This Mexican-Inspired Street Corn Orzo Pasta Salad is a healthy, family-friendly vegan meal. 30-minute recipe using budget-friendly ingredients.
Save This Recipe!
Type your email & I'll send it to you!
This quick and easy pasta salad is one of my go-to weeknight recipes when I'm in a rush to make dinner. It's fresh, flavorful, and always a hit. Serve warm, chilled, or at room temperature.
This recipe was inspired by my Orzo Salad with Oil-Free Pesto on this site, as well as my Vegan Roasted Veggie Orzo Salad.
Jump to:
👩🏼🌾 Ingredients
- Orzo
- Olive oil
- Frozen corn
- Cannellini beans
- Red bell pepper
- Red onion
- Jalapeño
- Fresh cilantro
- Vegan mayonnaise
- Lime
- Distilled white or apple cider vinegar
- Chipotle powder
- Chili powder
- Ground cumin
- Dried oregano
- Tajin seasoning (optional)
- Vegan feta cheese for serving (optional)
- Kale (optional)
See recipe card for quantities.
📖 Instructions
Mexican-Inspired Street Corn Orzo Pasta Salad is versatile and easy to make.
Cook the orzo pasta first so it has time to cool before mixing it into the salad. You can also serve this as a warm salad as desired.
While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a large skillet and cook the corn kernels. You can use fresh or frozen corn to make this recipe. You do not need to thaw frozen corn before using.
To save time, chop your veggies while the corn is browning. Stir the corn occasionally so it doesn't burn.
Serve your flavorful Mexican Street Corn Orzo Pasta Salad as is, or top with vegan feta, chopped parsley, or other fresh herbs you have on hand.
🌱 Substitutions
- Orzo - instead of orzo, use macaroni, conchigliette, or another variety of small pasta shape
- Cannellini beans - use Great Northern, navy, pinto, or black beans instead
- Herbs - add chopped fresh herbs you have on hand (cilantro, green onion, dill, thyme)
- Red onion - instead of red onion, used chopped shallots
- Red bell peppers - substitute for yellow or orange bell peppers
- Kale - add finely chopped kale for extra nutrients and to increase the number of servings
- Brussels sprouts - Add shredded Brussels sprouts for a power bowl! Pulse the Brussels in a food processor until evenly shredded before adding.
See this Chickpea & Brussels Vegan Caesar Salad on my website!
⏱ Storage
Refrigerate any leftovers in an air-tight container. Good for up to 3 days. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
These ingredients don't stand up well to freezing.
💡 Top Tip
Massage the kale into the salad (if using) until just wilted.
Tajin was created by a Mexican company. It is made from a mix of dried and ground red chilis, salt, dehydrated lime juice, and a small amount of anti-caking agent. No artificial flavors, artificial colorants, or sugar are used.
Tajin adds a fresh, citrusy, and mildly spicy flavor, and pairs well with fruit, veggies, popcorn, salads, stews, soups, and more. It's a great seasoning to experiment with. There's also a low-sodium version.
Some major supermarket chains carry it, or you can purchase Tajin from Amazon.
👩🏽🍳 Made This Recipe?
Share your Mexican Street Corn Orzo Pasta Salad creation with me on Instagram. It makes my day to see you recreate my recipes.
I would love it if you would ⭐️ rate this recipe and leave a comment. Thank you in advance.
Mexican Street Corn Orzo Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- ¼ cup dry orzo
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 3 cups sweet corn kernels frozen
- 15 ounces cannellini beans canned, drained and rinsed
- 1 small red bell pepper diced (about ½ cup)
- 1 small red onion diced (about ½ cup)
- 1 small jalapeño seeded, and minced
- ⅓ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise vegan
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice plus more to taste
- 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon chipotle powder
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon Tajin seasoning (optional)
- Vegan feta cheese for serving (optional)
- 2 cups finely chopped kale (optional)
- Salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
Save This Recipe!
Type your email & I’ll send it to you!
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to directions on the packet until al dente. Drain. Set aside to cool.
- Sauté the corn: Meanwhile, heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Cook the corn for about 7 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Mix ingredients: Add the corn, beans, orzo, red bell pepper, red onion, jalapeño, cilantro, mayonnaise, lime juice, vinegar, chipotle, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and Tajin to a large bowl. Mix well to combine. Add the kale if using. Use your hands to massage the kale into the salad. Adjust lime juice to taste. Season with salt and black pepper.
- Add feta if using: Break the feta into crumbles. Top the salad with the feta crumbles as desired.
Notes
- Use frozen, fresh, or canned drained corn kernels.
- I used Violife vegan feta and Chosen Foods vegan mayonnaise to make this recipe.
Nutrition
This information is provided as a courtesy and is only an estimate. Nutritional values may vary depending on factors such as product types and brands used.
Mariyam says
I make this at least once a week!
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
So happy to hear! I love this one.
Candice says
I love this recipe! I've made it twice before and reading over the recipe this time I noticed that the beans are not mentioned in the instructions.
Thank you for such tasty dishes!
Nisha Melvani says
Thank you so much for bringing that to my attention. I really appreciate it. Just updated.
Danielle Harper says
I just tripled this recipe for my family of 8. Everyone loved it and we had some leftover for lunch tomorrow! Can’t wait to try more of your recipes.
Nisha Melvani says
So glad it was a hit. Enjoy! Thank you.
Steph C says
I loved this recipe.
I will be making it again for sure!
I added edamame instead of beans and still turned out great.
Nisha Melvani says
It must be delicious with edamame! So glad you liked it.
Peggy says
This is a keeper. Simple and delicious.
Nisha Melvani says
I'm so happy you enjoyed it. Thank you for commenting. Have a great day.
Neena Chandiramani says
Love the flavors!