Grilled Corn and Avocado Pasta Salad with Chili-Lime Dressing is an easy, gluten free pasta salad recipe full of color and fresh flavor!
Looking for a pasta salad switch up? Put your go-to aside and try my Grilled Corn and Avocado Pasta Salad with Chili-Lime Dressing!
This gluten-free pasta salad recipe couldn’t be easier. Cooked pasta is combined with chopped avocado, cherry tomatoes, minced red onion, chopped basil, and grilled corn then tossed with a homemade, 3 ingredient (plus salt and pepper) Chili-Lime Dressing that’s tart, smokey, and a little sweet.
Translation: to die for — especially when its paired with the smokey grilled sweet corn. YUM!
Gluten Free Pasta Salad
Since this pasta salad is made with gluten-free pasta, I recommend serving it immediately or refrigerating for up to one hour before serving, and using brown rice gluten free pasta vs a corn/rice blend pasta. The latter can become hard and brittle after sitting in the refrigerator for a few hours.
What I love just as much as the flavor though, is that this salad can sit out for several hours at room temperature, no problem, so it’s perfect for a summer backyard bash.
How to Make this Recipe
Start by cooking 8oz gluten-free brown rice rotini in salted, boiling water until cooked through. Drain then rinse under cold water until cool. Meanwhile, grill 2 sweet corn cobs that have been shucked over medium-high heat for 6-8 minutes, rotating occasionally, until the corn is evenly charred. The more char, the more flavor!
Slice the kernels from the cob once they’re cool enough to handle then add to a large bowl with the cooked and cooled pasta, plus 1/2 pint grape or cherry tomatoes that have been sliced in half, 1 chopped avocado, 3 Tablespoons chopped fresh basil, and 1/4 small red onion that’s been minced.
By the way, I usually slice my avocados in half before peeling, but have found that slicing them into quarters makes it even easier.
How to Make Chili-Lime Dressing
Last step is to shake up the crazy-easy Chili-Lime Dressing which has the perfect balance of tart, smokey, and just a teeny bit sweet. To a jar with a tight-fitting lid add 6 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 2 limes worth,) 1 Tablespoon honey, 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, salt, and pepper then shake to combine. Drizzle over the pasta salad (you may not need all of it,) then add a bit more salt and pepper and toss to combine.
Serve the pasta salad immediately or refrigerate for up to an hour before serving (gluten-free pasta can get hard and mealy if refrigerated too long, though if you are using regular pasta you can refrigerate as long as you like.) Pull out at your party, picnic, or potluck, and enjoy a scoop or seven of this fresh and absolutely delicious pasta salad. Enjoy!
Grilled Corn and Avocado Pasta Salad with Chili-Lime Dressing
Ingredients
- 8 oz brown rice gluten free rotini, or other short cut pasta
- 2 ears sweet corn, shucked
- 1/2 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
- 1 avocado, chopped
- 1/4 small red onion, minced
- 3 Tablespoons chopped fresh basil
For the Chili-Lime Dressing:
- 6 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice, about 2 limes
- 1 Tablespoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- salt and pepper
Directions
- Cook pasta in a large pot of salted, boiling water until done then drain and rinse under cold water until cool. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, grill corn cobs over medium-high heat for 6-8 minutes, rotating occasionally to char evenly on all sides. Slice kernels from cobs once cool enough to handle.
- Add ingredients for Chili-Lime Dressing into a jar with a tight-fitting lid or bowl then shake or whisk to combine.
- Combine pasta, corn, avocado, tomatoes, red onion, and basil in a large bowl then drizzle on desired amount of dressing. Season salad with additional salt and pepper then toss to combine. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to one hour before serving*.
Notes
- I recommend using brown rice pasta for chilled pasta salads — corn/rice blend gluten free pasta can become hard and brittle once refrigerated.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
I am hungry just reading. Looks so delirious. Thank you for sharing.
I hope you love it, Bella!
Made this last weekend with campanelle pasta, and my family loved it! Maybe because of the pasta shape, I found I had to double the amount of veg, but that just meant we had more deliciousness! I also made the dressing with only 3 T of olive oil and a sprinkle of smoked paprika to enhance the smokiness of the corn. Because I did not use gluten-free pasta, I was able to let this sit in the refrigerator and the flavors really came together. Easy, delicious, and different from the pasta salad I normally make! Might add some smoked bacon next time.
I’m thrilled this was a hit, and you were able to make it work for your tastes, Deb!! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
I absolutely love this salad! It’s light and so refreshing! Even my picky 4 year old loves it and always wants seconds!
I’m SO glad to hear that, Erika! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
Is there such a thing as post-pregnancy cravings?? I didn’t have any strong cravings during pregnancy, but I have recently been eating my body weight in avocados recently. How have I never thought to put them in a pasta salad?!?! I hopped over here from your 4th of July roundup post and screw waiting til then to eat this – I’m making it TONIGHT! :)
Great collection of recipes. I would like to add a link to this page from my website, would you be okay with this? These recipes are great for people that are new at making pasta and want to learn more recipes, and I think these recipes could help out a lot of my visitors. Thanks in advance!