Vegan Pea Pesto Pasta Salad

This creamy and flavorful Vegan Pea Pesto Pasta Salad is ready in 20 minutes with 10 ingredients. It's quick, versatile, and healthy!

Course Dinner, Meal, Pasta

Cuisine Italian

Keyword pea pesto pasta, vegan pasta salad

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 10

Total Time 20

Servings servings

Calories 396kcal

Author Jamie

Ingredients

⅓ cup olive oil , plus a little more for roasting garlic
⅓ cup pine nuts
4 cloves garlic , minced if sautéing, otherwise whole is fine
1 cup green peas , cooked or thawed if frozen
1 heaping cup packed fresh basil leaves
1 lemon , juiced
½ teaspoon salt
6 servings Gluten-Free pasta , I like fusilli shape
3 cups arugula
⅓ cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil

Instructions

Pine Nuts + Garlic (optional): Heat a medium skillet to medium heat. Spread 1 teaspoon of olive oil across the bottom of the skillet and add the pine nuts. Roast for for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently, or until you notice the pine nuts beginning to brown and a nutty aroma. Then add the minced garlic and stir constantly for about 1 minute until the garlic is golden brown and fragrant. Remove the skillet from heat.
Alternatively, you do not need to roast either the pine nuts or garlic. The flavor is a little less sophisticated than roasting, and the garlic is sharper. In this case, I recommend making this a day ahead so the garlic flavor melds in and is less sharp.
Make Pasta + Pesto: Make the pasta according to the package instructions. Meanwhile, add the olive oil, pine nuts, garlic, peas, basil, lemon juice, and salt to a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth.
Combine: Allow the pasta to cool for 5 minutes. Then combine the pasta, pesto, and sun-dried tomatoes in a large mixing bowl. Toss until the noodles and sun-dried tomatoes are well coated with pesto.
Arugula: Add arugula 1 cup at a time and toss gently to combine. Add as much as you like, tasting as you go. Enjoy!

Notes

Storage: Store leftover vegan pea pasta salad in and airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Allow the pasta to cool completely before storing. Do not freeze.

Make it your own: This delicious recipe can handle more or less garlic, more arugula, and more sun-dried tomatoes if you like! Load up on your favorite flavors to make it your own.

Substitutions: Kalamata olives or fresh chopped tomatoes are delicious alternatives to sun-dried tomatoes in this vegan pasta salad recipe.

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