My easy vegan pesto pasta salad is a flavorful twist on the classic American summer side dish. Made with just a handful of ingredients like arugula, green peas, cherry tomatoes, and finished with my flavor-loaded kale cashew pesto that’s both dairy free and vegan. It will surely become a hit at your next summer cookout or a dinner party!
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I’ve had my easy vegan kale cashew pesto recipe on the blog for years now. This homemade pesto sauce works great when tossed with hot pasta, or used as a sandwich spread.
You’d think it was a no-brainer to try this pesto on cold pasta, but for some reason I only recently got around to do it. Better late than never, right? ?
I wanted to create an easy recipe for a super flavorful vegan pasta salad, made with only a handful of ingredients besides the pesto.
I chose arugula for its vibrant, peppery flavor, and green peas for a boost of plant-based protein. I also added some fresh cherry tomatoes to add contrasting splashes of red color.
This simple combination of ingredients resulted in a delicious summer pasta salad with a bright, summertime-inspired flavor and a lovely green color.
This veg pesto pasta recipe makes a perfect side dish for veggie burgers, plant-based sausages, etc., or a great main course for a light dinner. You can also use it for meal prep.
If you’d like to add more veggies, roasted or grilled zucchini, squash, red bell peppers, asparagus, broccolini will work well.
First off, let’s get one thing straight:
Is Pesto Suitable for Vegans?
The short answer – yes, but it strongly depends on the recipe.
Traditional pesto recipe calls for Parmesan cheese to get its sharp, umami flavor. Sometimes other cheeses (Asiago, Pecorino Romano, Grana Padano) are used instead of parmesan.
However, there are a lot of ways to replace Parmesan to make your pesto dairy free and vegan. Usually this is achieved with a combination of various plant-based ingredients.
In my vegan kale and cashew pesto recipe, I use raw cashews, garlic, fresh lemon juice, and nutritional yeast (a deactivated yeast with a bright, cheesy flavor, often fortified with vitamin B12).
This combination helps achieve a vibrant flavor and creamy texture similar to the traditional, parmesan-based pesto.
Some vegan pesto recipes omit nutritional yeast, using a higher amount of garlic and lemon juice, or other ingredients like sundried tomatoes.
By the way, did you know that Parmesan cheese technically isn’t even vegetarian? It’s made with rennet – an enzyme derived from stomachs of unweaned baby calves.
So if you’re vegetarian for animals, you may want to stay away from Parmesan cheese. (And while you’re at it, come on over to the vegan side – I’ll help you make your first steps on your vegan journey! ?)
What Pasta Shapes Work Best in Pasta Salad?
Any short pasta shapes you’d use to make traditional pasta salad will work here: penne rigate, farfalle (bow tie pasta), rotini (spirals), cavatappi, casarecce, gemelli, ziti rigate, even macaroni.
The important thing about any pasta shapes (for any pasta salad) is that they need to have some folds, twists, or surface grooves to keep the sauce from sliding off. For example, penne rigate (“with grooves” in Italian) will work better than penne lisce (i.e. “smooth”), a.k.a. mostaccioli.
To make my vegan kale pesto pasta salad shown in these pictures, I used cavatappi rigate pasta.
If you follow a gluten free diet, feel free to use your favorite gluten free pasta. I hear great things about this chickpea pasta, and this pasta made from quinoa, corn, and brown rice.
Ingredients of Vegan Pesto Pasta Salad
Here’s what I use to make my vegan pasta salad with pesto:
- 1/2 lb. dry short shape pasta (see tips on best pasta shapes above)
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 2 cups (or 2 large handfuls) fresh arugula
- 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes (or more to taste)
- 1 recipe Vegan Kale Cashew Pesto, made with additional 1 cup water
For the Vegan Kale Cashew Pesto:
- 1 cup kale leaves, packed (keep the stems or remove – either way works)
- 1/2 packed cup fresh basil leaves
- 1/2 cup raw cashews (OK if not soaked)
- 2-3 garlic cloves (more or less to taste), peeled and halved
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp olive oil (optional, omit if you are oil-free)
- Salt, black pepper to taste
- 1/2-1 cup of water, or more if needed
Equipment:
- Food processor OR a blender (OK if the latter is NOT high speed).
Watch me make this easy vegan pasta salad in episode 17 of my live cooking show on my YouTube channel:
How to Make Vegan Pesto Pasta Salad Recipe
(Find a printable version of this recipe in the recipe card below.)
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Sprinkle in a large pinch of salt, then add the pasta.
Continue cooking the pasta till al dente following the package directions. About 2 minutes before the pasta is done, add frozen peas.
Drain the cooked pasta and peas, set aside to cool. (If you need the pasta to cool quickly, rinse it with cold water OR put it in the fridge spread out on a large plate.)
While the pasta is cooking, make the vegan kale cashew pesto.
Blanch kale leaves in boiling water for 30 seconds until bright green, then drain and rinse with cold water. Lightly squeeze the kale, then add to the bowl of a food processor (I use and love an earlier version of this one) with the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT water.
Blend the pesto, scraping the sides of the food processor as needed. Add water, 1/4 cup at a time, to make it more runny (it needs to be quite runny to properly work in this pasta salad).
The pesto is done when it’s fairly smooth but still a bit grainy. You don’t want to over-process it into a smoothie ?
(If making this pesto in a blender: start blending all ingredients INCLUDING water. Add more water if needed.)
MAKE THE PESTO PASTA SALAD. In a large mixing bowl, combine cooked and chilled pasta and peas, pesto, and arugula. Toss well to cover everything in pesto. Fold in halved cherry tomatoes. That’s it!
How to Fix Dry Pesto Pasta Salad
If you made your pesto pasta salad too far in advance, or if it’s been sitting in your fridge for a day or two, you may notice that it got quite dry.
This happens because cooked pasta has absorbed all the liquid from the pesto sauce. This is why we want our pesto to be as runny as possible when we make it.
If even this didn’t help, there are simple ways to fix the situation.
If your diet isn’t oil-free, just add 1-2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, and give it a good toss. Alternatively, spray it with an oil sprayer like this one as you toss the salad.
If you avoid oil, you can achieve good results with 2-3 tablespoons of water saved from cooking the pasta (chilled) – or just use regular water.
PRO TIP: Save 3-4 tablespoons of pesto sauce when you’re first dressing your pasta salad. Then add the saved pesto to the salad just before serving it.
How to Store Vegan Pasta Salad with Pesto
This vegan pasta salad with kale pesto can be refrigerated in an airtight container for 2-3 days. If it dries out, use the tips above to rehydrate it before serving.
I don’t recommend storing it longer because the pesto will turn blown.
More Summer-Inspired Recipes from the Blog:
Easy Italian-style Vegan Macaroni Salad with No Oil
Easy Vegan Pesto Pasta Salad
This delicious vegan pesto pasta salad is made with simple ingredients like arugula, green peas, cherry tomatoes, and finished with my flavor-loaded vegan kale cashew pesto. It's perfect for summer cookouts and dinner parties, or as a side dish for a casual dinner at home. Dairy free; vegan; gluten free if used with gluten free pasta.
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb. dry short shape pasta (I used cavatappi)
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 2 cups fresh arugula
- 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes (or more to taste)
- 1 recipe Vegan Kale Cashew Pesto, made with additional 1 cup water
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Sprinkle in a large pinch of salt. Cook the pasta till al dente following the package directions. About 2 minutes before the pasta is done, add frozen peas.
- Drain the cooked pasta and peas, set aside to cool. For quicker cooling: rinse the pasta with cold water OR put it in the fridge spread out on a large platter.
- While the pasta is cooking, make the vegan kale cashew pesto with an additional 1 cup of water.
- To make the pesto pasta salad, combine cooked and chilled pasta and peas, pesto, and arugula in a large mixing bowl. Toss well to cover everything in pesto. Fold in halved cherry tomatoes. Enjoy!
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1 cupAmount Per Serving: Calories: 265Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 184mgCarbohydrates: 37gFiber: 3gSugar: 1gProtein: 9g
Please note that the provided nutritional information data is approximate.
I hope you enjoy my vegan pesto pasta salad recipe as much as we do in our family!
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