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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 love to cook and I am always looking for new recipes for my daily menu, which is interesting for my work. Today’s my lucky day, Vegan Pasta Salad is great, just follow the instructions and everything is so easy, I love that. Thanks for your sharing
We had a family party last week and I wanted something to serve for our one vegan and two vegetarian family members. I am so glad I found this recipe. I didn’t change a thing and it was delicious! It was the only empty bowl on the table. Even my picky husband commented on how good it was. I’ll probably double the recipe next time. Thank you!
This is delicious! Perfect summertime recipe, comes together in 10 mins or less! Great for party, BBQ, or event. Good idea!
I made this last week, it’s easy but so good, my kids like this, I think I can make it sometimes when we want vegan dishes.
It looks fresh and yummy with vegie ingredients. Such a great dish for this summer, many thanks for sharing.
PASTA SALAD is great! I’ve just finished them, the taste is great. added it to my menu. Thank you for sharing the recipe
A healthy, very healthy food. I always care about green foods. that’s why i found your blog. Thanks for sharing this recipe
I’ve never though that we can cook pasta like this. I’m so excited to try it.
I’ve never though that we can cook pasta like this. I’m so excited to try it.
Hey there, this recipe looks great but Please remember to included the portion on your recipe!