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    Home » Salads » Vegan Pasta Salad

    Vegan Pasta Salad

    Published: Apr 18, 2020 Updated: Jun 28, 2021 by Alison Andrews This post may contain affiliate links

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    Vegan Pasta Salad

    This vegan pasta salad is packed with flavor and color and drizzled with a fabulous sesame dressing. Ready in 15 minutes.

    Vegan pasta salad in a rectangular white dish.

    Don’t you just love all the color in this dish? I love that this vegan pasta salad takes something quite bland on its own, like pasta, and adds all this beautiful color, freshness and flavor to it, turning it into a gorgeously colorful, high nutrient power meal.

    Since you serve it cold, this is an ideal meal to whip up quickly and keep in the fridge so that your next few meals are covered.

    It’s filling, satisfying, and tasty as all heck.  Not to mention that this meal comes together in the time it takes you to cook the pasta. Now that’s what I call fast food.

    And if you love pasta (and salad) then also check out our vegan macaroni salad!

    Vegan pasta salad in a rectangular white dish.

    How To Make Vegan Pasta Salad

    Full instructions and measurements can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is just a summary of the process. 

    • It’s so simple to make this salad!
    • You just put on a bag of pasta to cook (go for the whole bag, you WANT to have leftovers here), and while it’s boiling away, you chop up your fresh veg to go with it, and mix together your sauce ingredients in a bowl.
    • As soon as the pasta (regular or gluten-free) is finished cooking, you simply drain it, rinse it under cold water, drain again and then add it to a serving dish.
    • Pile all your chopped veggies on top, toss it up, then pour over your sauce and you have a beautifully tasty and fabulous looking salad.

    Step by step process photos of making a vegan pasta salad.

    The Sauce

    The sauce is a simple and tasty mix of sesame oil, soy sauce (or tamari if you want to make it gluten-free), maple syrup, crushed garlic and dried herbs and there you have it!

    As a bonus I also added in some vegan mayonnaise, just to add some extra creaminess and I can tell you, it’s not an essential ingredient, but boy does it round out those flavors nicely!

    Pouring sesame dressing over a vegan pasta salad.

    What Kind of Pasta Is Best For Pasta Salad?

    We used bowtie pasta and that worked great in this salad, but penne, shells, elbow, fusilli would also all work great in this recipe.  

    Make Ahead

    This salad is great to make up ahead of time as it actually just gets even better after a few hours chilling in the fridge! So if you need to make it the day before, that works really well for this. 

    Storing your leftovers

    Keep your leftovers stored in the fridge and enjoy within around 5 days. It is not freezer friendly. 

    Vegan pasta salad in a rectangular white dish with a wooden salad spoon.

    More Vegan Salad Recipes

    1. Vegan Quinoa Salad
    2. Vegan Couscous Salad
    3. Marinated Tofu Salad
    4. Vegan Caesar Salad
    5. Vegan Chickpea Salad
    6. Vegan Greek Salad

    Vegan pasta salad in a blue bowl with a fork.

    Vegan pasta salad in a white dish with a wooden serving spoon.

    Vegan Pasta Salad

    This vegan pasta salad is packed with flavor and color and drizzled with a fabulous sesame dressing. Ready in 15 minutes.
    5 from 5 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Pasta, Salad, Savory, Side
    Cuisine: Vegan
    Diet: Vegan
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Total Time: 15 minutes
    Servings: 6
    Calories: 486kcal
    Author: Alison Andrews

    Ingredients

    For the Salad:

    • 2 Medium Stalks Celery
    • 1 Medium Red Bell Pepper
    • 1 Medium Yellow Bell Pepper
    • 2 Spring Onions
    • 20 Cherry Tomatoes
    • 2 Small Cucumbers
    • 20 Green Olives

    For the Pasta:

    • 16 ounces Bowtie Pasta (450g) Dry Weight, or Penne, Shells, Elbow, Fusilli

    For the Sesame Dressing:

    • 2 Tbsp Sesame Oil
    • 3 Tbsp Soy Sauce
    • 2 Tbsp Maple Syrup
    • ½ tsp Crushed Garlic
    • ¼ tsp Dried Basil
    • ¼ tsp Oregano

    Optional:

    • ¼ - ½ cup Vegan Mayonnaise
    • Fresh Parsley for serving
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    Instructions

    • Cook the pasta according to the package instructions.
    • While the pasta is cooking, chop up the celery, red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, spring onions and cucumber. Cut the cherry tomatoes and olives in half.
    • Prepare the dressing by adding the sesame oil, soy sauce or tamari, maple syrup, crushed garlic and dried basil and oregano to a jug and mixing together.
    • When the pasta is cooked, rinse and drain it and add to a serving dish. Then pile on all the raw veggies on top and mix in together.
    • Pour over the dressing and combine.
    • Then add the vegan mayonnaise (optional) and mix together.
    • Keep covered in the fridge where it will keep perfectly well for a few days.

    Video

    Notes

    1. Mayonnaise: The amount of mayonnaise you use just depends on how creamy you want it to be. Mix in ¼ cup first and then see if you'd like to add more.
    2. Gluten-free: To make this salad gluten-free simply use a gluten-free pasta and use a gluten-free soy sauce or switch for tamari.
    3. Nutritional information includes ¼ cup of vegan mayonnaise.
    4. This recipe was first published in October 2016.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1Serve | Calories: 486kcal | Carbohydrates: 75g | Protein: 13.1g | Fat: 15.1g | Saturated Fat: 2.3g | Sodium: 703mg | Fiber: 5.3g | Sugar: 10.9g
    DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? Rate it & leave your feedback in the comments section below, or tag @lovingitvegan on Instagram and hashtag #lovingitvegan

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    About the Author

    Hi I'm Alison Andrews, I'm the voice and cook behind Loving It Vegan. I love making delicious vegan food and creating vegan versions of all your old favorites, so that you’ll never feel like you’re missing out. Find out more about me here.

    Loving It Vegan is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This site may contain some of these links to Amazon.com. If you make a purchase through one of those links, Loving It Vegan will receive a small commission from the purchase at no additional cost to you.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. deniz says

      May 17, 2021 at 8:30 pm

      As additional ingredients, we add 1 cup boiled peas, 1 medium grated carrot, 5-6 finely chopped cucumber pickles, 1 tablespoon vegan mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons vegan yogurt, 1 teaspoon dried mint, half lemon juice and four spoons of olive oil. We do not use soy sauce and maple syrup. I recommend you to try it.

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        May 18, 2021 at 1:13 pm

        Thanks for sharing Deniz!

        Reply
    2. Alex M says

      July 23, 2020 at 10:52 pm

      This is a pasta salad recipe that I absolutely ADORE! The sesame and soy sauce + vegan mayo is *swoon. Thanks Alison!

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        July 24, 2020 at 9:15 am

        Awesome! Thanks so much Alex!

        Reply
    3. Kelly Ann says

      July 12, 2019 at 10:11 pm

      Super simple, quick and delicious! I think its best when you let it set overnight!5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        July 13, 2019 at 12:24 pm

        Thanks for sharing and the awesome rating Kelly Ann! 🙂

        Reply
    4. Suzanne N Pippin says

      December 16, 2018 at 11:11 pm

      This is delicious. I made this without the optional vegan mayo the night before and added just a little extra sauce about a quarter recipe more and added some pepper the day after. So good, thank you!5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        December 17, 2018 at 2:20 pm

        Awesome Suzanne! Thanks a million for the review! 🙂

        Reply
    5. Carly says

      August 09, 2018 at 11:23 pm

      Sounds like a delicious vegan pasta! I want to try making it tonight. Are there any specific herbs that anyone would recommend adding on to this recipe other than dried garlic? Thanks!

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        August 10, 2018 at 8:18 am

        Hi Carly, dried herbs like oregano and dried basil would be great for this! 🙂

        Reply
    6. Rebecca says

      May 31, 2018 at 3:26 am

      This turned out as delicious as it was pretty! I’m not the best cook but anyone can chop veggies, boil pasta and mix a simple sauce. My dad has been vegan since diagnosed with cancer so we made this version for him. I served with grilled chicken and goat cheese on the side for non- vegans to add to their plate. It was a hit! Thank you!5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        May 31, 2018 at 6:59 am

        Wonderful to hear that it was a hit Rebecca! Thanks for sharing! 🙂

        Reply
    7. Heike says

      April 03, 2018 at 8:11 am

      This is my go-to pasta salad recipe, and the whole family loves it. It’s light and refreshing, but still so flavoursome.5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        April 03, 2018 at 9:15 am

        Awesome! 🙂 Totally agree, it is a winner! Thanks so much for sharing Heike! 🙂

        Reply

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    Hi I’m Alison Andrews! I love making delicious vegan food and creating delicious vegan versions of all your old favorite dishes, so you can have your vegan cake and eat it too!

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