Warm summer months call for Creamy Vegan Picnic Pasta Salad! Gluten-free al dente pasta, crunchy and colorful veggies, and a creamy vegan sauce make this an allergy-friendly spin on the traditional picnic favorite.
Now that the sun is shining, its time for picnics and pasta salad! This Creamy Vegan Picnic Pasta Salad is the perfect dish for potlucks, barbecues, and picnics. It tastes like summertime and is filled with delicious veggies! I truly cannot recommend this dish enough. It's wonderful for sharing with a crowd, but I also love it as a lunchtime dish. It keeps really well in the refrigerator and tastes just as good the next day!
Vegan Creamy Pasta Salad
I made this pasta salad super creamy using my Easy Homemade Vegan Cashew Cream instead of traditional mayonnaise. I love this cashew cream recipe and make at least one batch every week! It's a plant-based way to add really rich, creamy texture to so many of my favorite recipes. It has a cashew base, so it's filled with plant-based protein and are also incredibly nutrient dense.
Cashews are an excellent source of copper as well as magnesium, manganese, vitamin K, phosphorous and zinc. For a tangier flavor try my Homemade Vegan Sour Cream. Learn all about How (and Why!) to Soak Cashews in this post!
And for more information on cashews, check out my complete guide on Cashews Benefits for Vegans (+ Recipes).
Gluten-Free Pasta for Pasta Salad
One of my favorite gluten-free pastas is Jovial brown rice flour pasta. It boils to a perfect al dente and holds it's shape really well in the refrigerator. I also love Andean Dream quinoa pasta and buy that in bulk on Amazon. Any of your favorite gluten-free pastas (or even regular wheat pasta if you aren't gluten-free!) will work in this recipe. Make it your own!
Veggies for Pasta Salad
I loaded this Picnic Pasta Salad with all of my favorite in-season summer produce. It's a total rainbow of nutritious flavor! You can add any of your favorite vegetables, but for this recipe I prefer:
- Bell peppers
- Green onions
- Red onion
- Cherry tomatoes
- Pitted olives
- Celery
- Cucumber
If you make and love this recipe, I hope you'll post about it and tag me on Instagram! A rating and review here on the blog also means the world to me. Thank you so much for reading along, making these recipes, and sharing them!
More Summertime Recipes
Grilled Veggie Pesto Pasta
Vegan Tzatziki Potato Salad
Watermelon Avocado Mint Feta Salad
Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
Creamy Vegan Cucumber Salad with Dill & Red Onion
Quinoa & Mango Stuffed Grilled Avocado
Vegan Summer Macaroni Salad
Creamy Broccoli & Zucchini Pasta Salad
Mediterranean Vegan Pasta Salad
@eatingbyelaine A creamy vegan and gluten free picnic pasta salad 🤤 #picnictime #pastasalad #creamypastasalad #veggiepasta ♬ original sound - eatingbyelaine
Creamy Vegan Picnic Pasta Slaad
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 8
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Warm summer months call for Creamy Vegan Picnic Pasta Salad! Gluten-free al dente pasta, crunchy and colorful veggies, and a creamy vegan sauce make this an allergy-friendly spin on the traditional picnic favorite.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces short cut pasta (gluten-free if desired)*
- 1 batch homemade vegan sour cream; learn How (and Why!) to Soak Cashews in this post! (or sub 1 ¼ cups store-bought vegan sour cream)
- 2.5 tablespoons white distilled vinegar
- 1.5 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 clove garlic, pressed through a garlic press
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- ½ cup mixed fresh herbs (such as parsley, chives, dill, tarragon, basil)
- 2 green onions, ends removed, diced
- 2 bell peppers (red, yellow and/or orange), stem and seeds removed, diced
- ½ large red onion, diced
Optional Additional Veggies
- ½ cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
- ½ cup celery ribs, finely diced
- 1 avocado, diced (use only if serving immediately)
- 1 shallot, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup pitted kalamata olives, halved
- ¼ cup peeled and diced English cucumber
- ½ cup crumbled vegan feta cheese
- 1 cup chopped arugula
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package instructions (I like to add ½ tablespoon fine salt to the cooking water for best results). Strain and rinse the cooked pasta with cold water. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together vegan sour cream and vinegar, maple syrup, garlic and salt. Add herbs and whisk again.
- Add all the vegetables (green onions, bell peppers, onions and any other vegetables desired) to the mixing bowl with the combined sauce. Stir well to fully coat all the vegetables evenly. If you add more than two additional vegetables you might want to increase the sauce slightly.
- Add the cooked and fully cooled pasta to the mixing bowl and toss well to combine and evenly coat the pasta with the veggies and sauce. Enjoy immediately or store in an airtight container in your refrigerator for up to five days.
Notes
*I love to use Andean Dreams quinoa gluten-free pasta or Jovial brown rice gluten-free pasta.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 10
- Category: Side Dish
Sara says
This is the best thing I ever ate-- HOW IS THERE NO MAYO (vegan mayo even)?!?! it tastes like the "real" deal-- Im in awe!!!
Elaine Gordon says
Aw thank you so much, Sara! I am so happy you loved this one! I know... it's crazy it can be so creamy and yummy without a lick of vegan mayo or any mayo of any kind. My husband actually strongly dislikes mayo of any kind so that is how this recipe came to be! Thank you again! XO