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 tablespoon 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 ¼ 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 teaspoon of red wine vinegar. Just a splash!
- Add 1 tablespoon 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
Ingredients
Tzatziki Inspired Dressing
- ¼ cup Non-Dairy Yogurt Alternative
- 2 tablespoon Cucumber grated and drained in cheesecloth*
- 2 tbp Red Onion grated
- 1 tablespoon Fresh Dill chopped
- 1 tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp Red Wine Vinegar
- ⅛ tsp Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
Pasta Salad
- 3 cups Cooked Pasta Rotini or Penne
- ¼ cup Roasted Red Peppers sliced into ½ in strips
- ¼ cup Red Onion minced or diced
- ½ cup Cucumbers sliced
- 6-10 Kalamata Olives
- 10-15 Cherry Tomatoes halved
- 2 tbsp Fresh Dill as a garnish
- 1 tablespoon Feta Cheese (optional if preparing non-vegan)
Instructions
- 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.
Leave a Reply