Vegan Pasta Salad
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Safeway. All opinions are 100% mine.
This easy Vegan Pasta Salad is made with fresh vegetables and herbs, gluten free pasta and no mayonnaise for a simple meatless lunch or dinner idea that is packed full of flavor.
With summer over we’ve been making a real effort to make better choices about what we’re eating. For us that means reducing the amount of meat we eat.
This simple Vegan Pasta Salad is the perfect addition to meatless Mondays. It is a quick and easy dish that is packed full of fresh vegetables and tossed with gluten-free pasta, and a tangy homemade dressing.
It has been a great addition to my usual meal plan. It lasts for up to a week in the refrigerator, and since we’re all home more often these days that means it is ready whenever we need a quick and easy lunch or dinner. It’s so much easier to make good choices when they are right there waiting for you 🙂
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What You’ll Need
- Gluten Free Pasta – O Organics® has some great gluten free pasta options. I used a mix of O Organics Pasta Fusilli Chickpea, O Organics® Pasta Fusilli Green Lentil, O Organics® Pasta Penne Red Lentil. They are made from beans/lentils and are high in protein, not to mention they taste great. No one in my family had any idea they weren’t eating their usual pasta.
- Tomatoes – I sliced cherry tomatoes for my salad but you can use roma tomatoes or large tomatoes as well. Just cut them into bite sized pieces.
- Cucumber – I highly recommend using english cucumbers for this. The skin is thinner and can be left on so you don’t have to deal with peeling the cucumber before adding it to the salad.
- Bell peppers – Any colors will do. My favorites are red and orange because they have a milder flavor than the green peppers.
- Broccoli – I used fresh, uncooked broccoli for this dish but if you like your broccoli slightly softened you can steam it for just a few minutes before adding it to the salad.
- Red onion – Just a little bit of red onion is all you need. It adds a bit of crunch to the salad and brings out the flavors in the cucumber and tomato.
- Fresh Parsley – I recommend Italian parsley but if you can only find the curly parsley you can use that as well. When you cut it up it adds a bright, fresh flavor to the salad.
- Dressing ingredients – Red wine vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper are all whisked together to make a homemade vinaigrette that pulls the whole salad together. It’s so much better than heavy mayo!
Both O Organics and Open Nature® have some amazing plant-based, high protein, and gluten-free options such as the pasta I used, as well as Open Nature Cauliflower Crust Pizza, O Organics Black Bean Patties (perfect for meatless Mondays!), and many others.
Their products are of the highest quality that’s why I feel good about feeding them to my family. O Organics products are non-GMO, and 100% USDA-certified organic and Open Nature offers minimally processed, high quality products for everyone in the family.
I shopped at Safeway in my local area, but you can also find O Organics and Open Nature plant-based products at the Albertsons Companies family of stores, including Albertsons, Safeway, ACME Markets, Jewel-Osco, Vons, Randalls, Shaw’s Supermarket, Star Market, and Tom Thumb. Safeway also offers Grocery Delivery and Drive Up & Go™ for convenient ways to shop!
How to Make It
Cook Pasta. Follow the instructions on the back of the box for preparing your pasta. You want it to be a little al dente so I recommend cooking it 1 minute less than the instructions call for. Remove it from the heat as soon as it is done and then drain it thoroughly and let it cool completely.
Make the dressing. In a small bowl whisk together all of the dressing ingredients.
Toss together. Once the pasta is ready place it in a big bowl and add your vegetables and toss everything together. Then pour the dressing over the pasta salad and toss until all of the ingredients are well coated.
How to Store It
Store this dish in an airtight container and keep it refrigerated. It will last up to 1 week in the refrigerator.
The dressing is absorbed by the other ingredients as it sits. So, when I make a batch to keep in the fridge for quick and easy lunches during the week I double the dressing and keep half of it in a separate container in the refrigerator. This way I can add just a bit more dressing when I go to serve it so the pasta salad doesn’t seem dry.
Looking for More Meatless Monday Meals?
- Roasted Cauliflower Steaks with Brown Butter {Low Carb/Keto}
- Portuguese Chickpea Salad – Salada de Grao de Bico
- Cucumber Tomato Avocado Salad
- Instant Pot Vegetable Soup
- One Pot Summer Vegetable Pasta
- Panzanella Salad – Italian Bread Salad
- Gazpacho Soup
- Broccoli Salad with Mango Chutney Dressing
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Vegan Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 8 ounces Dry O Organics Pasta Fusilli Chickpea, see note #1 below
- 8 ounces Tomatoes, diced
- 8 ounces Cucumber, diced
- 4 ounces Broccoli, cut into bite sized pieces
- 4 ounces Bell peppers, any color, diced
- 2 ounces Red onion, finely diced
- 2 tablespoons Fresh parsley, finely minced
Dressing:
- ¼ cup Olive oil
- ¼ cup Red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Pepper
Instructions
- Prepare the pasta according to the instructions on the package. Cook for 1 minute less than instructions ask for. Once cooked drain immediately and let cool.
- In a small bowl whisk together all of the dressing ingredients and set aside.
- Once pasta has cooled place it in a large bowl and add the tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, broccoli, red onion, and fresh parsley. Toss together.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and toss until everything is well coated.
- Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Notes
- We used three pastas: O Organics Pasta Fusilli Chickpea, O Organics Pasta Fusilli Green Lentil, and O Organics Pasta Penne Red Lentil to make up our 8 ounces of pasta. This isn’t required you can use 8 ounces of a single pasta if you prefer.
