Vegan Pasta Salad

vegan roasted red pepper pasta salad in a speckled white bowl, garnished with basil.

4.97 from 80 votes

This vegan pasta salad is guaranteed to impress at all your summer BBQs and picnics! Pasta is coated in a creamy and dreamy roasted red pepper sauce and topped with a herby bread crumb topping for extra fresh flavor for an exquisite, grown-up pasta salad.

Prep Time20

Cook Time20

Total Time40

Course: Dinner, Lunch, Side Dish

Cuisine: Italian-Inspired, Spanish-Inspired

Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: as a side (6 as a main)

Author: Nisha Vora

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.

Nutrition