Vegan Pesto Pasta Salad

Name: Vegan Pesto Pasta Salad
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 8 ounces short pasta such as rotini, fusilli, or penne ((gluten-free if needed)); 1 cup vegan pesto ((homemade or store bought)); 1-15 ounce can chickpeas ((1½ cups) rinsed and drained); 1 dry pint cherry or grape tomatoes (halved or quartered); ¼ cup Kalamata olives (pitted and sliced); salt and pepper (to taste)

Loaded with herby flavor, Vegan Pesto Pasta Salad is easy to make in 20 minutes with store bought or homemade pesto sauce. Featuring hearty chickpeas, sweet cherry tomatoes, and briny olives, you can also choose to make it with your favorite veggies. This recipe is wonderful as a summery side dish or a satisfying meal.

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Special diet: gluten-free option, nut-free, soy-free, vegan

Bowl of pasta salad made with corkscrew noodles, cherry tomatoes, chickpeas, olives, and pesto sauce.

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Pasta salads are a summer staple. Along with noodles and vegetables, the key to making them tasty is a good dressing.

And that's where pesto sauce comes in. Not only is it delicious, it prevents the pasta salad from drying out.

To keep this recipe vegan, you can make your own vegan pesto sauce from scratch, which only takes a few minutes in a food processor. Or choose your favorite from the supermarket that doesn't contain dairy.

And if you have extra, you can use it in other easy recipes like roasted pesto potatoes, pesto chickpea salad, and white bean orzo soup with pesto. Or try one of my other ideas for using vegan pesto.

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Why you'll love this recipe
Ingredients
Variations
Instructions
Amy's tip
Serving suggestions
Storing
Recipe FAQs
More recipes with vegan pesto
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💬 Comments

Why you'll love this recipe

It's loaded with flavor yet only requires 5 ingredients (plus salt and pepper).
It's ready to eat in 20 minutes.
It's easy to customize with your favorite add-ins.

Ingredients

Can of chickpeas, jar of vegan pesto sauce, basket of cherry tomatoes, jar of Kalamata olives, box of rotini pasta, and salt and pepper grinders.

Short pasta noodles include rotini, fusilli, and penne. Feel free to use gluten-free.
Vegan pesto sauce is made without dairy cheese. Make your own using my easy vegan pesto recipe. Or choose your favorite store-bought version.
Kalamata olives provide this Vegan Pesto Pasta Salad with a bit of briny tang. But you can omit them without using anything in their place if you don't care for olives.

Variations

Add other vegetables like cucumbers, onions, corn, and sweet bell peppers
Stir in some greens like arugula or baby spinach
Add nuts like walnuts or pine nuts for crunch
Top with vegan feta cheese or marinated feta-style tofu

For the complete list of ingredients with measurements plus recipe instructions, please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

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Instructions

Rinsing the cooked noodles, stirring in the pesto sauce, and stirring in the chickpeas, tomatoes, and olives.

Prepare the pasta noodles according to the package instructions. Rinse the cooked pasta in a colander under cold water until cool, then drain and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
Carefully toss the noodles with the pesto sauce until well coated.
Stir in the chickpeas, tomatoes, and olives. Taste and add salt and pepper, as needed.

Amy's tip

If you will be refrigerating the pasta salad rather than eating it immediately, make sure the pasta is cooked all the way through before rinsing it in cold water. It's okay if the noodles are a little softer than al dente since they will harden slightly when chilled in the refrigerator.

Serving suggestions

Serving bowl of pesto pasta salad with a gold spoon.

Vegan Pesto Pasta Salad is perfect as a complete meal. Or you can enjoy it as a side dish.

It pairs well with your favorite vegan summer grilling recipes, deli-style tofu sandwiches, and veggie burgers.

Or try serving it with lemon garlic tofu steaks and vegetables like Mediterranean green beans or roasted baby portobello mushrooms.

Storing

Vegan Pesto Pasta Salad is best enjoyed the day it's made. Leftovers will last in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Do not freeze.

Recipe FAQs

What is vegan pesto made from?

Vegan pesto is similar to traditional pesto but does not include dairy cheese such as parmesan. Along with the usual ingredients like fresh basil, olive oil, garlic, pine nuts, and salt, it often contains nutritional yeast and lemon juice for a bit of cheesy, tangy flavor.

What is special about Kalamata olives?

Kalamata olives have a bolder flavor than regular black olives. For this recipe you can use whatever variety of olives you prefer, or simply leave them out if you're not a fan of olives.

More recipes with vegan pesto

And for even more recipes, join the Vegan Mediterranean Diet Recipes Facebook group for support, inspiration & fun!

Love and Veggies,

Amy

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