Vegan Italian Pasta Salad
Long before my cooking days I would shy away from anything “pasta”. When dining out I never ordered it, I never craved it, and my viewpoint was that it was just adding refined carbs to my diet. It wasn’t until my culinary course at NYU where I made homemade pumpkin ravioli that the beauty behind pasta came to light. We all know everything homemade is better than premade, and that couldn’t be an more true when it comes to pasta.
After embracing pasta my thoughts on it evolved from “just calories”, to a wonderful medium to get more veggies into the diet. Pasta can be made in minutes, makes dishes more filling, and you can pack them with as many veggies as you like and throw on a healthy sauce and boom, you have a nutrient packed dish!
That being said, while wedding planning years ago, my extra time for complex recipes was significantly reduced, and this fab vegan Italian Pasta Salad was born!
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What I love about this dish, is just everything! It packs tons of veggies, flavor, arugula, a hint of spice, a hint of sweet with the sun dried tomatoes, can easily be made in bulk, is affordable, has multiple textures, good for any season, non vegan approved, and is great by itself of paired with a protein.Â
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If you love a classic dish that never get’s old..
You need this recipe for vegan Italian Pasta Salad!
Why this recipe is great:Â
Easy
Flavorful
Affordable
Perfect for any season
Great for a quick lunch or side dish!
Non vegan approved
Recipe TutorialÂ
Vegan Italian Pasta Salad
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: Serves 2-4 1x
Ingredients
Pasta Salad:
- 4 cups cooked bowtie pasta
- 2/3 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes (marinated)
- 1 can artichokes, drained, chopped
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives (sliced in half)
- 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
- 1 cup arugula leaves (optional)
Pesto:
Instructions
- Roast the pine nuts in the oven on 300 for 5-7 mins or in a pan over low/med heat.
- Pesto: combine all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.
- Pasta Salad: Chop ingredients as desired, toss together with cooked pasta and pesto. Place in fridge until time to serve.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Pasta Salad
- Cuisine: Lunch/Dinner/Side
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3-4
Oh my Lord is this good! Just made it and couldn’t even wait for it to chill in the fridge. Delicious!!! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Hi Kindra! Fabulous! I loved this dish! Please tag Eat Drink Shrink if you share via social media!
Hi there,
On your instagram video you put the parm into the pesto but here you don’t list that as an ingredient? Wondering if I should add it because I’m sure it will taste great with it in there LOL
Thanks for pointing that out! Vegan parm is always used in pesto, going to add it now!
Hello. I’m so excited to make this. 1/2 Italian olives . Is that 1/2 cup? I just want to make sure I am reading that correctly so I don’t make it too sour. Thank. you. I love your stuff
Hi Elisha! Sorry for the delayed response! It should ready 1/2 cup olives, but you’re welcome to use more. I always do!
I have made this twice. Eaten both cold and warm right after making it. So easy and so delish! I used whole wheat bow tie pasta and kalamata olives. At first look at the recipe I though maybe I should add some garlic but honestly there is no need as this dish is so flavorful! The artichokes, olives and sun dried tomatoes give it such a great taste and texture. I have made the pesto both with and without the vegan Parmesan and it was really good both ways. This is such a quick and easy recipe making it great for after a long day at work or a pot luck dish. Love it!