Primavera Pasta Salad (Vegan)

This Primavera Pasta Salad is loaded with fresh spring vegetables and is perfect for a healthy lunch or an easy side dish for your next picnic, BBQ, or potluck.

Spring is in the air! The weather is perfect, the trees are leafing out, and the birds are chirping 🙂 Along with spring comes lots of fresh and colorful vegetables, a nice change from winter produce. I threw them all into a big pasta salad today for this Primavera Pasta Salad!

Pasta Primavera is one of my favorite spring dishes because it celebrates all the fresh veggies and herbs spring offers. It’s usually a hot dish with pasta, veggies, and parmesan cheese. I have a more traditional One-Pot Pasta Primavera Recipe on the blog, but I thought serving it as a cold pasta salad would be a fun twist. And since I’m not eating dairy right now, I made it vegan 🙂

Why You’ll Love This Healthy Primavera Salad

• It’s healthy! At least healthy in my book, haha. It’s packed with 4 cups of vegetables, and instead of using a bunch of parmesan cheese, I used a vegan parmesan that consists of just cashews and nutritional yeast. I did use regular pasta, but you could make it even healthier by using whole wheat pasta or a gluten-free alternative.
• It’s the perfect spring/summer potluck or BBQ Dish. I can’t stand pasta salad loaded with mayonnaise and sugar. This Primavera Pasta Salad is dressed with a red wine vinaigrette, so it’s not going to go bad if it sits out in the sun for an afternoon.
• It’s easy to make! This Primavera Pasta Salad took me about 15 minutes to make. You can chop the veggies and make the dressing and parmesan while the noodles are cooking, and then you just mix everything together!

Pasta Primavera Recipe Ingredients 

• Pasta – I used bowtie noodles because I think they’re fun and perfect for spring, but you could use any kind of noodle you like. I love pasta because it’s a great ingredient for a quick-cooking meal that’s also filling.
• Vegetables – For this pasta salad, I included carrots, red bell pepper, broccoli florets, and sweet peas. If you’re using frozen peas, be sure to thaw them first. I chose these veggies because they’re spring produce traditionally used in primavera pasta. But you can sub any veggies you don’t like and add the ones you do.
• Fresh parsley 
• Vegan parmesan – I made a vegan parmesan by adding some raw cashews and nutritional yeast to the food processor and blending them up. It gives this pasta a great creamy taste and texture without the actual parmesan cheese. But if you’re not concerned about making this recipe vegan, you can, of course, use dairy parmesan cheese.
• Red wine vinaigrette – I wanted to add a little extra flavor to my dressing, so I made a red wine vinaigrette. It gives it a nice kick while also adding some moisture that a pasta salad really needs. The vinaigrette consists of olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, pure maple syrup, minced garlic, salt, and black pepper. 

How To Make This Primavera Pasta Salad 

It’s seriously so easy to make! The hardest part is chopping the vegetables, which doesn’t even take that much work.

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions. Once finished cooking, rinse under cold water and place in a large bowl.
2. Add the cashews and nutritional yeast to a food processor and blend until the cashews are the size of breadcrumbs.
3. Add all dressing ingredients into a jar or small bowl and whisk until combined.
4. Add all vegetables and parsley to the noodles and mix well. Pour the desired amount of dressing over the pasta salad (you might not want to use all of it) and mix again.
5. Sprinkle the vegan parmesan over the pasta and toss again. You can use however much parmesan you want—I like a lot on mine!

I hope you all are having a wonderful spring so far! This is our first spring since we moved from Arizona, and I love that we actually experience spring for a change! Arizona weather is already in the high 90s, and I don’t miss that.  

Have a question about this recipe? Ask me in the comments, and I’ll get back to you ASAP.

Looking For More Fresh Pasta Salad Recipes?

Lemony Parmesan Spring Pasta Salad

Lemon Broccoli Pasta Salad with Feta

Herby Parmesan Tomato Pasta Salad

Tahini Balsamic Pasta Salad with Arugula

Easy Vegetarian Pasta Salad

Bruschetta Pasta Salad with Parmesan

Spring Pasta Salad

See Exactly How I Make This Pasta Primavera Here:

Primavera Pasta Salad {Vegan}

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• Author: She Likes Food
• Total Time: 20 minutes
• Yield: 6-8 1x

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Description

This Primavera Pasta Salad is loaded with tons of fresh spring vegetable and is perfect for a picnic, BBQ or potluck!

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 14 ounces pasta, your favorite kind
• 1 cup shredded carrot
• 1 cup thinly diced red bell pepper (about one medium pepper)
• 1 cup small diced broccoli florets
• 1 cup sweet peas, if using frozen make sure to thaw first
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

Vegan Parmesan Cheese:

• 1/3 cup raw cashews
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast

Red Wine Vinaigrette:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon pure maple syrup
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

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Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions.  Once finished cooking, rinse under cold water and place into a large bowl.
2. Add the cashews and nutrimental yeast to a food processor and blend until cashews are the size of breadcrumbs.
3. Add all dressing ingredients into a jar, or small bowl, and whisk until combined.
4. Add all vegetables and parsley to the noodles and mix well.  Pour desired amount of dressing over pasta salad (You might not want to use all of it) and mix again.
5. Sprinkle the vegan parmesan over top of the pasta and toss again.  You can use however much vegan parmesan cheese you want.  I like a lot on mine!

Notes

This pasta salad is usually served cold.  It can be made a head of time and refrigerated until ready to eat.  I would just recommend not adding the vegan parmesan until you are ready to eat it.  Pasta will stay good in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.

• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins
• Category: Lunch, Side
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: American