Vegan Greek Pasta Salad

I have a serious relationship with all Greek and Mediterranean style dishes. There’s just something about that super fresh yet, salty (but just a bite here and there) that just made me fall in love Greek food several years ago.

While some of my favorite Greek style foods are whole fish, feta-cheese, and Chicken Souvlaki – vegan Greek style dishes are incredible as well!

This pasta salad has a lot of fresh ingredients in it, some salty bites from the Kalamata olives, and a delicious non-dairy ‘tzatziki inspired’ dressing.

It’s perfect for lunch (as I’m quickly typing up this blog post on my lunch break myself), as a side with dinner, or even a party dish!

For this pasta salad, you’ll need:

• Pasta (I used rotini. If preparing this salad in a vegan fashion is important to you, make sure your pasta does not contain eggs.)
• Sliced Cucumbers
• Roasted Red Peppers (I jarred peppers from Alessi, they’re my go to!)
• Kalamata Olives (about 6-10 for 2 servings)
• Cherry Tomatoes (about 10 – 15)
• Red Onion
• Fresh Dill
• Non-Dairy Yogurt (I used Slightly Sweet Plain from Chobani)
• Fresh Lemon Juice
• Red Wine Vinegar
• Fresh Cracked Black Pepper

If you’ll be making this pasta salad in prep for a party, allow yourself enough time to chill the salad for about 30 minutes before the party, let the flavors really develop. Pasta salads are sure to impress after they’ve had a little time to chill.

• Start with boiling your pasta. I recommend using a short pasta like rotini or penne for this salad, you’re able to pick up more ingredients per bite! Boil the pasta in generously salted water for 6-7 minutes for an al dente pasta, about a minute longer if you like your pasta more tender.

Prep all of your ingredients:

• Dice about half a cup of cucumbers. I like to cut mine in half and then slice for larger pieces.
• Cut about an inch of the cucumber off and grate it using a cheese grater or microplane, you only need about 2 tbsp of grated cucumber (don’t stress about grating a ton). Place the grated cucumber in cheesecloth draped over a small bow, and sprinkle a little salt on top. This will help it dry out a bit for the dressing.
• Dice your red onion, you’ll need about 1/4 cup. Slice a thick piece of the red onion and grate it just like you did the cucumber. Draining it in a cheesecloth is not necessary, so you can go ahead and add it to your dressing bowl.
• Halve all of your cherry tomatoes.
• Slice your roasted red peppers into about half inch strips. (Try to get some of the water out of them by blotting them with a paper towel.)
• Chop your fresh dill, you’ll need about 3 tbsps.

Now you’re ready to start preparing your dressing:

• Add a quarter cup of non-dairy yogurt to the small bowl that you’ve placed your grated onion in.
• Add the grated cucumber that you’ve been draining.
• Add a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice, or the juice from half of a small lemon.
• Add a tsp of red wine vinegar. Just a splash!
• Add 1 tbsp of chopped fresh dill, and a couple of cracks of fresh black pepper.
• Stir, and set aside!

You’re ready to put the salad together!

• By this point your pasta should be done. Rinse it under cold water to cool it down quite a bit and place it in your serving bowl.
• Add the chopped red onion, Kalamata olives, sliced cucumber, sliced roasted red peppers, halved cherry tomatoes, and dressing to the pasta.
• Toss well, add additional fresh dill and cracked black pepper, and serve!
• If you’re not preparing this vegan, feta cheese is also a great addition!

If you try this recipe out, don’t forget to post a rating and comment!

I’d love to see your pictures on Instagram too! Tag @a_toastedcrumb!

Vegan Greek Pasta Salad

Recipe by Amber Bogardus

Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Salad, Side DishCuisine: Mediterranean

Servings

2

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

7

minutes

Calorieskcal

Total time

27

minutes

A pasta salad filled with peppers, olives, cucumbers, and fresh dill.

Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on

Ingredients

• Tzatziki Inspired Dressing

• 1/4 cup Non-Dairy Yogurt Alternative

• 2 tbsp Cucumber grated and drained in cheesecloth*

• 2 tbp Red Onion grated

• 1 tbsp Fresh Dill chopped

• 1 tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice

• 1 tsp Red Wine Vinegar

• 1/8 tsp Fresh Cracked Black Pepper

• Pasta Salad

• 3 cups Cooked Pasta Rotini or Penne

• 1/4 cup Roasted Red Peppers sliced into 1/2 in strips

• 1/4 cup Red Onion minced or diced

• 1/2 cup Cucumbers sliced

• 6-10 Kalamata Olives

• 10-15 Cherry Tomatoes halved

• 2 tbsp Fresh Dill as a garnish

• 1 tbsp Feta Cheese (optional if preparing non-vegan)

Directions

• Start by cooking your pasta in generously salted boiling water for 6-7 for minutes for al dente, a minute longer for more tender pasta.
• Prepare Dressing:
• Add the non-dairy yogurt, grated and drained cucumber, grated red onion, fresh dill, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, and black pepper to a small bowl and stir.
• Set aside.
• Pasta Salad:
• When pasta is finished, drain and rinse it under cool water, and place it in a serving bowl.
• Add the red peppers, red onion, cherry tomatoes, Kalamata olives, cucumbers, and dressing to the pasta bowl and toss.
• Top with more fresh dill and fresh cracked black pepper and serve.

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