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{This post is sponsored by Old El Paso! I used their Enchilada Sauce to create this quick and easy Mexican inspired pasta salad.
HEYY! Let’s have a Charred Corn and Zucchini Enchilada Pasta Salad Sunday?!?!?
You down with that?
K, COOOOLLLLL! ? ?
It’s back to school month and even though I’m no longer in school, I always think of this time of the year as “back to school’ time. To me this may mean events like organizing my desk, getting new fall clothes, or even buying some fun “school” supplies…aka, the time of year where you actually have an excuse to organize, buy cute fall items, and cook up some easy, but delicious dinners for busy weeknights.
When I was a kid, August was always such a crazy month. My family and I were all doing our best to savor those last days of summer, while also trying to get back into everyday school routines, work on homework, and deal with the fact that we now all had to be up and outta the house by seven-thirty am! It was hectic to say the least.
On busy weeknights, my dad would make pasta salads, this recipe is my spiced up Mexican version! It’s loaded with end of summer veggies, pasta, cheese, and enchilada sauce, for a nice Mexican kick! Best part…it comes together in about thirty minutes!
Sounds pretty good to me!
Charred Corn and Zucchini Enchilada Pasta Salad.
Servings: 6 Servings
Calories Per Serving: 500 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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Ingredients
- 1 pound of your favorite short cut pasta
- 1 inch medium zucchini cut into 1/4 rounds
- 1 red bell pepper quartered
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- kosher salt + pepper
- 4 ears grilled or roasted corn kernels removed from the cob
- 1 (19 ounce) can Old El Paso Red Enchilada Sauce
- 2 ounces goat cheese or cream cheese
- 8 ounces cheddar cheese cubed
- 1/3 cup fresh cilantro chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh basil chopped
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 4 green onions chopped
- 1 avocado diced
Instructions
- In a bowl, toss together the zucchini, red peppers, olive oil, salt + pepper. Toss well to coat the veggies.
- Heat your grill, grill pan, or skillet to medium high heat.
- Add the bell peppers and zucchini, grill 3-4 minutes per side or until char marks appear. This is also when I grill or roast my corn. Remove everything from the grill. Slice the bell pepper into slices.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil the pasta until al dente. Drain and add the pasta to a large serving bowl. To the hot pasta, add the enchilada sauce and goat cheese, toss well until the goat cheese coats the pasta completely. Add the cheddar cheese, grilled veggies, corn, cilantro, basil tomatoes and green onions and toss to combine. Top the pasta with the avocado. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
*For added protein you can add one (14 ounce) can of drained and rinsed chickpeas, grilled chicken or shrimp. *Other toss-ins for this could be grilled poblano peppers, fresh spinach, back beans, jalapenos and crispy bacon.
Have a great Sunday! See you guys tomorrow! 🙂
PS. Don’t forget to vote for your favorite bloggers for the Bloglovin 2016 awards…Half Baked Harvest is nominated for best food blog, yeah!!
PSS. I’ve also been nominated for the SAVEUR Magazine 2016 Blog Awards for Most Inspired Weeknight Dinners! I would be so grateful if you would go and vote for your favorite blogger. You can vote everyday from now until August 31st! ?
{This post is sponsored by Old El Paso. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep Half Baked Harvest cooking!! 
}
I always hate reviews where they change everything and then rate it, but I think that’s part of the beauty of this particular recipe. If you don’t like something – leave it out or substitute. But the basis of the recipe is genius. I have never thought of putting enchilada sauce in what is essentially mac/cheese! It made the whole dish extra special!! We did most of the entire recipe as written. I’m just not a fan of cilantro, but my husband devours it – so we put that as an optional side. I also did not see how basil would go with the other Mexican flavors, so I left that out – maybe I should try it to expand my horizons. This is definitely a keeper recipe.
Hey Cheryl,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a lot for making this recipe. I am delighted to hear that it was enjoyed! xTieghan
Another hit! I made this for my Goddaughter’s 22nd bday lunch and everyone loved . . . I’m guessing since there were 0 leftovers! Modifications: forgot the avocado and used shredded cheese, served slightly chilled (since I made the day before). I will make again, hopefully before summer ends! Thank you!!
Awh sounds like an amazing way to spend a birthday! I hope she had a great day! Thank you so much Teresa! xTieghan
Hi!
I can’t wait to make this recipe. The amount of enchilada sauce to use isn’t clear to me – 1 ounce can Old El Paso Red Enchilada Sauce 19. Is it a 10 oz can? I saw on person interpreted it as 19 oz. If you could clarify that would be great!
Have been making lots of your recipes and they have ALL been delicious!
So sorry for the confusion. Recipe is all fixed. It is 1 (19 ounce) can. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! ?
Came out so delicious! Wow! I feel like a cooking genius!
i baked it for about 10 minutes just to melt the cheddar.
Seriously, you have changed my dinner life.
I am so happy to hear that! Thank you Renee!
I needed something quick so I did a search on your recipes for pasta + zucchini + bacon and this came up. I had everything else needed and added bacon. I must admit I was tempted to omit or sub out the enchilada sauce, but since I didn’t have any I had to made my own, and this combination was so surprisingly good! This is a keeper recipe.
Hey Sonia,
Fantastic! I am thrilled that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for giving it a go! xTieghan
When I made your enchilada rice recipe it used Greek yogurt instead of cream cheese or goat cheese. Would that work here too?
Hey Allison, yes! Greek yogurt will be great! Let me know if you have questions. Hope you love this recipe!
We finally had our Enchilada Salad! It was a hit. Thank you Teighan for another great recipe!
YAY! So happy to hear that Reni!
My sis and I are having this scrumptious looking salad for supper tomorrow night – I went to the store today and bought everything for it, can’t wait!
So fun! I hope you guys love it!
I made this as a side to a mexican themed dinner tonight. I thought the recipe was very unique and was happy to taste the goat cheese shine through even with all the other spices and flavors. I will be very eager to make this again, but next time I would probably not include the cheddar. The other flavors are bold enough that the cheddar adds calories rather than additional flavor 😛
Hi Brigette!! So happy you liked it!! I hope its just as delicious without the cheese! Thanks you so much!
I made this yesterday to take to a tailgate and the vegetarian and meat eaters both confirmed that this was awesome! Next time I will probably use a smaller pasta than the bow ties, but that’s just personal preference. Mine wasn’t nearly as pretty as yours though! I love all your photography and styling!
This is so awesome! So happy everyone from your tailgate loved this Emily!! And thank you so so much! I bet yours was just as beautiful!!