This vegan avocado pasta salad is a quick 15-minute recipe that can be prepped ahead and great to take along to a picnic, barbecue, potluck or as an easy weeknight dinner. This no-mayo pasta salad is deliciously creamy and packed full of fresh veggies.
Summer’s coming and there’s nothing better than a cool, refreshing vegan pasta salad. I’ve got a potluck coming up this weekend and had to come up with a delicious and healthy recipe to share with a large group – enter vegan avocado pasta salad!
Pasta salad isn’t usually the healthiest recipe with all that mayo (even vegan mayo), so I wanted to make this a no-oil-added pasta salad by replacing the mayo in the dressing with the healthy fat of avocado. I added flavour to the dressing with dill and horseradish – one of my favourite combinations that you’ll also find in my super delicious baked beet falafel vegan quinoa bowls.
Of course you can totally adapt the avocado dressing to your tastes. If you don’t like horseradish, use Dijon mustard or a squeeze of lemon or lime. If you don’t like dill, try a small bunch of fresh basil or cilantro. A sprinkling of nutritional yeast if you’ve got it adds great umami flavour to this vegan avocado pasta salad.
Now, if you’ve seen my roundup of 50 vegan high-protein salads, you’ll know that I always like to make sure that I have a bit of protein in my salads. That’s why I threw in some chickpeas in addition to all the veggies. The help to bulk up the salad and also make it more filling (and they’re tasty too!).
The choice of vegetables is totally up to you, too. Try to buy what’s on sale and seasonal. I get a great price on peppers so I always add those. Cherry tomatoes and cucumbers are also starting to get cheaper at this time of year so those went in too. Use what you like and have on hand!
Got leftovers from this avocado pasta salad? Use them in these recipes:
Red pepper, red onion - Almond butter noodles
Cucumber, cherry tomatoes, red onion - Raw vegan noodles salad
Chickpeas, avocado, cherry tomatoes, red onion - Chickpea avocado salad
Wanna see how easy it is to make this vegan avocado pasta salad? Watch the video and share it on Facebook!
Vegan Avocado Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 250 grams (8.8 oz) dried pasta of your choice - $0.30
- 1 avocado - $1.45
- ¾ cup (175 ml) 175 ml water - $0.00
- 1 clove of garlic - $0.03
- 2 tablespoons horseradish or Dijon mustard - $0.18
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried dill - $0.30
- 1 teaspoon sea salt - $0.03
- A few grinds of pepper - $0.03
- 3 cups (450 grams) cooked chickpeas (canned or cooked from 1 cup / 200 grams dried) - $0.50
- 1 cucumber chopped - $0.17
- ½ a red pepper diced - $0.26
- ½ a red onion thinly sliced - $0.21
- 2 salks of celery chopped - $0.27
- 250 grams (8.8 oz) cherry tomatoes quartered - $0.89
- Optional: a sprinkling of nutritional yeast
Instructions
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Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and set aside to cool.
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Combine the avocado, water, garlic, horseradish, dill, salt and pepper in a blender or food processor.
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Toss together the cooled pasta with the remaining ingredients and the avocado sauce. Taste and adjust the seasonings, if necessary. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve. It keeps for a couple of days in the fridge. Sprinkle over some nutritional yeast before serving if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
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Lori says
This looks so yummy and I totally love your blog! I know the work involved here and thanks for being! Keeping it Kind on my plate! thanks (((big squishy hugs))) Lori
Dakota says
Trying this recipe out tonight. Thank you for the post. 🙂
Pam Allard says
Making this now. Thank you!
Caroline says
I made this with dijon mustard, but it is a bit too “mustardy” for me - any suggestions how i can make it less mustardy? Other then that it is nice and easy to make and tasty
Rebecca says
Tried this tonight -- really good! Thanks for posting! 🙂
Paula Pabalan says
This was delicious. A hit with vegans and non-vegans!!
Tracy says
Used tomato, zucchini, shaved Brussels, yellow pepper green onions and the first two sprigs of asparagus from my garden. To the sauce I added 1/2 a lemon(juiced) and a bit of smoked paprika in addition to the other ingredients. Will definitely make again.Sauce is so creamy.
Jen says
How long do you think this would keep for in the refrigerator? Thinking of meal prep for work!
Melissa says
I keep it for a couple of days then the veggies start to lose a lot of juice because of the salt. You could probably keep it longer if you keep the sauce separate from the salad and just mix it up before you eat.
Shana says
Does this go brown because of the avocados if made a couple hours prior to serving it
Melissa says
Mine doesn't go brown. I think it's because of the vinegar in the horseradish that keeps it from oxidizing.
Nell says
My kids LOVE this salad and I've made it repeatedly. We eat it as a main course sometimes, but it's also good as a side. Also works as a nice food prep to make at the beginning of the week and enjoy for lunches. It's usually good for a few days depending on how ripe the vegetables were when you make it. Note that this recipe yields a lot of food!
Corina Paris says
loves this recipe, may I ask what food processor you are using? looks like a small one, which I think is perfect for dressings....
Melissa says
Unfortunately it broke and I don't have it anymore.
Penny Myers says
Great ideas! I need more protein, Thanks so much