Vegan Italian pasta salad recipe from scratch with veggie La Bomba sauce. A spicy “Calabrian condimento or Bomba Calabrese”, made with marinated artichoke hearts, eggplant, roasted red peppers, mushrooms, green olives, garlic, onion and lots of herbs.
La Bomba Sauce!
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.
Make it an Oil Free Vegan Pasta Salad:
You could entirely ditch the olive oil here and make it whole foods plant based complaint. Simply sautee 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.
This Vegan Italian Pasta Salad is Perfect for a Crowd!
Really lovely served both cold on a hot summer day, or hot in the winter time straight out of the skillet. Travels well, can be prepared the night before and also makes wonderful leftovers.
Pasta Salad Add-Ins Ideas:
Squash & Zucchini.
How to Make Vegan Italian Pasta Salad from Scratch:
- STEP 1: Choose a short shaped pasta like: penne, conchigliette (shells), ditali (small thimbles), cavatappi (corkscrew), elbow pasta, orechiette (little ears), fiorelli, chiocciole, fusilli or bow tie. Gluten free pasta made from rice or lentils works great too, just make sure not to overcook it, boil just until al dente according to the instructions on the box.
- STEP 2: Make a veggie La Bomba sauce or a classic Italian vinaigrette and toss with the pasta and your favorite herbs.
- STEP 3: Refrigerate! Pasta salad is best when made a few hours ahead so the flavors get a chance to marry and chill together. See detailed printable recipe below.
Can You Freeze Italian Pasta Salad ?
Not something I would recommend, the freezing process would drastically affect the texture of dish. However you could freeze the roasted veggie La Bomba sauce on its own and thaw it out when needed to mix with the pasta.
Mangia Bene!
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
Vegan Italian Pasta Salad
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.
Notes
Nutrition
Vegan Salads:
Farro & Black Rice Salad
Cucumber Tomato Lentil Salad
Panzanella Bread Salad
Fabulous salad, different than your typical Pasta salad, it does take a little time to dice everything but totally worth it.