The weather is warming up and summer is just around the corner, which means pasta salad season is upon us! Pasta salads are perfect for outdoor meals because they’re nutritious, taste great, and can often be prepared in advance. Many pasta salads happen to be vegan-friendly, but the recipes below are all dairy-, egg-, and meat-free.
Read more: 20 High-Protein Vegan Dinner Ideas
Pasta salad is basically a dish that combines pasta with fruits, vegetables, and salad ingredients. It’s a staple at picnics, barbecues, potlucks, and many other events. There’s a recipe for every taste, and all of the methods below can be adapted to suit your mood. Dressings and sauces make or break a pasta salad. In these recipes, we’ll show you how to make vegan Caesar dressing, pesto, and more.
Whether you’re planning a summer picnic or just want something tasty and healthy for dinner, you’re sure to find a vegan pasta salad recipe that’s perfect for you. Here are 6 pasta salads to try this summer.
Read more: 8 Easy Vegan Egg Recipes, From Egg Yolks to Omelettes
Pesto Pasta Salad
Sometimes you want to eat an old-fashioned classic. This pesto pasta salad is a hearty dish in a bowl. Some people may not realize that most commercial pesto contains Parmesan cheese and is therefore not vegan. Those on a plant-based diet can buy vegan pesto (often easily found in stores) or make their own at home. This simple Nuts & Twigs recipe uses a jar of commercial pesto, but you can also use homemade pesto if you prefer. It tastes amazing, is ready in just 30 minutes, and is loaded with veggies.
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Easy Macaroni Pasta Salad
If you love mayonnaise-based dressings, this dish from Eating by Elaine is perfect for you. This creamy macaroni pasta salad uses vegan mayonnaise as well as ingredients like distilled white vinegar, maple syrup, and garlic powder, giving it a pleasantly tangy and savory flavor. It’s the perfect picnic dish and is also suitable for those avoiding gluten (though you could use a gluten-based pasta if you prefer).
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Greek pasta salad
Greek salad is a hugely popular dish eaten around the world, but it’s super easy to make vegan: just replace the dairy feta cheese with a plant-based alternative (or make your own vegan feta from scratch at home). This Greek pasta salad recipe features classic ingredients like kalamata olives, cherry tomatoes, olive oil, and oregano. This recipe is provided by The Garden Party.
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Caesar Pasta Salad
If there’s anything more delicious than a vegan Caesar salad, it’s a vegan Caesar salad with pasta. This recipe was created by the author or vegan pasta cookbookHere’s how to make a cashew-based dressing from scratch that is free of animal ingredients. Traditional Caesar salad is far from vegan as it often contains a combination of dairy, eggs, anchovies and chicken, but it’s super easy to replace these with plant-based alternatives. Ingredients like miso paste, almond parmigiana and Dijon mustard round out this recipe, perfect for summer.
The recipe can be found here.
Peach pasta salad
Peaches? In a pasta salad? Sure. This nutritious dish from Munchmeals by Janet has the perfect mix of sweet and savory, and tastes as good as it looks. It’s packed with nutrients from the fruit and veggie mix, with added protein in the form of chickpeas. The creamy mustard dressing is what really makes this dish. Just mix the ingredients together (no food processor required).
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Bean, Orzo and Pesto Salad
If you like to plan your meal prep, this salad is perfect. It uses orzo, a small pasta shaped like a grain of rice. The addition of beans gives this salad plenty of protein, making it perfect for a weekday lunch. This recipe is provided by plantbaes.
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Read more: 10 Vegan Dinners That Prioritize Whole Foods
