One of my favorite ways to switch up pasta salads to not be boring is ALWAYS to switch up the dressings. My go to is our Zesty Italian pasta salad, but when I’m not feeling that I usually go to our vegan pesto pasta salad.
This one is a new fav that we can’t get enough of and I hope you love it just as much.
Pasta salads are a summer staple in our home. They get us through cookouts, lunches on the go and quick dinners by the lake.
This particular recipe has bold flavors, fresh citrus, and the perfect balance of tangy, sweet, and creamy.
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Why You’ll Love This Dish
- Easy – This recipe only is so easy to make!
- Great for Meal Prep – this is one of those recipes that only gets better with time which is perfect for meal prep as you can make it 3-5 days in advance and use as needed
- Allergen Friendly – this recipe is easily Top 9 Allergen Free which means it’s a great option to serve to everyone
- Versatile – Swap the leafy greens or beans, change up the pasta size, use store bought vegan Caesar dressing. No matter what, you’ll love it!
Recipe Ingredients
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Gather your ingredients!
Noodles
In the photos, we are using rotini as it’s a great base for pasta salad and holds sauce well; however, feel free to use your favorite shape. We also love bowtie pasta or shells for pasta salad.
Tip: Smaller noodles make more than larger ones so keep that in mind when cooking.
Substitute: If you’d prefer, feel free to use gluten free noodles or even something like zucchini or sweet potato noodles if you’d like. Alternatively, orzo makes an amazing alternative to the pasta.
Kale
We’re massaging the kale to give it the best flavor and texture or mouthful. It goes perfectly with this recipe. If you have green hesitant children, we recommend chopping it small.
Substitute: Spinach, collard greens or swiss chard would be good alternatives.
Sun-dried Tomatoes
We’re using chopped sun-dried tomatoes in oil for this recipe.
Substitute: It won’t have the same flavor, but you could just do cherry tomatoes instead.
Garlic
We’re making our Caesar salad dressing garlicky with an entire bulb of roasted garlic. It’s mellow when roasted but adds so much flavor in the end.
Substitute: If you don’t have time for roasting, you can either saute the garlic, then add it into the dressing before blending, OR you can just add 1-2 whole garlic to your dressing. Note this will alter the end taste.
Beans
We’re using cannellini beans; however any white bean will work. Try butter beans or great northern as well.
Substitute: Really any bean will work!
Additional Ingredients
You’ll also need fresh lemons, nutritional yeast, capers, dijon mustard, breadcrumbs and plant-based mayo.
See my recipe card below for a complete list of the ingredients with measurements.
Stretch this meal
Adding more vegetables and/or nuts and seeds to your meal will stretch it even more. You can also just swap some of the other vegetables for these if desired.
Here’s some ideas that would be great:
- carrots
- cucumbers
- mushrooms
- sun dried tomatoes
- peas
- edamame
- arugula (don’t add until serving)
- olives
- avocado (can be blended into pesto or cubed for salad)
- pumpkin seeds
- zucchini (thinly sliced)
- yellow squash (thinly sliced)
- sunflower seeds
- sliced almonds
Tips for Making the Perfect Pasta Salad
You’ll want to avoid these mistakes when making the perfect pasta salad!
- Overcooked Pasta – Pasta Salad is definitely ones of those dishes to cook your pasta to al dente (firm bite). If you have mushy pasta, not only will is stick together, the sogginess of the texture will ruin your salad when it sits with the other ingredients.
- Choosing Long Noodles – While is won’t ruin your pasta salad, choosing smaller noodles is best for those bite size ingredients all around. Try to keep your ingredients and pasta around the same size so that it’s easy to grab everything in one spoon or forkful.
- Rinsing Immediately – I’m guilty of this when I’m in a rush, but in general it’s best to not rinse the pasta. When you do that, you rinse off the starch that helps the sauce adhere to your noodles.
Other Vegan Pasta Salad Recipes to Consider:
🥳 Get the Full Recipe
High Protein Garlickly Caesar Pasta Salad
Ingredients
For the Roasted Garlic
- 1 whole head garlic
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
For the Pasta
- 12 oz 340 g pasta (rotini, fusilli, or penne work best)
- 1 teaspoon salt for the pasta water
Add-Ins
- 1 15 oz / 425 g can white beans, drained and rinsed (cannellini or great northern)
- ¼ cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
- ⅓ cup toasted breadcrumbs or croutons
- 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- Fresh cracked black pepper
Creamy Roasted Garlic Caesar Dressing
- Roasted garlic from above
- ⅓ cup vegan mayo
- 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon capers optional but recommended
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 –4 tablespoon water to thin
Instructions
For Roasted Garlic
- Preheat oven to 400°F (205°C).
- Slice the top off the garlic head to expose the cloves. Drizzle with olive oil and wrap loosely in foil. Bake for 30-35 minute until soft, golden, and fragrant. Set aside to cool.
Pasta
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package instructions until al dente. When done, remove one cup of pasta water and set aside. Then drain remaining water and briefly run with cool water to stop the steaming process.
Kale
- Add kale to a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, lemon juice and salt. Massage for 1-2 minutes until softer and darker in color.
For the Caesar dressing
- Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves into a blender or bowl. Add vegan mayo, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, olive oil, dijon, capers (if adding), salt and pepper. Blend or whisk until smooth. If needed, add reserved pasta water gradually until creamy but pourable.
Build the Salad
- In a large bowl, combine cooked pasta, massaged kale, white beans, and chopped sun-dried tomatoes. Pour of the top and then toss to coat.
- If adding, top with toasted breadcrumbs or croutons, nutritional yeast, black pepper, if needed.
Notes
Video
Nutrition
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Recipe FAQs:
Yes. To start, use a gluten free pasta and breadcrumbs. You’ll also want to find a safe-for-you plant based mayo.
In general, pasta salad is eaten cold. However, that’s not a hard rule and if you would prefer your warmed, there’s no harm in warming up this pasta salad.
Yes. Once made, let cool completely and you can store in an air tight container in the fridge for 4-5 days.
Yes, just make sure to use a large enough pot to boil and bowl to hold all your ingredients.
We do not recommend freezing this dish.
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