty!

Can I use frozen corn? Sure! Add it to the boiling pasta for the last couple of minutes to thaw it, and then use normally.

Salt the Pasta Water: on’t forget to salt your pasta water. This ensures the pasta holds it’s texture and shape rather than becoming mushy.

Nutrition

Serving: 1large serving | Calories: 822kcal | Carbohydrates: 132g | Protein: 39g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 4.7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6.4g | Trans Fat: 0g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 1645mg | Potassium: 1358mg | Fiber: 21g | Sugar: 14g | Calcium: 238mg | Iron: 5.9mg

Nutrition information calculated by Sarah Bond, degreed nutritionist.

did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!