A favorite vegan Italian pasta salad with sun-dried tomatoes, roasted pine nuts, and fresh herbs – perfect for every summer party.
Is there anything better than a large bowl loaded with vegan pasta salad? It’s perfect for any summer BBQ, as a side dish, or a quick and easy dinner.
Especially the use of sun-dried tomatoes and roasted pine nuts give this salad a very flavorful taste. I love to make it with bow tie pasta, but every short pasta shape works great. Use gluten-free or chickpea pasta for a healthier version (summer = bikini time).
This easy pasta salad is compatible for a large crowd → use the slider in the recipe card to scale the serving size/amount of ingredients. Another bonus point is that you can prepare it one day in advance.
Vegan Pasta Salad Ingredients
- Short pasta such as farfalle (bow tie), penne, or macaroni
- Sun-dried tomatoes for extra taste
- Pine nuts for crunch and a nutty flavor
- Scallions for a mild onion flavor
- Fresh herbs for an aromatic note and a green, bright color
- Homemade Italian dressing
How To make pasta salad
Making this pasta salad recipe is very easy and doesn’t need a lot of cooking skills. The most important thing is to cook your pasta al dente, cause soft overcooked pasta doesn’t taste in cold pasta salad. I recommend always sticking to the cooking time as stated on the packaging.
Make sure to let them cool for at least 15 minutes before mixing them with the salad dressing – lukewarm is ok, they don’t need to be entirely cold.
The next step is to chop the ingredients. I love chopping mine very thin but do as you please and adapt the salad to your taste. Also, substitute or add more veggies such as olives, bell pepper, or rocket.
Pasta Salad Dressing
A very simple salad dressing is the best for an Italian pasta salad.
Mix those ingredients:
- Olive oil
- Balsamic Vinegar – white or red wine vinegar is delicious too
- Mustard
- Agave nectar – maple syrup or any other sweetener works also
- Garlic, salt, pepper
- Do you prefer creamy dressing? Use this vegan french dressing recipe.
If you love a creamy pasta salad, you might want to try this vegan macaroni salad.
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Vegan Italian Sun Dried Tomato Pasta Salad
Ingredients
Pasta Salad
- 7 oz (200g) pasta, I used Farfalle
- 1/4 cup (60g) sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, in thin strips
- 2 tbsp pine nuts, roasted
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 4 tbsp fresh Italian herbs, e.g. basil, sage, thyme, rosemary, oregano
Italian Salad Dressing
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, or any other vinegar
- 2 tsp mustard
- 2 tsp agave nectar, or any other sweetener
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 garlic clove, minced
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in boiling salt water al dente. Drain and set aside to cool.
- Roast the pine nuts for 5 minutes over medium heat. Chop the sun-dried tomatoes, scallions, and fresh herbs.
- Mix all ingredients for the dressing in a large bowl. Add all the other ingredients and toss until combined. Serve immediately or store up to two days in your fridge.
Notes
- Serves 4 as a side dish, 2 as a main dish.
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