Name: Vegan Ranch Pasta Salad
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 batch vegan ranch dressing (or 2 cups store-bought vegan ranch); 1 pound (about 4 cups) pasta of choice (use gluten-free if needed); 2-3 cups finely chopped veggies of choice (I used grape tomatoes, bell peppers, and cucumber)

Description

Creamy, zesty, tangy homemade vegan ranch mixed with pasta and fresh veggies--is there anything better? This simple pasta salad is great warm or chilled.

Ingredients

Units Scale

1 batch vegan ranch dressing (or 2 cups store-bought vegan ranch)
1 pound (about 4 cups) pasta of choice (use gluten-free if needed)
2-3 cups finely chopped veggies of choice (I used grape tomatoes, bell peppers, and cucumber)

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Instructions

Note: This section assumes you’ll be making this recipe with pasta. If not, just ignore those instructions and use whatever you’d like.
Start your pasta cooking before you do anything else. You can get everything else done while it’s cooking. Follow the instructions on your package of pasta.
First, make the ranch dressing if you haven’t already. Set it aside.
Then work on cutting up the vegetables.
When your pasta is done cooking, drain the cooking water. If you want to eat your pasta salad warm, mix everything together now and serve immediately.
However, if you’d like your pasta salad cool or cold, you have two options. Refrigerate the pasta for a half hour or so, or rinse it under cold water until it cools down.
When your pasta is cool enough, add it to a large bowl with your veggies and stir it well. Then add the dressing and mix well. Serve and enjoy!
Refrigerate leftovers up to 5 days in an airtight container.

Notes

Note 1: To make this recipe gluten-free, use your favorite GF pasta. A bean or lentil based pasta would give this recipe more protein, if preferred.
Note 2: If you’re buds with carbs like I am, try this recipe with potatoes or sweet potatoes, yum! But if you’d like to reduce your carb intake, you could easily substitute the pasta in this recipe for zucchini noodles, cauliflower rice, beans, or tofu. For a delicious protein packed meal, try subbing the pasta for quinoa!
Note 3: Use any veggies you like--carrots, tomatoes, avocado, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, mushrooms, corn, etc.!

Cook Time: 20 minutes
Category: Salad, Entree
Method: Stovetop
Cuisine: American

Keywords: Vegan, Oil-Free, Nut-Free, Sugar-Free, Can be Gluten-Free, Vegan Ranch Pasta Salad