This vegan pasta salad is the perfect summer potluck dish! Made with superfood pasta and an oil free hummus dressing, it’s a super simple and healthy twist on the classic recipe.
Despite having all sweet teeth, I do love the occasional savory recipe. Because I’m such a sweets person, it’s an extra great feeling when something savory totally exceeds my expectations. And that is exactly what happened with this vegan pasta salad!
When I was little, we’d visit my grandparents every summer, and my grandad always made me his famous macaroni salad. It was my FAVORITE, but it wasn’t the healthiest, and it definitely wasn’t vegan. Making this vegan pasta salad totally took me back to those good memories, and I’m so happy with this recipe! Seriously, I’m already excited to make this all summer long. It’s perfect for potlucks or cookouts, and it’s also a great meal prep option.
Before we get into the details, have you guys heard of Cybele’s? They make pastas that are based on veggies and legumes. Ever since I first tried bean/veggie-based pasta, this concept has blown my mind. Traditional, wheat pasta isn’t the worst thing you could eat, but it’s pretty nutrient-poor.
You guys know I’m all about nutrient-dense, healthy foods, and this pasta is so nutritious, full of nutrients like potassium, iron, and fiber. It’s also full of plant protein and cooks in just 8 minutes!
For this vegan pasta salad I used the white superfood noodles, and the ingredients are just green lentils, cauliflower, and parsnips. SO cool. We’ve also tried the green and purple flavors and they’re just as tasty. Definitely check your grocery and try them out if you can, I can’t recommend them any more highly.
Ingredients for vegan pasta salad
- Cybeles superfood pasta: I love any varieties of these pastas for their simple, real food ingredients, but the white rotini is especially great for this pasta salad.
- Frozen peas: frozen peas give the pasta salad flavor and texture.
- Cucumber: cucumber adds crunchy texture.
- Red onion: red onion adds sharp flavor and texture.
- Cherry tomatoes: tomatoes add a bit of sweetness.
- Parsley: a little chopped parsley on top adds flavor.
- 4 ingredient salad dressing: this super simple oil-free dressing adds flavor the pasta salad.
Tips for making vegan pasta salad
- Cool the pasta while you prep the veggies and dressing. You’ll cook the pasta according to package directions, strain and rinse with warm water, then put it into a bowl. While you prep the veggies and dressing, set it in the fridge so that it’s not piping hot when you mix everything together.
- Add the water little by little when making the dressing. Add the water a tablespoon at a time, until you get the consistency for the dressing that you like. I use all 4 tablespoons of water, which makes it quite runny. This allows the dressing to easily coat all the pasta and veggies.
This vegan pasta salad is light, fresh, quick, easy, and nutritious. Full of a lovely mix of flavors and textures, it’s perfect for a simple dinner or a fun summer get together!
Xo,
Sara
Vegan Pasta Salad
Ingredients
Pasta Salad
- 8 oz (1 box) Cybeles superfood pasta, cooked according to package directions – I used the green lentil, cauliflower and parsnip rotini
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1/2 large cucumber, chopped
- 1/4 red onion, finely diced
- 10 cherry tomatoes, chopped
- Chopped parsley
Hummus Dressing
- 1/4 cup plain hummus – I love the Oasis brand because it's oil free, but any hummus should work
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp stevia
- 2-4 tbsp water, you can use more/less water to get a consistency you like
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package directions, drain and rinse, then put it into a bowl in the refrigerator to cool down for about 10 minutes.
- Mix the peas, chopped veggies, and parsley with the pasta.
- To make the dressing, mix the hummus, mustard, apple cider vinegar, stevia, and water until it's the consistency you like. I recommend adding the water by the tablespoon, so that you can stop when you get the consistency you want. I like it pretty runny and used 4 tablespoons, and it was easy to mix into the pasta and coated all the ingredients nicely.
- Stir the dressing into the pasta salad and mix thoroughly until all the pasta and veggies are coated with the dressing.
- Serve cold or at room temperature, and store leftovers in the refrigerator.
Sara, this is SO good! I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner and just wasn’t feeling it. My husband had his gallbladder removed today, so I’m taking care of him, I’m tired, and could have just gone with cereal and bed. LOL But I have kids and need to make sure they have food. I’m so glad I made this. I had everything on hand, doubled it, and it’s a hit with everyone!
Aw that just made my day!!! And good for you, I would’ve gone for the cereal at that point 🙂 so happy they loved it!!
Hi, Sara – how well does this keep? I’ve tried making pasta salad with other brand veggie pastas because I just love summer pasta salad! It’s a really easy make ahead lunch that lasts for a few days. The salads taste good if eaten right after making. But after a day in the fridge the other brands of red lentil noodles would be mushy & fall apart and the Bonza chickpea noodle seemed to get chewy…almost crunchy. The Super Greens pasta was the only noodle that retained the al dente texture & taste. How does Cybele’s hold up?
Hi Pam! I’m actually not sure how this would keep, we’ve always eaten it pretty quickly whenever I made it in the past! Because the ingredients are pretty minimal/similar to other lentil/bean-based pastas, I would think it’ll probably just stick together a bit more after sitting in the fridge. Hope that helps, let me know how it goes if you try it!