Vegan Caesar Pasta Salad is the ultimate summertime dish! Loaded with hearty chickpeas, crispy romaine, and a creamy dairy-free dressing, it's perfect for potlucks, picnics, cookouts, and bbqs. It's a fun meat-free take on chicken caesar salad. This easy recipe is vegan with a gluten-free option.
Pasta Salad
There’s something quintessentially summer about pasta salad. I don’t think I could eat cold pasta any other time of the year, but give me a big bowl of chilled fusilli mixed with vegetables in the summer, and I’m one happy camper.
Pasta salad is often pushed to the side of the plate and served as an accompaniment to veggie burgers and tofu dogs. Although I do agree that it makes a great side, I often like to make meal out of it. It can be a great lunch or light dinner.
Caesar Salad
As I mentioned last week, I absolutely love Caesar salad dressing. You can often find me in my kitchen whirring up a batch in my Blendtec, if I don’t already have a jar of it ready to in the fridge. I just love its perfect blend of creamy and tangy.
Last week, as I was typing up my nut-free Caesar salad dressing post, it suddenly occurred to me that I should pour a bottle of my beloved condiment onto a big bowl cooked pasta and make a salad. It was kind of a mental “hey, you go your chocolate in my peanut butter” moment. I often serve Caesar salad as a side to pasta dishes, so why not?
Caesar Pasta Salad
Easy-to-make Caesar Pasta Salad consists of cooked pasta, romaine lettuce, chickpeas, cherry tomatoes, Vegan Caesar Salad Dressing, and Vegan Walnut Parmesan. This recipe makes a lot of food, so it’s a great dish to take to summertime potlucks, picnics, and cookouts. I’ve been enjoying it for lunch all week long!
What You Need
You only need a few ingredients to make this recipe!
- Whole grain pasta
- Romaine lettuce
- Chickpeas
- Cherry tomatoes
- Vegan caesar dressing
- Vegan parmesan
- Parsley
See recipe card for the exact amounts.
How to Make Vegan Caesar Pasta Salad
This recipe is really easy to make!
- First you combine the pasta, romaine, chickpeas, and tomatoes in a large bowl.
- Then you fold in the dressing and parmesan, and you top the salad with chopped parsley.
Serving Your Pasta Salad
You can serve this salad cold or at room temperature. It's great as a side dish or as a main.
Storing Your Pasta Salad
Store your salad in an air-tight container in the fridge for 4 to 5 days.
Recipe Notes
If you don't feel like making your own dressing, you can buy premade dressing. Both Daiya and Follow Your Heart make bottled caesar dressing.
You also can use store-bought non-dairy parmesan if you don't want to make your own. Violife and Follow Your Heart both make yummy vegan parmesan cheese.
If you follow a gluten-free diet, make sure your pasta is gluten-free.
Caesar Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 8 ounces whole grain or gluten-free pasta cooked according to the package instructions
- 1 large head of romaine lettuce coarsely chopped (about 5 cups)
- 1 cup cooked chickpeas
- 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes sliced in half
- 1 recipe Vegan Caesar Salad Dressing
- ½ cup Vegan Walnut Parmesan
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
Instructions
- Combine the pasta, romaine, chickpeas, and tomatoes, in a large bowl. Gently fold in the dressing and parmesan. Top with the chopped parsley.
- Serve cold or at room temperature.
Serve Your Pasta Salad With
If you enjoyed this recipe, you might also like:
- Greek Pasta Salad
- Vegan Tomato and Feta Pasta Salad
- Kale Caesar Salad with Roasted Chickpeas
- Vegan Caesar Salad
Leave a Reply