Cowboy Salad (aka Southwestern Pasta Salad)

A Southwestern-inspired pasta salad with everything but the kitchen sink. Best if made day before serving. Mince all items for best flavor! Taste and season salad with more salt, hot sauce, or vinegar before serving. The longer it sits in the refrigerator, the better it gets!

• Preparation Time: 20 mins
• Cooking Time: 10 mins
• Total Time: 30 mins
• Calories: 290 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 cup minced celery
• ½ cup minced green bell pepper
• ⅔ cup cider vinegar
• 3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
• 1 (15 ounce) can black-eyed peas, drained
• 1 (16 ounce) package small pasta shells
• 1 (12 ounce) can corn, drained
• ½ cup drained, pitted, and minced black olives
• 6 green onions, minced
• ⅓ cup mayonnaise, or to taste
• 1 (2 ounce) jar diced pimentos, drained
• 1 (2 ounce) jar pimiento-stuffed green olives, drained and minced
• 1 tablespoon minced green chile peppers
• 3 dashes hot pepper sauce (such as Cholula®)

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta shells in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until cooked through but firm to the bite, 8 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Pour vinegar over pasta.

Step 2

Mix black-eyed peas, corn, celery, vegetable oil, green bell pepper, olives, green onions, mayonnaise, pimentos, green olives, green chile peppers, salt, black pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and hot pepper sauce into pasta mixture and stir well. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate, 1 to 3 days.