Vegan Italian Pasta Salad
This is my take on the classic cold Italian pasta salad. I used to eat it so much growing up because my family used to make it so often; so its one of the first things I veganized when I dropped the meat and dairy. The regular recipe calls for real salami and cheese but we are going to veganize it! This is perfect for birthdays, lunches, appetizers and even for trips and festivals. This is my go-to when I take a road trip and I always used to take it to Stagecoach and Coachella because how simple it is, and its eaten cold. Toss it into an in ice chest and you’re ready to go! Lets dive right into it.
Ingredients:
2 cups tri color rotini pasta
1 cup + 1/2 cup of vegan cheese diced into cubes
1/2 cup diced vegan salami or pepperoni
Two 1/4 cups of sliced black olives
Two 1/4 cups of peperoncini
1 cup of Italian dressing
Salt and pepper to taste
optional: top it with parmesan
The vegan brands I use for this dish and recommend:
Daiya block of cheese in cheddar and jalapeño. I use half and half of both. If you are going to choose one choose the jalapeño flavor.
I used Yves vegan pepperoni but I also love the salami. The pepperoni is thicker for this dish and works perfectly.
Other ingredients that pair well with this pasta salad:
Cherry tomatoes
Diced celery
Diced carrots
Red bell pepper
Chili flakes for a kick
Vegan feta
Cucumber
Red onion
Step by Step
Step 1: Follow the cooking instructions on the package of your pasta. Add a sprinkle of salt into the boiling pasta. Once the pasta is complete- drain it, rinse it with cold water and place it in the fridge to cool down.
Step 2: Dice the vegan cheese into squares.
Step 3: Dice the vegan pepperoni or salami into tiny bites, as shown in the image above.
Step 4: Drain the black olives.
Step 5: Combine the pasta, vegan cheese, vegan deli meat of choice, olives, peperoncini and mix it all together.
Step 6: Mix in the Italian dressing. Add salt and black pepper to taste. If you chose the optional parmesan cheese then grate it on top.
Step 7: Cover up the bowl and leave it in the fridge for at least 45 minutes before eating. The colder it is the better.
** If most of the liquid is absorbed the next day top it with a splash more of the dressing. If you don’t want to add the extra calories with even more dressing then you can use olive oil or red/white vinegar to get all the juices flowing. This pasta salad tastes even better the next day and will stay good to eat for 3-5 days before going bad.
That’s it! I hope you enjoy this recipe during spring and those hot summer days.
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