Vegan Summer Pasta Salad
As a child, I used to love Suddenly Salad. Do you remember it? The box of pasta with the dehydrated olives and pimentos and powder dressing, yuck! Well, times have changed and our bodies deserve better. This recipe reminds me of it, but it is much more delicious and nutritious, I can promise you that. Loaded with veggies and a simple homemade vinaigrette dressing this plant-based summer pasta salad makes a great quick weeknight meal or bring it along to your next BBQ. This vegan summer pasta salad is great served immediately but it is equally delicious as leftovers. Plus this is kid-approved!
If you want to make this recipe even more nutritious, or you’re looking for a gluten-free option try using chickpea pasta. Banza pasta makes a great rotini pasta that works wonderfully in this recipe. Plus since it’s made from chickpeas it has more protein and more fiber than regular pasta. I especially love how their pasta holds up when leftover, it keeps more of an al dente texture and doesn’t get mushy. I only wish it came in bulk size to feed the whole family!
Hey, so what’s this Spike seasoning stuff?
If you’ve never heard of Spike run out to your local grocery store and get some now! Spike is a spice blend that includes pretty much every spice imaginable: salt, soy, onion, nutritional yeast, garlic, dill, kelp, horseradish, mustard flour, orange and lemon peel, celery, bell peppers, parsley, celery root, white pepper, turmeric, rosehips, summer savory, mushroom, coriander, fenugreek, basil, cayenne pepper, spinach powder, cloves, cumin, ginger, marjoram, oregano, thyme, tarragon, cinnamon, safflower, paprika, tomato, and rosemary. It’s quite the blend but really lives up to its slogan of “gourmet magic”. Spike is delicious in salad dressings, soups, or on some cooked veggies.
I haven’t purchased a store-bought salad dressing for well over 10 years because of Spike. It makes the most delicious tasting vinaigrettes that are super quick to make. Spike is readily available at Whole Foods, most natural food stores (like my favorite here in Colorado, Natural Grocers), and even your major grocery store. You can find it in the spice aisle. I started shying away from store-bought salad dressing because I didn’t like the oils used in them and added preservatives. Plus homemade salad dressings is just so easy. As an added bonus, making your own salad dressing will save a lot of money and space in your refrigerator!
If you are in a pinch and you don’t have any Spike available you can still make a basic vinegar and olive oil vinaigrette, just add some salt and pepper. It won’t be quite as flavorful but it will certainly work!
Vegan Summer Pasta Salad
A plant-based summer pasta salad loaded with chickpeas, red pepper, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, artichokes, kalamata olives with a simple vinaigrette dressing.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10-12 minutes
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 10-12 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 16 ounces of penne or rotini pasta
- One red pepper, roughly chopped
- Two cucumbers, roughly chopped
- 1 cup of grape tomatoes, cut in half
- One 15.5 ounce can of chickpeas, drained
- 3/4 cup (one 14 ounce can) of artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
- 3/4 cup (about six ounces) of kalamata olives, drained
Vinaigrette
- 1/2 cup of white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon of Spike seasoning
- 1/2 of a small red onion, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup of fresh oregano, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup of olive oil
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packaging. Once cooked strain and rinse the pasta with cold water.
- While the pasta is cooking, prepare the vinaigrette. Add all vinaigrette ingredients to a small bowl: the vinegar, spike seasoning, red onion, oregano, and olive oil. Mix together and set aside for 10 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl add the cooked pasta, red pepper, cucumber, grape tomatoes, chickpeas, artichoke hearts, and kalamata olives. Pour the vinaigrette over the top and mix until everything is well incorporated.
Notes
Pasta will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
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Please give it bunches of stars and send a comment to share your thoughts! What was easy? What didn’t work? Did you discover an even more delicious version? I’d love to know to keep improving each recipe.
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Cheers,
Erica
A lovely combination of textures and flavors!