Easy Vegan Pasta Salad
This vegan pasta salad is packed with fresh vegetables, herbs, plant-based protein, and pasta all coated in a tangy, lemony vinaigrette.
Why We Love This Vegan Pasta Salad
- Light and Refreshing: Instead of using a heavy mayonnaise-based dressing, this vegan pasta salad is made with a lemon vinaigrette, making this perfect for a lunch light or side dish.
- Meal Prep: For this pasta salad, we use a special technique to ensure the pasta doesn’t get hard in the fridge. That means this pasta salad tastes great as leftovers, so prep a batch on the weekend and enjoy it for lunch during the week.
- Dairy-Free: This pasta salad is so hearty and delicious on its own, it doesn’t need any cheese! It’s especially tasty with my vegan feta cheese.
- Quick and Easy Prep: The pasta is the only ingredient that needs to be cooked. Everything else can be tossed in raw, making cooking quick and easy. It does require some hands-off time to let the pasta cool and let all the flavors meld.
Key Ingredients
- Pasta ⟶ Use a short pasta like penne, fusilli, rotini, or bow tie.
- Veggies ⟶ Use a mix of veggies like celery, cucumber, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, broccoli, artichokes, carrots, arugula, kale, and spinach.
- Fresh Herbs ⟶ Fresh herbs are so much more flavorful than dried. I love making this pasta salad with fresh basil or dill, but you can also add parsley, oregano, or mint.
- Protein ⟶ Don’t forget to add some protein to make this pasta salad more satiating! For a quick and easy option, add canned or roasted chickpeas, lentils, white beans, or kidney beans. If you have time, you can make my vegan feta, smoky tempeh, or smoky tofu!
- Toasted Nuts/Seeds ⟶ To make the salad extra satiating, add some walnuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, or hemp seeds!
- Dressing ⟶ A tangy vinaigrette made with vinegar, lemon juice, and olive oil packs in flavor while keeping the salad light and refreshing.
Tips for Success
Overcook the pasta ⟶ The starches in the pasta will harden as it cools, which can make leftover pasta salad hard and dry. To prevent this, cook the pasta an extra 2 minutes so it’s very soft (but not falling apart).
Add some dressing while pasta is still warm ⟶ The warm pasta will soak up the dressing, infusing it with tons of flavor.
Switch up the veggies ⟶ Feel free to use other veggies like bell peppers, steamed broccoli, artichoke hearts, olives, arugula, or kale.
Vegan Pasta Salad FAQ
More Hearty Salads
If you try out this recipe, don’t forget to leave a comment/rating down below and tag me in your photos on instagram @ellielikes.cooking. I love seeing all of your tasty recreations!
Easy Vegan Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 160 grams pasta
- 1 celery thinly sliced
- 1 Japanese cucumber or 2 Persian cucumbers halved and thinly sliced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- ¼ cup pickled red onions
- 1 cup canned or roasted chickpeas
- ½ cup fresh basil or parsley1 chopped
- ¼ cup toasted nuts/seeds optional
- ½ cup
tofu feta optional
Dressing
- 1½ tbsp apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
- 1½ tbsp lemon juice
- 1½ tbsp olive oil
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tsp mustard
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Mix dressing ingredients in a jar and shake until well combined.
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until very soft, about 2 minutes past the package directions.
- Drain pasta in a colander, then transfer to a large bowl. Toss with half the dressing while still warm. Set aside to cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
- Once pasta has cooled, add the remaining ingredients and dressing and toss to combine.
Notes
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