This 20 minute creamy Vegan Pesto Pasta Salad is easy, flavorful, and perfect for get togethers. Summer meal prep level up!
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My secret to leveling up any pasta salad as a vegan since 2018? Pesto.
As a mom, I’ve learned to embrace cold meals—not always by choice might I add! One day, I found myself eating leftover spaghetti with pesto straight from the fridge (because, let’s be real, sometimes that’s the only way meals happen), and it hit me: this would make an amazing pasta salad.
That moment turned into this go-to pasta recipe that’s now a summer staple in our home (but also year round – the green color makes for fun convos at the holidays!).
It brings bold, fresh flavor, tons of herby brightness, and just the right amount of indulgence. This vegan pesto pasta salad is fast, meal-prep friendly, and perfect for cookouts, picnics, or easy lunches all week long. I know your family will love it as much as mine!
Keep reading for tips to adding protein for a full meal if that’s important to you!
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Why You’ll Love This Dish
- Easy – This recipe only takes 20 minutes 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
- Gluten Free and Allergen Friendly – this recipe is easily Top 9 Allergen Free which means it’s a great option to serve to everyone
- Versatile – Swap the vegetables, change up the pasta size, make your own pesto using your fav ingredients or use store bought. No matter what, you’ll love it and will make the BEST pesto pasta for you!
🥘Recipe Ingredients
Gather your ingredients!
Noodles
In the photos, we are using shells 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 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.
Vegetables
We’re adding tomatoes, spinach, and red onions to this pasta to give it more of a pasta salad vibe.
Tip: We love garlic as much as the next person, however, since we aren’t cooking garlic we left it to one bulb. Raw garlic can be spicy, so keep that in mind if you want to add more.
Vegan Parmesan
Our preference is Violife parmesan block that we grate ourselves or Follow Your Heart parmesan.
Substitute: Nutritional yeast would be a less processed alternative for vegan parmesan; however you could also do cubed vegan mozzarella or gouda as well.
Pine Nuts
Pine nuts are standard for pestos and can be found in store either with other nuts or by the spaghetti sauces. We toast them to bring out more flavor.
Substitute: You can sub pine nuts with toasted walnuts, or if you are nut free, sunflower or pumpkin seeds.
Tip: To roast pine nuts, add them to a baking tray in a single layer. Preheat oven to 375˚F and bake for 8-10 minutes, stirring every 3-4 minutes. When golden brown, remove from oven and place in a bowl.
Pesto
This homemade pesto sauce uses olive oil, pine nuts, fresh and dried basil, spinach, red onions, garlic powder, vegan parmesan, salt, and lemons.
Substitute: If needed you can swap out ingredients (based on recommendations above) or you can buy a store bought pesto as well. Keep in mind that most pestos have dairy in them which would make them not vegan, so look for one without dairy (milk) if you need to buy yours.
See my recipe card below for a complete list of the ingredients with measurements.
Variations:
If you’re wondering what else would go well in your pesto pasta salad, we’ve got you covered with these ideas!
Protein Pesto Pasta Salad
If you’re looking to level up the vegan protein in this salad, there are a few options.
- Add beans – white beans like Great Northern, Cannellini or Butter Beans Would be. a great addition to this
- Add legumes – chickpeas or lentils would be amazing in a dish like this
- Add tofu – crumbled or cube pressed tofu would be a fantastic option to build up the protein. Alternatively, our tofu feta would be great in this and add flavor and protein!
- Protein pasta – a simple way to add more protein is using a protein based pasta
- Vegan chicken – chopped and cooked vegan chicken is another great addition to our pasta salad.
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:
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🥳 Get the Full Recipe
Summer Pesto Pasta Salad
Ingredients
For the Pasta Salad
- 2 tablespoons salt (for the water)
- ½ pound pasta (I used shells)
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 ¼ cup pesto (recipe below) + more for garnish
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved (use different colors for more variation)
- 2 tablespoons vegan parmesan cheese, more to taste
- 1 clove garlic, minced
For the Pesto
- 1 cup spinach
- 1 cup fresh basil
- ¾ cup toasted pine nuts (or sub with walnuts)
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ cup red onion
- ½ lemon, zested
- 2 tablespoons vegan parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- ¾ teaspoon salt, more or less to taste
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon dried basil
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling add 2 tablespoon of water and stir. Add ½ lb uncooked pasta noodles and cook according the package directions. When done drain and add to a large bowl. Add 2 tablespoon white vinegar and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Toss together gently.
- While pasta is cooking, make pesto by adding 1 cup each spinach and fresh basil, ¾ cup toasted pine nuts, ½ cup each olive oil and red onion, zest of ½ a lemon, 2 tablespoon each vegan parmesan and fresh lime juice, ¾ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, and ¼ teaspoon dried basil to a food processor, high speed blender or cup of an immersion blender and blend well.
- When pasta and pesto are ready to the bowl, add 1 ¼ cup of the pesto, along with 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes, 2 tablespoon vegan parmesan cheese, and 1 clove minced garlic. Stir ingredients together well to combine. Add more salt and pepper as desired. Refrigerate overnight or at least 4-6 hours before serving for best results.
Notes
Video
Nutrition
Recipe FAQs:
Yes. To start, use a gluten free pasta and a safe vegan parmesan for you (or sub with nutritional yeast). Lastly, sub the pine nuts with sunflower or pumpkin seeds and this recipe will be top 9 allergen friendly.
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 pesto pasta salad.
Yes. Once made, let cool completely and you can store in an air tight container in the fridge for 4-5 days. After that the tomatoes start to break down with the acid.
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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