Main Dish Delish Summer Pasta Salad
1 box pasta (rotini is best, but mini penne works too)
4 stalks celery, chopped
1 bell pepper (any color), chopped
1 large cucumber, cut into quarters, then chopped
1 large tomato, chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped finely
1 cup vegan Italian dressing
1/4 cup Vegenaise
1 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon dill weed
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
freshly cracked pepper, to taste
2 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
This is adapted from a rotini, tuna fish, and mini shrimp salad my mother-in-law makes. I've veganized it by modifying the dressing, eliminating the seafood and adding mashed chickpeas instead. It's a quick and easy dinner for those hot summer nights when you don't want to eat something hot!
Cook pasta according to box. While pasta is cooking, wash and chop the celery, pepper, cucumber, tomato, and onion. You want nice chunks of the veggies.
After pasta is done cooking, drain and rinse under cold water to cool the pasta. I also take the empty cooking pot and run it under cold water so that the pot can cool down and I can use it to mix the pasta salad.
After pasta is drained well, return to cooled pot. Add chopped veggies.
Next, whisk together the Italian dressing, Vegenaise, Dijon mustard, dill weed, salt, and pepper until smooth. Add to pasta and veggies.
Finally, mash your chickpeas with a potato masher until crumbly. Add chickpeas to pasta and veggies and mix well.
Enjoy!
SO HOW'D IT GO?
What volume or weight is the box of pasta? I couldn't find a box of pasta. I ended up buying a one-pound bag of whole wheat rotini pasta. I cooked the whole thing. I didn't add Veganaise because when I took it out of the fridge it the oil has separated and the solids looked curdled. I didn't miss it, so this recipe would be fine for people who don't have access to special vegan ingredients. I had purple-red to yellow heirloom cherry tomatoes that I cut in half instead of chopping a large tomato. They looked nice in the salad. I added fresh dill instead of dried. I took about half of a small bunch and snipped them with scissors, I added olives (a can of black and a jar of kalamata - I like olives), and I didn't smash the chickpeas because I was running out of time. I put them through the grater on my food processor. That made it easy, but next time I'll also use the S blade and make them creamier. The way I did it they were in small, non-creamy chunks. If they got good and creamy, I might mix them with the Italian dressing before adding to the salad.
I like this recipe a lot. The fresh dill and kalamata olives were flavorful additions. I don't know how much pasta is in a box, but the pound of rotini made a. lot. of pasta. I kept the recipe-specified amounts of other ingredients and it was fine.
I made this recipe because I'm looking for ways to save money and pasta was a solution. With the kalamata olives and fresh dill, it might have cost me around $12 to make, but it's pretty much all I ate for five days, so $12 for for nearly a week's worth of food makes this a value, even with the additions.
Hi HH - I usually use a 13 oz box of Ronzoni Healthy Harvest whole wheat blend pasta. But you can use as much or as little as you like - I've also used 1-lb boxes of other whole wheat pastas. Generally boxes are between 12-16 oz and that's what I'd recommend. I'm glad you liked it! :)
What volume or weight is the box of pasta? I couldn't find a box of pasta. I ended up buying a one-pound bag of whole wheat rotini pasta. I cooked the whole thing. I didn't add Veganaise because when I took it out of the fridge it the oil has separated and the solids looked curdled. I didn't miss it, so this recipe would be fine for people who don't have access to special vegan ingredients. I had purple-red to yellow heirloom cherry tomatoes that I cut in half instead of chopping a large tomato. They looked nice in the salad. I added fresh dill instead of dried. I took about half of a small bunch and snipped them with scissors, I added olives (a can of black and a jar of kalamata - I like olives), and I didn't smash the chickpeas because I was running out of time. I put them through the grater on my food processor. That made it easy, but next time I'll also use the S blade and make them creamier. The way I did it they were in small, non-creamy chunks. If they got good and creamy, I might mix them with the Italian dressing before adding to the salad.
I like this recipe a lot. The fresh dill and kalamata olives were flavorful additions. I don't know how much pasta is in a box, but the pound of rotini made a. lot. of pasta. I kept the recipe-specified amounts of other ingredients and it was fine.
I made this recipe because I'm looking for ways to save money and pasta was a solution. With the kalamata olives and fresh dill, it might have cost me around $12 to make, but it's pretty much all I ate for five days, so $12 for for nearly a week's worth of food makes this a value, even with the additions.
I just want to say thanks to all who have reviewed my recipe! (yes, I was formerly known as Veggeroni! ;) I also wanted to add that I have recently tried making it with Trader Joe's lower-fat mayo, and I didn't notice any difference in taste or texture of the dressing, in case anyone is curious or would like to try a lower-fat version. Also, I've taken to using slightly less onion and making sure it's minced very finely, since I have acid reflux and am very sensitive to raw onion. I usually only use about 1/3 of a small onion now. Red onion also works, too.
Funny thing is - I make this and serve it to my DH's family every summer (his mom is the one who gave me the original seafood-version of the pasta salad) and they all gobble it up. I don't think anyone has actually realized it's the same basic recipe of my MIL's but without the seafood! ;D
It's funny to me how some people say they make more dressing for it, and others say they use less! It just goes to show how everyone is different and that is the beauty of this recipe, I think - it's very adaptable and you can make it your own! Thanks again for your reviews! :-*
I added a bag of baby spinach to this salad when I made it for supper last night and I thought it had plenty of dressing for the addition. I think it would probably be too much without the spinach. It turned out and tasted absolutely wonderful! I used a whole 8-oz. bottle of Italian dressing. Next time I will make my own dressing with extra virgin olive oil, since we are trying to eat more raw and natural. Oh, and I also used only one long rib of celery and added about the same amount of sliced radishes. Eating the leftovers for breakfast! Yum!
This salad really hit the spot on a hot Texas day! Will definitely make again, but next time with a 1/2 cup of "mayo" to make it a bit more healthy. This would make a great dish to bring to a summer picnic or work potluck.
Awesome! I only added 3 stalks of celery though and made some extra sauce to coat the paste with... Perfect! :)>>>
I made this today, and really like it! I've made this recipe a few times, and it's definitely open to a lot of variation. You can add/omit veggies. You can change the beans. You can change the dressing, or make your own. You can use the Vegenaise or not. You can change the herbs (I prefer a good amount of fresh dill). I eyeball the amounts of everything, and it always turns out deliciously.
I love this salad, it always turns out awesome! It is my go to recipe when I have to bring something to potlucks esp. for ones with omnis. I used to worry about giving the vegan diet a bad rap if a recipe didn't come out well, so I just always bring this and everyone raves about it!!
This was excellent! The first time I made it, I brought it to a pool party with all of my (omni) classmates from grad school. One even said that it was the best pasta salad she had ever had, and made sure to note that she does not make statements like that often!! I doubled the recipe, and or ten people, I only had a teeny bit left to take home!!
This is delicious! I made this to bring (as a sidedish) to a family gathering. The only things I changed were omitting the celery, using cherry tomatoes (halved) instead of one big one, and lowering the Vegenaise measurement to 3 Tbsp. I also used fresh dill instead of dried (1 Tbsp.), and that gave it a really nice, fresh flavor! I'll definitely make this again. Yum! :)
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