This garden pasta salad is filled with perfectly seasoned grilled zucchini, bell peppers and fresh cherry tomatoes and arugula. Homemade delicious Italian dressing pulls it all together. Fantastic vegan pasta salad to take to a party and share with a friend. Perfect vegan summer bbq side dish.
If you’re a fan of pasta and summer salads, check out this Southwest Quinoa Black Bean Salad, Vegan Taco Pasta Salad, Kale Tahini Salad with chickpeas and this Applebee’s Copycat Vegan Oriental Chicken Salad.
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❤️ Why you’ll love this recipe
When the weather starts getting a little hotter, there’s nothing like a this perfect pasta salad for dinner. It’s a great way to use up all those veggies from your own garden and it’s a super easy recipe.
This is one of my favorite dishes to make on a hot, muggy summer night. It whips together so easily and won’t make you feel heavy and gross.
This pasta salad is also great to take to family gatherings or a summer bbq. It feeds a crowd really well.
🥬 Ingredients & Substitutions
The beauty of this easy pasta salad is its versatility. Swap out any vegetables or ingredients for your favorites.
Grilled vegetables – You can use whatever fresh vegetables are your personal preference, but my favorite are: zucchini, red onion and red bell pepper since they are abundant in the summer time. Feel free to use yellow peppers, green pepper or
Arugula – I love the peppery kick that this green adds to the salad. Feel free to use kale or spinach if you don’t like arugula.
Cherry Tomatoes – Grape tomatoes are also delicious. Another abundant fruit in the summer. This adds some nice acidity and juiciness to the salad.
Northern beans – You can also use chickpeas. Beans add a nice protein to this pasta salad, without using meat.
Marinated artichoke hearts – This adds a delicious flavor to the pasta salad.
Olives – I love using kalamata olives, but black olives also work.
Fresh basil – Fresh herbs level this recipe up. Feel free to use fresh parsley as well.
Pasta – I love using spiral, bow tie or rotini pasta because it collects the dressing in it better than other pasta shapes.
Vegan Italian dressing – You can use a store bought bottle for convenience, but it’s very easy to make your own Homemade Zesty Italian Dressing. at home. Just use some extra virgin olive oil, white wine vinegar or red wine vinegar. Picking a good vinegar is key, lemon juice, mustard, salt, black pepper and some Italian seasoning.
Add red pepper if you like a little spice. If you have some vegan parmesan cheese on hand, add that in as well. Make a big batch of this in a medium glass jar to have in the fridge all week.
Make sure to scroll down to the recipe card for full list of ingredients and amounts!
👩🍳 Recipe tips
Make sure not to over cook the pasta. Cook it al dente.
If you want an even easier way to make this, use a store bought Italian dressing instead of making it yourself. Just check the ingredients that it doesn’t have cheese in it.
Get your hands on some Violife vegan parmesan, or dairy free feta cheese. It tastes so good in this dairy free pasta salad.
If you don’t feel like grilling the vegetables, it works to sauté them as well. They taste amazing if you use a cast iron skillet.
🔪 Directions
Make sure to scroll down to the recipe card for the full ingredients list and instructions!
Step one: First, boil pasta. Make sure not to cook too it much. Follow the package directions to cook it al dente. Rinse the tender pasta under cold water after it cooks to stop it from over cooking and getting mushy.
Step two: Season and grill your vegetables. Season your grilled veggies with some steak seasoning, or just good ol’ plain salt. Whatever you do, don’t leave them bland and unseasoned. Also make sure to brush them with a little olive oil.
Step three: Make your vegan Italian dressing by mixing all the ingredients in a mason jar.
Step four: Assemble everything together in a bowl and let it sit for at least an hour in the fridge. Overnight is best.
❄️ Storing
This grilled veggie pasta salad tastes even better when it’s had a chance to sit in the fridge for a day. Make this the day before a party or bbq to really let the flavors sink in. This will last in the fridge in an airtight container for up to five days.
Freezer – I haven’t tried to freeze this recipe and I recommend you eat it fresh or as leftovers from the fridge. The vegetables and fresh herbs might get mushy after frozen.
❓ Recipe FAQs
Pasta salad is a great side dish for any summer cookout or potluck. Try it with some Meaty seitanvegan ribs or a Vegan seitan steak. Try it with this delicious Lentil sloppy Joe and a side of Vegan potato salad.
It also goes well with a Grilled portobello mushroom burger or a Nashville hot tempeh sandwich
Pasta salad lasts about 5-7 days in the fridge. Keep it in an airtight container. It always tastes better the next day. The longer it sits in the fridge, the better it gets because the flavors marinate.
Yes, absolutely. This recipe is very versatile. Use whatever your fresh veggies are your favorite. Some other good vegetables to put in this salad are:
Grilled mushrooms
Grilled onions
Fresh broccoli florets
Carrots
Green onions
Yes! This recipe is very easy to make gluten free. Just use a gluten free pasta. Chickpea or lentil pasta seem to stay more firm and less gummy than brown rice pasta, I’ve noticed. Make sure to not over cook the pasta, as gluten free pasta can become gummy very easily.
🥙 More delicious salad recipes
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📖 Recipe
Grilled Vegetable Garden Pasta Salad (Dairy Free)
Ingredients
Italian dressing
- ½ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup white wine vinegar (can also use red wine vinegar)
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 clove garlic (pressed or minced)
- 2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1½ teaspoon salt (or salt to taste)
- ¼ cup finely grated Violife vegan parmesan (optional )
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Pasta salad
- 1 lb bag of pasta (cooked al dente)
- 2 small zucchinis
- 1-2 bell peppers
- ½ red onion
- ¼ cup kalamata olives
- ½ cup jarred artichoke hearts
- Handful of cherry tomatoes
- Handful of baby arugula (optional)
- 16 oz can of cannellini or great northern beans (drained and rinsed)
- Violife vegan feta cheese (optional but tastes really good in this)
- Top with fresh basil and grated vegan parmesan cheese at the end
Instructions
- Grill or sauté the zucchini, peppers and onions. Tastes really good to season with salt or a steak seasoning. Brush with a little olive oil if grilling.2 small zucchinis, 1-2 bell peppers, ½ red onion
- Cook your pasta according to the package. Drain and rinse with cold water1 lb bag of pasta
- Chop up your olives, artichoke hearts and tomatoes. Drain and rinse your white beans. Add them to a large mixing bowl with the cooked pasta and grilled vegetables.¼ cup kalamata olives, ½ cup jarred artichoke hearts, Handful of cherry tomatoes, 16 oz can of cannellini or great northern beans, Handful of baby arugula
- Mix together the dressing ingredients in a jar. Shake well, and pour over the pasta salad½ cup olive oil, ¼ cup white wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 clove garlic, 2 teaspoon Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, ¼ cup finely grated Violife vegan parmesan
- Top with some fresh basil and vegan parmesan cheese
Video
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Lori
Delicious and easy