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Sometimes all you need is a QUICK & EASY pasta dish to make everything okay. Today we’re cooking up this simple VEGAN Pasta Salad that comes together with a handful of simple ingredients and a delicious dressing.
If you’re looking for more pasta salad inspiration, you should also try this Ranch Pasta Salad (vegan friendly!), Vegan Macaroni Salad, Lemon Broccoli Pasta Salad, and this Cucumber Vegan Pasta Salad!
Growing up, I ate a LOT of pasta salad (zero complaints!). This pasta salad is my attempt to replicate my moms pasta salad which is a highly requested dish at ALL family functions.
It’s filled with veggies, pasta of your choosing (I always find myself reaching for spirals or bowties in this dish), and a simple to make dressing to add a nice burst of flavor to everything.
Speaking of the pasta, you can use really ANY kind of pasta here that you would like! Since we’re simply mixing it in with a few other ingredients after it has already been cooked, you can have your pick. Any plant based, gluten full or gluten free pasta would work well here! I’ve tried this before with red lentil pasta and LOVED IT!
How to make this Vegan Pasta Salad:
Pasta is cooked, veggies are chopped, a super simple dressing is made and then it’s ALL mixed together.
I tried out a few combos to decide which dressing to use for this pasta salad. I ended up going with a simple Italian dressing using ingredients I already had in the house.
You can serve it warm but I typically prefer my pasta salad cold. Simply rinse your cooked pasta under cold water to cool in down before mixing it with the veggies and the dressing. Easy peasy.
Needless to say, I’m a huge fan!
Storing the pasta for later:
I made this pasta salad on a Sunday and ate on it for pretty much the entire week. So, if you’re wondering how long this pasta salad is good for, I’d say you’re good for about 4-5 days at least.
To properly store it, I suggest putting it in an air tight container and keeping it in the fridge for up to 5 days. If you’re making it as a meal prep recipe, I suggest rationing out the dressing and pouring it on right before serving.
Other Plant Based Pasta Salads:
See How To Make the Pasta Salad:
Vegan Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound pasta, I used spirals*
- ½ red onion, thinly sliced
- ½ cup grape or cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
- 1 small green bell pepper, chopped (about 1 cup)
- 1 can of sliced black olives, mine was 6 ounces
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley or cilantro, I used parsley
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- Good pinch of sugar
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to directions to your desired doneness. Drain and let cool. If serving the pasta salad cold, run the cooked pasta under cold water to cool it off quite a bit.1 pound pasta
- Make the dressing by combining the olive oil, vinegar, spices, and sugar. Whisk until fully combined and set aside.Salt and pepper to taste, 1/3 cup olive oil, 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper, Good pinch of sugar
- In a large bowl, combine the pasta, chopped veggies, parsley (or cilantro) and dressing. Toss until the pasta and veggies are fully coated in the dressing.1/2 red onion, 1/2 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, 1 small green bell pepper, 1 can of sliced black olives, 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley or cilantro
- Salt and pepper to taste and ENJOY!!!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I like this with extra vinegar and topped with nutritional yeast.
Thanks for sharing that!! I’ll have to try adding a little extra vinegar next time for sure!
Is this good to make the day before?
I am just wondering how long this recipe takes to make and how many people it roughly serves?
Hi, I’m going to make this for a BBQ I’m having next week. How many servings does it make?
Delicious(I thought and hubby thought)! I doubled the dressing and added some salt.Next time, I will add chickpeas. Only thing, my kids did not like it.Maybe just make it for me and hubby???Don’t worry about my kids though, they’re just too picky. I give it 5 out of 5 stars myself.Thank you!
Do you think subbing Italian dressing for the olive oil would work? Trying to cut some cals :) Thanks!
I think that would work well!! I’ve never tried it so let me know how it turns out :)
It turned out soooo good! Thank you for the great recipe! :)
YES! Thanks for letting me know. Definitely trying it this way soon!
I just made this pasta salad and it was delicious!! I love how healthy it is and vegan friendly.
Many thanks for the recipe
YAY!! Thank you SO much for coming back to let me know, Jenna. That really means a lot to me. I’m borderline obsessed with pasta salads so there will most certainly be more recipes coming in the future :D
I love a quick and easy crowd pleasing pasta salad. It’s the best choice for big parties, which I am having tomorrow… I may have to make this! My garden is nothing to brag about yet, but I’m crossing my fingers.
Looks good and will have to try this recipe. I often find pasta salads bland but yours looks more flavorful
OMG SO JEALOUS OF YOUR GARDEN! I loved having a garden and having all the produce. Ugh I miss it. I’m hoping one day I’ll be in a situation where I can have a garden again. I’ve never tried growing lettuce before though, but it is something I would love to try out. Spinach too is on my list.