I am super excited about today's recipe! When I served this dish to my family, everyone was obsessed. This was wonderful feedback, because this recipe was honestly so easy! I have been loving creating simple recipes for you guys.
Fortunately I have time to cook throughout the day right now, but if you are a busy person who doesn't have time to spend cooking throughout the week this simple vegan pasta salad recipe is for you. This recipe is great if you like to meal prep, although it can be made in 15 minutes fresh (aside from making the oil-free vegan mozzarella)!
Best gluten-free pasta?
Listen, gluten-free pasta is nothing new. It's been around for quite some time. Nowadays there's not just gluten-free pasta, but grain free pasta as well. With so many options, making recipes like this simple vegan pasta salad gluten-free is a piece of cake! My personal pasta of choice is bean based pastas. I love bean based pastas, because they are high in both protein and fiber. The best part is that you can find bean based pasta everywhere!
How to make pasta salads healthier:
Even though pasta salad includes the work salad in it, does not mean that it is healthy. Typically pasta salad recipes are loaded with oil, meat, and cheese, none of which are healthy. However, this simple vegan pasta salad recipe is not only free of those ingredients, but full of healthy ones too! The oil-free mozzarella recipe that I used for this recipe is full of healthy, high fiber ingredients. I love using this cheese recipe for everything, and it gets better. It even melts on pizza! I used this recipe for my Oil-free Vegan Pizza.
My favorite trick to add some extra nutrients to a recipe that doesn't have a lot of color is to serve it on a bed of spring mix. Honestly I do this with most of the food I eat, simply because it adds volume and greens to my diet. Another trick I like doing is: if I am using oil (make sure it's cold pressed), I like to use half the amount of oil and add water to replace that other half. This helps to lower the calories and the saturated fat of the recipe.
Ingredients for this Simple Vegan Pasta Salad:
- Cashews
- Plant based milk
- Lemon juice
- Miso paste
- Nutritional yeast
- Psyllium husk
- Tapioca starch
- Bean based pasta
- Red onion
- Bell pepper
- Cherry tomatoes
- Spring mix
- Golden flaxseed oil
- White wine vinegar
- Italian seasoning
Substitutions:
There are many easy substitutions that can be made to this vegan pasta salad. Here are some of the common ones.
- Orzo - You can replace the pasta with orzo and make a pasta salad like this vegetable orzo pasta salad.
- Oil - You can replace the oil with any oil of your choice. Extra Virgin Olive oil and Avocado oil are great options.
- Vegetables - Feel free to use any of your favorite vegetables in this vegan pasta salad. I love adding broccoli, olives, pickled peppers, and cucumbers.
If you have any questions about a particular substitution not listed, make sure to leave a comment, and I'll get back to you as quickly as possible!
Simple Vegan Pasta Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Cashew Mozzarella:
- ½ cup raw cashews soaked overnight
- ½ cup plant based meat of choice
- 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon miso paste
- 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoon psyllium husk
- 1 teaspoon tapioca starch
For the Pasta Salad:
- 1 box bean based pasta
- ½ red onion
- 1 bell pepper
- 2 tablespoon cold pressed flax seed oil
- 3 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Begin by making the cheese ahead of time. Simply strain the cashews and add everything to a blender except the psyllium husk. Blend until smooth then add the psyllium husk and blend again. Scoop out and pour into a bowl quickly and set in the fridge to solidify. This may take awhile, I let mine sit for about 3 hours.
- To make the pasta salad; simply cook pasta according to instructions. Chop the onion, bell pepper, and cherry tomatoes and add to a salad bowl.
- To make the dressing simply combine the oil, vinegar, and seasoning together and add to bowl. Strain and rinse the pasta to cool down, then add to bowl.
- Chop the cheese up into little squares and add to the salad bowl. Serve over spring mix for extra nutrient boost, and enjoy!
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