This summer pasta salad is tossed with a vegan friendly homemade pesto sauce. Pesto is great, because you can really put it on anything and it adds a punch of flavour. The garlicky, spicy and fresh flavours of this vegan recipe make it perfect for a summer pasta salad. Since I decided to go for a chunkier pesto, with a very light blending of the ingredients. If you prefer a smoother pesto, I would recommend using a food processor to achieve a smoother sauce. I also bumped up my spinach to basil ratio, in order to get a little more nutrients in. If you prefer a more traditional pesto recipe you can use less spinach and more basil. You can make this recipe with simply the pesto sauce and pasta, however I always try to add in some veggies wherever I can for the added boost of nutrients. You can add whatever veggies you prefer or have on hand, but for this recipe I used yellow peppers, tomatoes and banana peppers.
Ingredients
Vegan Pesto:
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 1 cup spinach
- 1 cup basil
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- 4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- crack of pepper
Pasta Ingredients:
- 2 cups brown rice GF shell pasta
- 1/2 cup yellow pepper, chopped
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/4 cup mixed banana peppers
- Red pepper flakes
- Salt & pepper to taste
Toppings:
- Crumbled feta (void if you want this recipe to be vegan)
- Cilantro
- Lemon for topping
Directions
- Add all pesto ingredients to a food processor, or blender, blend on high to chop up roughly (see photo for reference)
- In the meantime, cook your pasta until al dente, strain
- Add pasta back to cooking pot, add pesto and remaining “pasta ingredients” and combine until heated though
- Top off with feta, lemon wedges and cilantro