Primavera Pasta Salad {Vegan}

This Primavera Pasta Salad is loaded with tons of fresh spring vegetable and is perfect for a healthy lunch or an easy side dish for your next picnic, BBQ or potluck!

Spring is in the air!  The weather is perfect, the trees are leafing out and the birds are chirping 🙂  Along with spring comes lots of fresh and colorful vegetables, which is a nice change from winter produce.  I decided to throw them all into a big pasta salad today with this Primavera Pasta Salad!

Pasta Primavera is one of my favorite spring dishes because it really celebrates all the spring has to offer: fresh veggies and herbs.  It’s usually a hot dish made with pasta, veggies and parmesan cheese.  I do have a more traditional One Pot Pasta Primavera Recipe one the blog, but I thought it would be a fun twist to serve it as a cold pasta salad.  And, since I’m not eating dairy right now I made it vegan 🙂

Things To Love About This Healthy Primavera Pasta Salad:

• It’s healthy!  At least healthy in my book haha.  It’s packed with 4 cups of vegetables and instead of using a bunch of parmesan cheese, I used a vegan parmesan that consists of just cashews and nutritional yeast.  I did use regular pasta but you could make it even healthier by using whole wheat pasta or a gluten free alternative.
• It’s the perfect spring/summer pot luck or BBQ Dish.  I can’t stand pasta salad that is loaded with tons of mayonnaise and sugar.  This Primavera Pasta Salad is dressed with a red wine vinaigrette, so it’s not going to go bad if it sits out in the sun for an afternoon.
• It’s easy to make!  This Primavera Pasta Salad took me about 15 minutes to make.  You can chop the veggies and make the dressing and parmesan while the noodles are cooking and then you just mix everything together!

How To Make This Primavera Pasta Salad Recipe:

It’s seriously so easy to make!  The hardest part is the chopping of the vegetables and that doesn’t even take that much work.

• You start by boiling the water for you pasta.  I used bowtie noodles because I think they’re fun and perfect for spring, but you could use any kind of noodles you like.  I love pasta because it’s a great ingredient for a quick cooking meal that’s also filling.
• Next, you chop up all your vegetables.  I chose to use broccoli, red pepper, peas and carrots because they’re spring produce that are traditionally used in a primavera pasta recipe.  But, you could sub any veggies you don’t like and add in ones you do like.
• Then, you make the dressing.  I wanted to add a little extra flavor so I made a red wine vinaigrette.  It gives it a nice kick while also adding some moisture that a pasta salad really needs.
• Lastly, this is a vegan Primavera Pasta Salad so I made a vegan parmesan just by adding some raw cashews and nutritional yeast to the food processor and blend them up.  It gives this pasta a great creamy taste and texture without the actual parmesan cheese.

I hope you all are having a wonderful spring so far!  This is our first spring since we moved from Arizona and I’m really loving that we actually get to experience spring for a change!  Arizona weather is already in the high 90s and I don’t miss that at all.  Have a wonderful week! <3

See exactly how I make this Primavera Pasta Salad here:

Primavera Pasta Salad {Vegan}

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• Author: She Likes Food
• Total Time: 20 minutes
• Yield: 6-8 1x

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Description

This Primavera Pasta Salad is loaded with tons of fresh spring vegetable and is perfect for a picnic, BBQ or potluck!

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Ingredients

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• 14 ounces pasta, your favorite kind
• 1 cup shredded carrot
• 1 cup thinly diced red bell pepper (about one medium pepper)
• 1 cup small diced broccoli florets
• 1 cup sweet peas, if using frozen make sure to thaw first
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

Vegan Parmesan Cheese:

• 1/3 cup raw cashews
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast

Red Wine Vinaigrette:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon pure maple syrup
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

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Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions.  Once finished cooking, rinse under cold water and place into a large bowl.
2. Add the cashews and nutrimental yeast to a food processor and blend until cashews are the size of breadcrumbs.
3. Add all dressing ingredients into a jar, or small bowl, and whisk until combined.
4. Add all vegetables and parsley to the noodles and mix well.  Pour desired amount of dressing over pasta salad (You might not want to use all of it) and mix again.
5. Sprinkle the vegan parmesan over top of the pasta and toss again.  You can use however much vegan parmesan cheese you want.  I like a lot on mine!

Notes

This pasta salad is usually served cold.  It can be made a head of time and refrigerated until ready to eat.  I would just recommend not adding the vegan parmesan until you are ready to eat it.  Pasta will stay good in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.

• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins
• Category: Lunch, Side
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: American