The best vegan pasta salad with an oil-free ranch dressing without mayo! Perfect for the grilling season in summer or as a side dish throughout the year. The recipe is plant-based (dairy-free, egg-free), healthy, protein-rich, light, guilt-free, and delicious!
Healthy Vegan Pasta Salad
I always loved a good creamy pasta salad, especially as a teenager. Actually, I was never a fan of an Italian pasta salad with a vinaigrette. My salads were loaded with mayonnaise, which isn’t very healthy… Now I veganized and healthified my favorite pasta salad into a light dish that is creamy, delicious, and guilt-free!
How to Make A Vegan Pasta Salad Without Mayo?
You are only a few simple steps away from enjoying this light Mediterranean pasta salad!
- First, you need to cook the pasta and chop the veggies.
- Meanwhile, you can prepare the oil-free ranch dressing, which is very easy to make. All you need to do is blend all dressing ingredients in a blender or food processor until completely smooth.
- Finally, you can assemble the vegan macaroni pasta salad in a large bowl. And that’s it! Eat it right away and store leftovers in the fridge. Check the easy instruction pictures below:
Use Your Favorite Pasta
You can use regular (wheat) pasta or gluten-free pasta, which often contains rice flour, quinoa flour, cornflour, or legumes. My favorite pasta shapes are:
- Cavatappi
- Fusilli
- Farfalle
- Rotini
- Macaroni
However, any pasta shape is fine! Let me know in the comments what your favorite shape is for a salad. 🙂
Versatile Pasta Salad
A pasta salad is versatile because you can choose your favorite veggies. I used the following ones:
- Green peppers
- Onion
- Tomatoes
- Cucumber
- Chopped dill pickles
Not a fan of cucumber? Simply use something different. I also love adding olives and grilled corn! You could also add mushrooms, celery, or zucchini. What about vegan mozzarella for an Italian twist?
I love that this noodle salad is so versatile and easy to make!
Oil-Free Dressing Without Mayonnaise
I actually made the same (well, almost the same) dressing which I already used for my Vegan Potato Salad! I really love it because it contains only healthy ingredients:
- White beans*
- Plant-based milk
- Hulled hemp seeds or soaked cashews
- Garlic cloves
- Dijon mustard
- Lime juice or lemon juice
- White vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- Sea salt, black pepper, and fresh dill to taste
*I used cannellini beans which add healthy plant-based protein, but any white beans will work just fine!
How To Store Leftovers?
The pasta salad tastes best when it’s cold, in my opinion, which makes it the perfect summer side dish! Keep leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 5 days.
You Will Love This Salad, Because It’s:
- Dairy-free
- Egg-free
- Protein-rich
- Guilt-free
- Oil-free (without mayo)
- Low-fat
- Creamy
- Satisfying
- Hearty
- Comforting
- Easy to make with simple ingredients
- Perfect as a summer salad
- Much healthier than other pasta salads
Helpful Tips For This Vegan Pasta Salad
- Use your favorite veggies (e.g. zucchini, celery, olives…).
- Double the batch and store leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Bring it to a vegan potluck (most people LOVE pasta salad) or barbecue (BBQ).
Should you recreate this healthy pasta salad, please leave a comment and rating below, and don’t forget to tag me in your Instagram or Facebook post with @elavegan and #elavegan because I love to see your remakes! If you love salads, definitely also check out the following recipes:
- Mexican Avoado Salad
- Easy Pasta Salad
- Lunch Bowl With Hasselback Potatoes
- Buddha Bowl With Roasted Chickpeas
- Lebanese Fattoush Salad Recipe
- Brown Rice Salad Recipe
- Creamy German Cucumber Salad (Gurkensalat)
Creamy Vegan Pasta Salad
Ingredients
Pasta Salad:
- 10 oz (280 g) dry pasta of choice (gluten-free if needed)
- 1 green pepper (or color of choice) chopped
- 1 medium-sized onion diced
- 4 tomatoes diced
- 1 small cucumber diced
- 3/4 cup chopped dill pickles
- olives (optional)
Oil-Free Dressing:
- 1 (15 oz) can white beans rinsed and drained (*see notes)
- 2/3 cup (160 ml) plant-based milk
- 1/4 cup (40 g) hulled hemp seeds OR 1/3 cup of soaked cashews (*see notes)
- 2-4 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard or more to taste
- 1 tbsp lime juice or lemon juice
- 1 tbsp white vinegar or apple cider vinegar or more to taste
- 1/2 tsp sea salt + more to taste
- black pepper to taste
- fresh dill to taste
Instructions
- Cook your favorite pasta as per the instructions on the package.
- Add white beans, plant-based milk, hemp seeds (or soaked cashews), garlic cloves, mustard, lime juice, vinegar, and sea salt + black pepper to a blender. Blend on high speed and scrape down the sides if needed until the dressing is completely smooth and creamy. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the cooled pasta, chopped pepper, onion, tomatoes, cucumber, and dill pickles. Pour over the dressing and stir to combine.
- Taste and adjust seasonings. Add more salt/pepper/vinegar if needed. I added 1/2 tsp of sea salt in addition.
- Garnish with fresh herbs (e.g. dill) and serve at room temperature or cold. Enjoy! Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Notes
- You can use any white beans, e.g. Cannellini beans, Navy beans or Great Northern beans.
- If you don't have hemp seeds you can use either soaked cashews (soak in hot water for about 30 minutes or until soft) OR you could use 2 heaped tbsp of cashew butter or almond butter.
- If you love salads, you can also check out my Mexican Avocado Salad recipe.
- Recipe serves 4. Nutrition facts are for one serving.
Nutrition information is an estimate and has been calculated automatically
Equipment
Simple and Delicious Vegan Cookbook by ElaVeganCLICK HERE to order!If you are using Pinterest, feel free to pin the following photo:
(This review is just for the dressing- I didn’t make the pasta salad)
I don’t usually leave reviews on recipes because I almost always end up tweaking them beyond recognition, but this dressing was so incredible I feel compelled to. I’ve been looking for an oil free ranch dressing and have been left disappointed by most of them. This one however, blew my mind. I made it as is (I probably upped the amount of garlic, apple cider vinegar, and dijon, but I always do :)) and it will definitely be a staple for me. I added fresh dill and fresh chives and they gave it an earthy, fresh from the garden taste. Next time I think I’ll add parsley, too. I loved it so much I immediately made a second batch so I can have it on hand for salads all week. Thank you so much for sharing!
Aww, that’s awesome, Kate! I am so glad you loved it.
Thanks for taking the time to review the recipe. 🙂
Dear Ela, You are a vey talented cook 😉 Such a great recipe for my teenagers! They don’t miss the mayonnaise! Thank you
That’s awesome, Elsa! I am glad they liked it. 🙂
This salad is AMAZING! The dressing is sooooo good! I’m allergic to eggs and am not able to enjoy these types of salads. Making the potato salad next!
I am so glad you liked it, Melissa. Thanks for your feedback! 🙂
Really easy recipe! Substituted avocado for the white beans since I never have those, and added a bit of tahini to make it more calorically dense! came out great, thank you so much, I will always love your website to death!
((also rotini is always my go to noodle shape haha))
Aww, that makes me so happy, Kai! Thanks so much for your sweet comment! Happy it turned out delish with avo and tahini. 🙂
I recently started The Starch Solution by Dr. John McDougall, and was looking for an oil-free salad dressing. I am amazed how good it tastes. Thank you for posting : )
You are very welcome Christine! I am so glad you liked it. 🙂
So good! Creamy, crunchy and oh so delish.
Thank you for this.
I am so glad you loved it. Thanks for your feedback! 🙂
Great recipe! Still creamy without the mayo! And a great way to get more beans in! I made it with lentil rotini and lots of dill. Yum! Thanks!
Sounds great! Happy you liked it. 🙂
This pasta salad is AMAZING!! I made it recently and it was so tasty that I am making it again for a cook out today. I love your recipes because they are usually oil free (or can be made oil free/low fat). Thank you for being such a creative vegan recipe genius!
Thanks so much for your sweet comment, Christina! I am so glad you like my recipes. 🙂
Much love,
Ela
I’ve made white bean based sauces before and I’ve found that it made the pasta very gluey and starchy. Is this sauce the same or is it actually creamy? It looks amazing!
It’s creamy in my opinion. 🙂
Der allerbeste Nudelsalat, ich könnte mich reinsetzen! Gestern gab es die ebenso leckere Bohnen Suppe, was würde ich ohne Deine Rezepte nur kochen ?
LG
Anne
Wie schön! Danke für dein super Feedback liebe Anne. 🙂
Made this just today using chickpea pasta, chickpeas, tomato, cucumber, black olives, and purple onion…delicious!! Love that it’s nut and soy free!
Chickpea pasta sounds amazing, Beth! 🙂
Can you use any dairy free milk or only plant based?
Yes, that’s totally possible!
Hi! I just made this pasta. It’s amazing. How much would you consider is a serving? I track my food and can’t quite figure it out. Thanks.
Hi Jennifer, the nutrition facts are for 1/4 of the recipe if that helps. 🙂
Ela! I love this salad. Especially that it’s so healthy and light without oil or mayo. Well done! Dee xx
Thanks so much, Dee! I am glad you like my vegan pasta salad. 🙂
I love pasta salads so much! Especially, when they’re made healthier but still creamy! ?❤️
Absolutely! I couldn’t agree more. Thanks, Bianca! 😀
Made this yesterday! Was super easy and delicious! Taking it to a beach party today!!
Yay, sounds lovely! Glad you liked the recipe, Nicole. Thanks for your great feedback! 🙂
Looks so good ela! i hate pasta salads with mayo so this one is perfect for me 🙂
Thank you, Jess! Glad you like it. 🙂
Love the look and sound of this salad Ela! Perfect side dish for any BBQ but will also make a great main meal!
Thank you, Anna! And yes, you are right, it’s so versatile. 🙂
Much love, Ela
So good and easy to make!
I am happy you liked the recipe, Shelby! Thank you for your feedback. 🙂
Schmeckt einfach traumhaft gut, so cremig! Der beste Nudelsalat ever!
Freut mich sehr zu hören! Danke für dein super Feedback, Nadja. 🙂