Vegan Pesto Pasta Salad with Sun-Dried Tomatoes
This vegan pesto pasta salad with sun-dried tomatoes is fully loaded with herbs, greens, and asparagus — perfect for picnics, lunches, easy dinners or an addition to a BBQ.
This vegan pasta salad will sure hit the spot, ready in no time and utilising the bounty available in the warmer seasons.
It’s healthy, easy to make, and super delicious. An affordable meal to make for a crowd with minimal fuss. The pesto dressing is full of goodness and can be prepared ahead of time.
So, if you’re after a plant-based pasta salad that will impress others, this recipe will certainly do the trick!
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What are the steps to make this vegan pesto pasta salad?
First up, we have to get the water on for the pasta. Place a large pot of water and salt on the stove and bring it to a boil.
In the meantime, prepare the other components of the dish. Grill the asparagus, and when they’re nicely coloured but still with a bit of crunch to them, take them out of the pan to cool down.
If your almonds aren’t already toasted, do so now until golden.
When the water has come to a boil, cook the pasta. Make sure that it cooks well as it will harden a little as it cools.
To a food processor, add the pesto ingredients and water and blend. Mix the ingredients first without the water to combine properly.
When the pasta has cooked, let it soak in cold water and drain it. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and toss.
Add the pesto sauce, asparagus, almonds, baby spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, lemon juice and rind, and pepper to the pasta. Mix it well, and taste to adjust the salt. Ensure all the dish parts have cooled down; you don’t want the spinach to wilt.
Eat straight away or store in the fridge until you do. It’ll keep for a few days.
That’s pretty easy, right? You’ll find the full breakdown of the ingredients and instructions below in the recipe card.
What can you serve this sun-dried tomato pesto pasta salad with?
You can serve this dish as a side or main. Perfect for lunches, picnics, BBQs, and easy dinners. Here are a few ideas of other dishes that pair perfectly with this recipe.
- Grilled red bell peppers
- Panzanella salad
- Add a dollop of romesco sauce or cashew cream
- Lentil salad
- Stuffed mushrooms
- Corn & zucchini fritters
- Falafels
- Buckwheat Salad with Roasted Eggplant & Peppers
- Pearled Couscous Salad
- Red Rice Salad with Tahini Dressing
- Potato and Beet Salad
- Kale, Pomegranate & Walnut Salad
- Spiced Quinoa & Eggplant Rolls
- Olivier Salad
- Rustic Caprese Salad
- Grilled veggies or skewers
It’s also perfect for meal prep. You can enjoy it over a few days; it keeps well!
Tips for making this vegan spring greens pasta salad
Here are a few tips to get the best results with this dish.
- If you’re in a hurry, add some ice cubes to the cold water when you drain the cooked pasta and let the pasta soak in it until it has completely chilled.
- You can prepare all this the day before. Especially the asparagus, so no time is wasted waiting for them to cool down.
- The prepared salad will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- If you want to make this salad nut-free, you can swap out the cashews in the pesto for sunflower seeds and almonds for pepitas.
- For a gluten-free version, swap the pasta for a gluten-free pasta of choice.
- We love this salad with vegan mozzarella. It’s a great little addition!
- You can use a pasta shape of choice. We like fusilli because the pesto catches inside the crevices really nicely.
- You can easily halve if you don’t want to make the full recipe.
- This recipe serves four people as a generous main or six as a side.
This recipe is:
- Plant-based
- Packed with healthy ingredients
- Gluten and nut-free options
- Healthy
- Perfect for meal prep
- Easy lunch or dinner option
- Ideal for shared plates
This quick and easy sun-dried tomato pesto pasta salad is perfectly balanced in texture and flavour.
It’s a great dish for the warmer months, and I’m sure it will be your new go-to pasta salad for the holidays as well!
Other wonderful recipes you’ll love:
- Vegan Spinach Pie with ‘Ricotta’
- Vegan Walnut Pesto
- Sun-Dried Tomato Hummus Toast with Asparagus
- High Protein Vegan Salad
- Simple Potato and Radicchio Salad
- Vegan Asparagus Tart with Herbed Cashew Cream
- Broad Bean Pasta (Pasta e Fave)
If you try these recipes, let me know! We’d love for you to leave a comment and rating below. If you want to go that extra mile, tag us on Instagram or share your photo of the recipe/s on Pinterest.
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Vegan Pesto Pasta Salad with Sun Dried Tomatoes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4-6*
Description
Perfect vegan pesto pasta salad to take to lunches, picnics, BBQs, and easy dinners. It’s ready in under 30 minutes and packed full of flavour.
Ingredients
- 500g / 1.1 pounds fusilli (aka spiral) pasta (or penne)
- 2 bunches (around 300g / 10.6 ounces) green asparagus, bottoms cut
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 large handfuls baby spinach
- ⅓ cup / 40g slivered almonds
- ¾ cup / 90g sun-dried tomatoes
- 1 small lemon, juice and rind
- Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
Pesto sauce:
- 4 sprigs / 25g parsley
- 2 cups / 43g fresh basil, leaves removed
- ¾ cup / 100g raw cashews
- 2 garlic cloves
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Place a large pot of water with ½ a teaspoon of salt on the stove and bring it to a boil.
- In the meantime, prepare the other components of the dish. Place the trimmed asparagus on a grill pan and lightly drizzle with olive oil. Grill them on medium heat, occasionally flipping to brown evenly on all sides. This should take about 8 minutes. When nicely coloured but still with a little crunch, take them out of the pan to cool down and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Cut into smaller pieces (about 2cm / .8 inch) sticks.
- Toast your almonds in the same pan until they are golden. Keep an eye on them as they can turn very quickly.
- When the water has boiled, add the pasta and cook as per packet instructions. For this dish, you don’t want the pasta to be too al dente because the pasta hardens up a little when served cold.
- To a food processor, add the sauce ingredients and blend until they have been chopped up. Add ⅔ cup / 160ml of water and process further until you reach the desired consistency. I like mine with some chunks, but you can make it smooth. (For a smooth sauce, the best results are achieved by adding all your ingredients to a high-speed blender).
- When the pasta has cooked, drain it and fill the pot with cold water. Let it soak in cold water for 2-3 minutes, then drain again. Place the pasta in a bowl, drizzle with olive oil, and toss.
- Add the pesto sauce, asparagus, almonds, baby spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, lemon juice and rind, and cracked pepper to the pasta. Make sure all the dish parts have cooled down; you don’t want the spinach to wilt. Mix it well, and taste to adjust the salt.
- Eat straight away or store in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Notes
In a hurry? Add some ice cubes to the cold water when you drain the cooked pasta and let the pasta soak in it until it has completely cooled.
You can prepare all this the day before. Especially the asparagus, so no time is wasted waiting for them to cool down.
Nut-free: You can swap out the cashews in the pesto for sunflower seeds and almonds for pepitas.
Gluten-free: Swap the pasta for a gluten-free pasta of choice.
Yield: This recipe serves four people as a generous main or six as a side.
- Diet: Vegan
This looks so simple and yummy! Are the sun dried tomatoes dry or packed in oil?
They’re in oil 🙂
Very flavorful dish! I’m not a fan of nutritional yeast, so I subbed it with 3 tablespoons of shredded vegan parmesan cheese and it turned out really delicious. I will definitely make this salad again.
So glad you enjoyed it, Gina! Thanks for the lovely review x