Easy Vegan Pasta Salad

This Easy Vegan Pasta Salad recipe takes just 30 minutes to make, is loaded with fresh vegetables, olives, and artichokes, and is tossed with the best Italian-inspired, 5-minute homemade pasta salad dressing! Perfect for BBQs, picnics, or potlucks, this will be your new go-to recipe this summer!! 😋🥗

Who doesn’t love a good pasta salad? My creamy vegan macaroni salad has been a fan-favorite for years, but this summer, I’m adding a new favorite: this Italian-inspired easy vegan pasta salad. This cold pasta salad comes together in under 30 minutes and is also perfect for meal prep. I love the fresh crunch of veggies, the briny marinated artichokes and olives, all tossed in a herby lemon vinaigrette that truly makes this easy pasta salad better than any I’ve had before! Make it ahead of time and you’ll have a rockstar salad ready and waiting for you at lunchtime, dinner, or your next summer party!

Make-ahead tip: If preparing the pasta salad ahead of time, note that the dressing can be absorbed by the pasta. While day-old pasta salad is still wonderful, for the best texture and flavor, I prefer storing the dressing separately in the fridge and tossing it with the pasta and veggies up to 2 hours before serving.

Serving Suggestions: This salad is a great side dish served with grilled vegetables, crusty bread, or a light white wine. It’s versatile enough to be a main dish or a hearty side.

Storage Tips: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If the pasta absorbs too much dressing, simply add a little more lemon juice and olive oil before serving to refresh the flavors.

I hope you enjoy making and eating this pasta salad as much as I do! Feel free to leave comments about your own variations or ask any questions below. Happy cooking!

This Easy Vegan Pasta Salad recipe takes just 30 minutes to make, is loaded with fresh vegetables, olives, and artichokes, and is tossed with the best Italian-inspired, 5-minute homemade pasta salad dressing! Perfect for BBQs, picnics, or potlucks, this will be your new go-to recipe this summer!!

Ingredients:

Pasta: For this classic pasta salad, I love using short pasta like fusilli, penne, rigatoni, or bowties (farfalle). Feel free to use gluten-free pasta such, brown rice pasta is my preferred kind.
Marinated artichokes: artichoke hearts are my secret ingredient that really gives the salad that wow factor.
Cucumber: I use chopped English cucumber, but baby cucumbers would also work.
Grape or cherry tomatoes: I used red ones, but a mix of yellow, orange, and red cherry tomatoes would also be cute.
Bell pepper: You can use any color (red, orange, yellow, or green); this time I used orange.
Kalamata or black olives: I used whole pitted olives, but sliced olives would also work well.
Red onion: I used fresh red onion, but pickled red onions would also be lovely.
Fresh parsley: For a bit of freshness.

Other options: I put my favorite combo of ingredients in this recipe, but feel free to play around with the vegetables and use what you have on hand. Lightly steamed and cooled broccoli, thinly sliced zucchini, shredded carrots, fresh spinach, fresh basil, or other fresh herbs, thinly sliced radishes, roasted red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, chickpeas, or black beans would all be nice options. You can also top the salad with toasted pine nuts, slivered almonds, vegan feta, or vegan parmesan.

In a small bowl or measuring glass, combine all the dressing ingredients: olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, maple syrup or agave, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes (if using). Whisk well to mix.

How to Make Easy Vegan Pasta Salad:

To make the Pasta: Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Once cooked, drain the pasta and rinse it well with cold water to cool it down. In the meantime prep the vegetables and prepare the dressing.

To make the dressing: in a small bowl or measuring glass, combine all the dressing ingredients: olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, maple syrup or agave, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes (if using). Whisk well to mix.

In a large bowl, combine the cooled and drained pasta with the chopped vegetables, artichokes, olives, and parsley. Pour the dressing over the pasta salad and toss everything together until well combined. Serve the pasta salad fresh or within a few hours for the best flavor.

This Pasta Salad is…

quick and easy to make
the perfect make-ahead dish
my go-to for summer BBQs or picnics

Serve this Easy Vegan Pasta Salad alongside:

The Best Vegan Seitan Burger
Easy Vegan Macaroni Salad
Vegan Italian Seitan Sausages
Easy Vegan Potato Salad
Vegan Salmon
Easy Vegan Coleslaw
Quick & Easy BBQ Tofu
The Best Cowboy Caviar

If you try this easy vegan pasta salad recipe let us know by leaving a comment, rating it, and don’t forget to tag @itdoesnttastelikechicken on Instagram.
Bon appetegan!
Sam Turnbull.

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Prep: 20 minutes

Cook: 10 minutes

Total: 30 minutes

Servings: 8

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Ingredients

For the Italian Dressing:

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Instructions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the package directions. Once cooked, drain the pasta and rinse it well with cold water to cool it down.
In the meantime prep the vegetables and prepare the dressing.To make the dressing: in a small bowl or measuring glass, combine all the dressing ingredients: olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, maple syrup or agave, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes (if using). Whisk well to mix.
In a large bowl, combine the cooled and drained pasta with the chopped vegetables, artichokes, olives, and parsley. Pour the dressing over the pasta salad and toss everything together until well combined. Serve the pasta salad fresh or within a few hours for the best flavor.
Make-ahead tip: If preparing the pasta salad ahead of time, note that the dressing can be absorbed by the pasta. While day-old pasta salad is still wonderful, for the best texture and flavor, I prefer storing the dressing separately and tossing it with the pasta and vegetables up to 2 hours before serving.Storage Tips: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If the pasta absorbs too much dressing, simply add a little more lemon juice and olive oil before serving to refresh the flavors.

Notes

Vegetable substitutions: Feel free to play around with the vegetables and use what you have on hand. Lightly steamed and cooled broccoli, thinly sliced zucchini, shredded carrots, fresh spinach, fresh basil, thinly sliced radishes, roasted red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, chickpeas, or black beans would all be nice options. You can also top the salad with toasted pine nuts, slivered almonds, vegan feta, or vegan parmesan.
Oil-free: For an oil-free version, you can omit the olive oil in the dressing and replace it with vegetable broth. To make the dressing a bit richer, you could reduce the vegetable broth to 3 tablespoons and add 1 tablespoon of tahini or cashew butter. Alternatively, you can replace the oil with ¼ cup of plain vegan yogurt (such as almond or soy), and add a splash of vegetable broth if needed to thin the dressing.

Nutrition

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Ingredients:

How to Make Easy Vegan Pasta Salad:

This Pasta Salad is…

Serve this Easy Vegan Pasta Salad alongside:

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