Vegan Pasta Salad
Servings: 10 as a side (6 as a main)
Calories: 358kcal
Ingredients
- 1 pound fusilli, rotini, or penne rigate (a ridged pasta)
Sauce
- 1 cup (112g) raw walnuts
- 5 ounces (140g) sourdough loaf, baguette, or country-style bread, sliced
- 1 (12-ounce/340g) jar of roasted red bell peppers**, drained from the liquid in the jar
- 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 1 medium lemon, zested and juiced (3 tablespoons juice; save the zest for the Topping)
- ½ to 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (use 1 teaspoon for prominent smokiness)
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- ⅓ cup (75g) extra virgin olive oil
Herby Bread Crumb Topping
- Reserved bread crumbs from Sauce
- Reserved lemon zest from Topping
- 1 cup (16g) flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 1 ½ cups (24g) fresh basil, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons capers***, chopped
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- ½ teaspoon flaky sea salt
- 3 cups (60g) baby arugula, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF/175ºC. Place bread slices on a rimmed sheet pan. Spread out walnuts in the empty spaces on the pan. Toast both in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes, tossing the walnuts and flipping the bread slices over halfway through, until the walnuts are toasty and lightly browned and the bread is also a bit toasty. Allow to cool a bit.
- Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, 4 quarts/liters or 128 ounces. Once boiling, season with 2 tablespoons of kosher salt. Add the pasta and, once it comes back to a boil, set a timer for 2 minutes longer than the upper range of the cook time for al dente pasta on the box instructions.***Before draining, reserve 1 cup of pasta water, then drain pasta in a colander. Rinse the pasta with cold water to bring to room temperature and shake off the excess water.
- Make the bread crumbs: Tear the toasted bread into small pieces. Add them to a food processor and pulse repeatedly until you get bread crumbs, but don’t blend continuously—this helps retain some texture. It'll take a couple minutes. Take out half of the bread crumbs and set aside in a medium bowl for the Topping.
- Make the roasted red pepper sauce****. To the remaining bread crumbs in the food processor, add the toasted walnuts, roasted bell peppers, garlic, lemon juice (save the zest for the topping), smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and several cracks of pepper. Process until a thick paste forms. With the motor running, stream in the olive oil until a sauce forms, and blend until smooth and thick. Season to taste with salt and pepper as needed, but don’t add too much salt, as there’s also salt in the Topping.
- Make the Herby Bread Crumb Topping: In a bowl, combine the reserved bread crumbs, reserved lemon zest, chopped parsley and basil, chopped capers, red pepper flakes if using, and flaky salt. Stir well to combine.
- Assemble the pasta: toss the pasta with the roasted red pepper sauce until well coated. Add about ¾ cup (180 mL) of pasta water and toss to coat. Add more pasta water until it’s sufficiently saucy. Add the arugula and any other desired mix-ins***** and toss to combine. Add the Herby Bread Crumb Topping and gently toss just to combine.
Video
Notes
*If you have a 16-ounce (454g) jar of peppers, measure out ¾ of the peppers, and reserve the remaining ¼ for the pasta. Chop them finely and toss them in when you add the arugula.
** You can sub capers with green olives if you love olives.
*** For instance, if the box says "8-10 minutes for al dente pasta," cook the pasta for 12 minutes.
**** You can make the sauce a few days ahead of time and store it in a jar in the fridge. Thin it out with ~1/3 cup (80 mL) veggie broth or water, as it will thicken a lot.
***** I used additional roasted red bell peppers as my mix-in. You can also use chopped tomatoes if they're sweet and in-season, grilled corn, chopped Persian cucumbers, or zucchini ribbons. If you want to add a protein, a can of chickpeas or white beans is nice. Toasted pine nuts or store-bought vegan feta would be great too (or, try my homemade tofu feta recipe).
Assembly Notes
- To be most efficient, start by toasting the bread/walnuts, then bring your pasta water to a boil. While the water is boiling, make the bread crumbs and red pepper sauce. When the pasta is cooking, make the topping and chop your mix-ins. Then, assemble the pasta + sauce + toppings.
- If making the pasta salad ahead of time, toss the pasta with half of the roasted red pepper sauce while the pasta is still somewhat warm and ½ to ¾ cup (120 to 180 mL) pasta water. Then, before serving, add the remaining sauce, an additional ¼ cup (60 mL) pasta water, and toss until it’s saucy again, adding more pasta water as needed.