Vegan Pasta Salad with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Pesto

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It’s summer and that means it’s time to eat pasta salads! Lots of pasta salads! And good ones, to be specific. What you consider a good pasta salad is up to you of course, but I’m not mad about any kind of pasta & veggie concoction, because, well… it’s pasta, what’s not to like here?? That being said, my only criteria for a nice pasta-meets-salad-kinda dish is it being plant based of course.

And while creamy and rich (vegan-) mayo-based pasta salads can be pretty nice sometimes as well, I personally tend to gravitate more towards salty & savory mediterranean-inspired ones with lots of sun-dried tomatoes, pesto and olives - just like this beauty right here! So easy, yet so delicious, a true staple summer recipe for me!

and now here’s the recipe for this:

Vegan Pasta Salad with sun-dried Tomatoes and Pesto

Ingredients (for 3-4 servings):

for the dressing:

• 70ml olive oil

• 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

• 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped or grated (optional)*

• 1 tsp agave or maple syrup

• 1 tsp mustard

• 1 tsp vegan red pesto*

• salt and pepper to taste

for the pasta salad base:

• 250g short pasta noodles (e.g. farfalle)

• 70g pine nuts

• 50g lamb’s lettuce or arugula

• 100g sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil

• 100g tofu or vegan feta-cheese alternative

• a handful of cherry tomatoes

• a few olives (optional)

also:

• some vegan cashew parmesan cheese (optional)

Instructions: 

1. Cook the pasta according to the packaging, then rinse them with cold water and let them cool completely.

2. Mix all the ingredients for the sauce / dressing together, taste test and add some more salt, pepper and optionally other seasonings to your liking.

3. Cut the tofu or vegan feta into small cubes and optionally marinate them with some of the leftover pesto.

4. Toast the pine nuts in a pan without any oil over low to medium heat and remove from the heat immediately once they’re starting to brown.

5. Wash the salad and fresh veggies and chop them into bite-sized pieces together with the sun-dried tomatoes and olives.

6. Then combine all ingredients in a big salad bowl, add the dressing and mix everything together.

7. Lastly, add some more salt and pepper to your liking and optionally sprinkle some vegan cashew parmesan on top. Done!*

summer = pasta salad season.

*Notes:

1. Because the dressing isn’t cooked or heated up, you can also replace the fresh garlic clove with garlic powder if you can’t tolerate raw garlic. Or you can also sauté the garlic prior to adding it to the dressing.

2. Technically you can just choose your favorite pesto for this salad! I made this exact recipe using green basil pesto before and it turned out just as yummy! If you’re unsure about your pesto being vegan, check the ingredients closely for things like milk powder or cheeses like parmesan, as these can often be in pestos making them not vegan!

3. You can also prepare this pasta salad the day before serving and store it in the fridge overnight! This way the ingredients and flavors have time to marinate and soak in, which can even enhance the taste even more!

Did you make this recipe?

leave a comment or tag me on Instagram @choartemi