Additional optional ingredients you can add: Red or Green bell peppers, black olives, and red onions

Got leftovers? Store leftover Mexican pasta salad in the fridge in an airtight container.

Use small textured pasta – The more ridges or multicolored farfalle for this Mexican pasta salad because the colors are beautiful and make this bright and fresh salad a centerpiece! If you want to use something you already have at home, choose penne, cavatappi, or Rotini for your pasta salad.

Choose a dried pasta – (not fresh), and make sure it can hold up when it’s tossed with the creamy avocado dressing and other ingredients in the dish.   Best choices are short pasta shapes with plenty of nooks and crannies.  Their size makes them easy to serve and eat, and their grooves and nooks provide plenty of spaces to hold dressing, cheeses, and other scrumptious ingredients.

Rinse the pasta in cold water – Once the pasta has been drained, rinse it in cold water and toss it with a few tablespoons of olive oil or the avocado vinaigrette. This prevents the pasta from sticking together as it finishes cooling.

Salt the water – Make sure the water that you cook the pasta in is well-salted as it cooks; salting is the only chance you have to season the actual pasta. Without seasoning the water, the salad as a whole will taste bland.