If you’re heading to summer barbeques this year and are tired of always bringing the same side dish, we have a major update for you. Nutrition coach and recipe developer Megan Sheley joins us today with her elote pasta dish that combines pasta salad, corn and a whole bunch of flavor!

You can find more easy-to-follow recipes on Megan’s Instagram @megansheley.

Elote Pasta recipe

Ingredients:

• 12oz pasta
• 3c fire roasted corn
• 3/4c cotija cheese 
• 1/2c fresh cilantro 
• Tajin (just to sprinkle on top)

Dressing ingredients:

• 3/4c sour cream (could use Greek yogurt here)
• 1/3c mayo
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp olive oil 
• 1/8 tsp of cayenne 
• Pinch of salt and pepper
• 1 tsp lime zest (zest from 2 limes)

Directions:

1. Juice from 1 lime (about 2-3 tbsp)
2. Cook pasta as called for on package, drain and drizzle with olive oil in the strainer (this keeps it from sticking together while it cools).
3. Make your dressing by mixing your sour cream (or greek yogurt), mayo, chili powder, garlic powder, olive oil, cayenne, salt & pepper, lime zest, and lime juice. Whisk together and set aside.
4. Take your full bag of frozen roasted corn and add to a strainer and run warm water on it to thaw it out. Add about 2.5c of this corn to your pasta (save a bit for topping), add 1/2c cotija cheese (save the rest for topping), add 1/3c cilantro (save the rest for topping).
5. Add about 3/4 of the dressing to the pasta and mix well. Save the rest of your dressing because you’ll want to add a bit more as it soaks up!
6. Top your pasta salad with a bit more corn, cotija cheese, and cilantro. Sprinkle with tajin and enjoy!