Name: Vegan Italian Pasta Salad
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 3/4 lb whole wheat penne pasta; 2 cups eggplant (-finely diced); 2 cups roasted bell peppers (-finely chopped); 6 marinated artichoke hearts (or packed in water for WFPB) (-finely chopped); 1.5 cup cremini mushrooms (-finely diced); 1/2 red onion (-finely chopped); 1/2 cup green olives (-pitted & chopped); 4 cloves garlic (-minced); 1 tsp smoked paprika; 1 tsp red pepper flakes (+ more to taste); 1 pinch sea salt (+ more to taste); 1/2 cup flat-leaf Italian parsley (-chopped); 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves (-for garnish); 1-2 tbsp olive oil ((or as needed)); 2 tbsp red wine vinegar; 3 tbsp hemp seeds ((optional for serving))

This Vegan Pasta Salad recipe is the perfect side dish for any dinner occasion. It’s made with marinated artichoke hearts, eggplant, roasted red peppers, mushrooms, green olives, garlic, onion, and lots of herbs. Slathered in a La Bomba sauce, this recipe will be an unstoppable tease to your taste buds

Vegan Italian Pasta Salad with Veggie La Bomba Sauce

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Vegan Italian Pasta Salad

Have you ever come across a pasta salad recipe that’s perfect all year round, hot or cold? Well, now you have (or have again if you’ve already discovered one). This recipe is brimming with so many delicious flavors and veggies that your tongue will want to faint. Not to mention, the la bomba sauce that just adds the party you didn’t know you were missing.

You can serve it alongside countless mains, because pasta and veggies pair well with just about anything. Some of my favorites are my Vegan Pizza, Veggie Burgers, or Vegan Steak. Of course, it’s delicious by itself as well! Enjoy!

All About La Bomba Sauce

If you’ve never heard of La Bomba sauce, you’ve been missing out terribly! It makes for an exceptional pasta salad dressing, but also works great as an antipasto spread for bruschetta, sandwiches, or as a veggie pizza topping. Personally, I’m just as happy slathering it on a piece of Homemade Crusty Bread. Traditionally, la Bomba is a very spicy condiment sauce, but I made mine with red pepper flakes and roasted bell peppers so you can adjust the heat level to your likeness.

Italian La Bomba Sauce Recipe with Artichoke Hearts, Roasted Peppers and Eggplant

How to Make Vegan Pasta Salad from Scratch

Saute the veggies – Heat a skillet and saute the onion with a pinch of salt and drizzle of oil. Add the red pepper flakes, mushrooms and eggplant. Cook until soft. Add the peppers, olives, mushrooms, and paprika.
Finish the sauce – Push the veggies aside and place the garlic in the middle. Cook until fragrant. Stir in the vinegar and parsley.
Make the pasta – Boil the pasta in salt water until al dente. Drain and immediately place in cold water, reserving one cup of the water.
Combine – Mix together the pasta and some of the la bomba sauce in a large bowl. Add a drizzle of oil or reserved pasta water if things aren’t mixing smoothly. Enjoy!

Tips and Variations

Storage – Store in a sealed container for up to 5 days. If you’re ok with freezing it, place in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Let it warm up on its own instead of forcing the thawing.
Reheating – There’s no need to reheat this vegan Italian pasta salad if you’re going for the traditional chilled version. If you’re serving it in the winter, heating it up or serving it right out of the pan is a huge yes! Reheat over the stove or in the microwave.
Make it oil-free – You could entirely ditch the olive oil here and make it whole foods plant-based compliant. Simply saute your veggies in a splash of water or white wine instead. Also, make sure to use artichoke hearts packed in water instead of the marinated ones. Puree half of the veggies into a smooth sauce to toss with the pasta and help bind everything together smoothly.
Make it for a crowd – This recipe travels well, can be prepared the night before, and also makes wonderful leftovers. It’s super easy to double or even triple the recipe to make larger portions.
Add-ins – If you want to add even more flavor and substance to your salad, one of these add-ins would do great! Choose from pepperoncini, sun-dried tomatoes, basil pesto, green peas, vegan mozzarella, tofu, roasted broccoli, roasted asparagus, avocado, squash, zucchini, etc.
What pasta to use? – Choose a short shaped pasta like penne, conchigliette (shells), ditali (small thimbles), cavatappi (corkscrew), elbow pasta, orecchiette (little ears), fiorelli, chiocciole, fusilli, or bowtie. Gluten-free pasta made from rice or lentils works great too, just make sure not to overcook it.

Pasta Salad FAQs

Can You Freeze this Vegan Pasta Salad? I don’t normally freeze it because the process of freezing pasta often changes the texture. It also can make it soggy or break it down. I’m not a fan of this outcome after freezing, therefore, I don’t ever freeze. However, you can definitely freeze the La Bomba sauce. And if you don’t mind the slight changes that occur to the pasta through the freezing process, then it’s definitely OK to freeze, no problem. It’s just a personal preference when I choose not to freeze it.
Can You Make Pasta Salad the Night Before? Heck yes you can! This salad actually tastes pretty great over the next couple of days because all of the flavors are delightfully soaking into each other and the veggies. Simply make it, let it cool, then place it in a sealed container in the fridge.

More Vegan Side Dishes:

P.S. If you love this recipe please leave us a comment rating below, snap a photo and tag me with #VeggieSociety on Instagram, it totally makes my day ~ Florentina Xo’s

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Vegan Italian Pasta Salad

Vegan Italian pasta salad recipe with La Bomba sauce, a spicy “Calabrian condimento or Bomba Calabrese”.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword pasta salad, plant based, vegan,

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings people

Calories 521kcal

Author Florentina

Ingredients

3/4 lb whole wheat penne pasta

La Bomba Sauce:

2 cups eggplant -finely diced
2 cups roasted bell peppers -finely chopped
6 marinated artichoke hearts (or packed in water for WFPB) -finely chopped
1.5 cup cremini mushrooms -finely diced
1/2 red onion -finely chopped
1/2 cup green olives -pitted & chopped
4 cloves garlic -minced
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp red pepper flakes + more to taste
1 pinch sea salt + more to taste
1/2 cup flat-leaf Italian parsley -chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves -for garnish
1-2 tbsp olive oil (or as needed)
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 tbsp hemp seeds (optional for serving)

Instructions

Heat a large skillet over medium low flame and add the onion with a pinch of salt and a drizzle of olive oil or a splash of water or white wine. Saute until translucent. Add the red pepper flakes, mushrooms and eggplant and toss to coat well. Saute together until softened (about 10 minutes).
Add the roasted bell peppers, artichokes and olives together with the smoked paprika and toss everything to coat well.
Using a wooden spoon or spatula push the veggies to the sides of the skillet making some room in the center for the garlic. Add the minced garlic and cook about 30 seconds just enough to release its flavors and taking care not to burn it.
Add the vinegar and parsley and give everything a good stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings with more sea salt and spicy pepper flakes. Mix in the parsley and refrigerate up to one week or freeze in a glass container until needed.
Meanwhile cook the pasta in salted water until al dente according to the directions on the package. Do not overcook it! Reserve one cup of the pasta water then drain and immediately rinse it with cold water until chilled. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and top with the veggie La Bomba sauce. Toss to combine well and add another drizzle of olive oil or some of the reserved pasta water to get things moving smoothly. (Omit oil on a WFPB diet).
Adjust seasonings with more sea salt and refrigerate for a couple of hours for the flavor to marry. Serve with the fresh basil and hemp seeds on top.

WFPB + Plantricious

You could entirely ditch the olive oil here and make it whole foods plant-based compliant. Simply saute your veggies in a splash of water or white wine instead. Also, make sure to use artichoke hearts packed in water instead of the marinated ones. Puree half of the veggies into a smooth sauce to toss with the pasta and help bind everything together smoothly. It's also mandatory that you use a whole grain pasta like whole wheat, lentil, quinoa or brown rice.

Notes

Storage - Store in a sealed container for up to 5 days. If you’re ok with freezing it, place in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Let it warm up on its own instead of forcing the thawing.
Reheating - There’s no need to reheat this vegan Italian pasta salad recipe if you’re going for the traditional chilled version. If you’re serving it in the winter, heating it up or serving it right out of the pan is a huge yes! Reheat over the stove or in the microwave.
Make it oil-free - You could entirely ditch the olive oil here and make it whole foods plant-based compliant. Simply saute your veggies in a splash of water or white wine instead. Also, make sure to use artichoke hearts packed in water instead of the marinated ones. Puree half of the veggies into a smooth sauce to toss with the pasta and help bind everything together smoothly.
Make it for a crowd - This recipe travels well, can be prepared the night before, and also makes wonderful leftovers. It’s super easy to double or even triple the recipe to make larger portions.
Add-ins - If you want to add even more flavor and substance to your salad, one of these add-ins would do great! Choose from pepperoncini, sun-dried tomatoes, basil pesto, green peas, vegan mozzarella, tofu, roasted broccoli, roasted asparagus, avocado, squash, zucchini, etc.
What pasta to use? - Choose a short shaped pasta like penne, conchigliette (shells), ditali (small thimbles), cavatappi (corkscrew), elbow pasta, orecchiette (little ears), fiorelli, chiocciole, fusilli, or bowtie. Gluten-free pasta made from rice or lentils works great too, just make sure not to overcook it.