Name: Vegan Italian Pasta Salad
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups Macaroni noodles (uncooked); 1/2 cup Pickled Beets (chopped); 1/2 cup Artichoke Hearts (chopped); 1/4 cup Capers (chopped); 1/4 cup Kalamata Olives (chopped); 1/4 cup Red Onion (diced); 1/4 cup Basil Leaves (loosely chopped); 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil; 2 tbsp White Vinegar; 1 tbsp Lemon Juice; 2 tsp Dijon Mustard; 1 clove Garlic (finely grated); 1/4 tsp Salt; 1/8 tsp Black Pepper

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This Vegan Pasta Salad is the plant-based spin on a classic Italian pasta salad recipe. Artichokes, capers, Kalamata olives, red onion, beets, basil, and macaroni are tossed in a mouth-watering citrus vinaigrette. Serve this delicious vegan pasta salad at any food event and watch it disappear!

Italian Vegan Pasta Salad

This refreshing, plant-based Italian pasta salad is veggie loaded and tossed in a zesty vinaigrette. It’s everything you want in a pasta salad minus the dairy products. But you won’t miss them because there is so much awesome happening in every single bite!

Italian vegan pasta salad ingredients

For the salad:

macaroni pasta
beets
artichokes
capers
olives (I used Kalamata)
red onion
fresh basil

For the dressing:

extra virgin olive oil
white vinegar
lemon juice
Dijon mustard
fresh garlic
Kosher salt
black pepper

A ‘pantry staple’ pasta salad recipe

This salad is 80% pantry staples! Macaroni noodles, artichokes, capers, Kalamata olives, pickled beets, and of course, the vinaigrette ingredients. It’s actually pretty amazing the amount of flavor and texture you can pack into a pasta salad using mostly pantry stapes. The fresh red onion and fresh basil don’t hurt one single bit either.

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How to make Italian pasta salad vegan

* see full recipe below

Step 1. Cook the macaroni, rinse, drain, and chill.

Step 2. Chop and slice the other ingredients.

Step 3. Make the vinaigrette; cover and chill.

Step 4: To serve, simply toss everything together in a large bowl and serve.

How to cook pasta in the Instant Pot

Add pasta and enough water to cover the pasta, along with 1/2 tsp salt to the Instant Pot.
Close the lid, set pressure valve to “sealing”.
Pressure cook on HIGH for 2 minutes.
Allow the cooker to sit, undisturbed, for a 10-minute natural pressure release.
Release excess steam (if any) by carefully turning pressure release valve to “venting”, then cool-water rinse and drain the pasta, and refrigerate until ready to use.

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* Note: these are not vegan

Get more easy VEGAN r ecipes

Vegan Italian Pasta Salad

This Vegan Pasta Salad is the plant-based spin on a classic Italian pasta salad recipe. Artichokes, capers, Kalamata olives, red onion, beets, basil, and macaroni are tossed in a mouth-watering citrus vinaigrette. Serve this delicious vegan macaroni salad at any food event and watch it disappear!

5 from 15 votes

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Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 1-cup servings

Author: Traci – TheKitchenGirl.com

Ingredients

Pasta salad ingredients

1 1/2 cups Macaroni noodles uncooked
1/2 cup Pickled Beets chopped
1/2 cup Artichoke Hearts chopped
1/4 cup Capers chopped
1/4 cup Kalamata Olives chopped
1/4 cup Red Onion diced
1/4 cup Basil Leaves loosely chopped

Vinaigrette ingredients

1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tbsp White Vinegar
1 tbsp Lemon Juice
2 tsp Dijon Mustard
1 clove Garlic finely grated
1/4 tsp Salt
1/8 tsp Black Pepper

Instructions

Cook MACARONI NOODLES using package instructions; rinse, drain, and set aside. * See Instant Pot pasta cooking instructions in recipe footnotes.
In a small mixing bowl, combine OLIVE OIL, VINEGAR, LEMON JUCE, DIJON, GARLIC, SALT, and PEPPER; rigorously whisk until well-combined; refrigerate until ready to use.
Toss together MACARONI, BEETS, ARTICHOKES, CAPERS, OLIVES, ONION, and VINAIGRETTE until coated. Refrigerate in an airtight container up to 5 days.
To serve, chop BASIL and fold into salad. Serve chilled.

Tried this recipe? I’d love your review!Visit the comments below and tell me how it went.

RECIPE NOTES

How to cook pasta in the Instant Pot

Add pasta and enough water to cover the pasta, along with 1/2 tsp salt to the Instant Pot.
Close the lid, set pressure valve to “sealing”.
Pressure cook on HIGH for 2 minutes.
Allow the cooker to sit, undisturbed, for a 10-minute natural pressure release.
Release excess steam (if any) by carefully turning pressure release valve to “venting”, then cool-water rinse and drain the pasta, and refrigerate until ready to use.

If you want to cook fresh beets for this recipe, follow these instructions:

Method #1: Boil the beet(s) in hot water until fork-tender; run it under cold water and remove skin (it should practically fall off; set aside to cool.

Method #2: Roast the beet by peeling, dicing, tossing in olive oil and roasting at 400°F for 10 minutes, or until fork tender.

Nutrition

(top) Italian Vegan Pasta Salad in glass bowl on blue background (bottom) title text

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The Kitchen Girl

Recipe author and food photographer at The Kitchen Girl

I'm on a mission to help you eat healthy AND save money through simple, everyday recipes, product reviews, and budget-friendly kitchen tips.