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Vegan Macaroni Salad– if you like a good pasta salad recipe then you’ll love this easy macaroni salad! Loaded with veggies and covered in a tasty sauce.
I told you recently that I had a lot more pasta salad recipes up my sleeve and this is the first of a few GREAT recipes that I have coming. There’s just something about pasta + a ton of veggies + a simple sauce that makes my belly VERY happy :) It’s the pasta loving Italian in me I suppose.
I wanted to make this a very classic macaroni salad recipe so I kept it simple and only altered the recipe slightly so that it’s fully vegan, plant based, and YUM! (“uuummmyyy” as my toddler would say). While macaroni pasta is classic to this recipe, you could obviously use whatever pasta strikes your fancy including a chickpea pasta or any other gluten free variation.
As for the veggies: I also stuck with more classic macaroni salad mix ins but really you could use whatever you have on hand. I would simply try and keep the veggie to pasta proportions about the same so that there’s enough sauce to thoroughly coat everything.
What’s in this vegan macaroni salad:
- Pasta
- carrots
- peas
- pickles (sweet or dill)
- red onion
- celery
- parsley
- bell pepper
- super yummy sauce!
How to make Macaroni Salad:
If you come here often then you know I always walk you through the recipe in detail. HOWEVER, is it really needed for this post!? ?
Here’s how this goes:
- Cook your pasta
- chop your veggies
- Whisk together all of the sauce ingredients
- Mix all of those things together.
- EAT!
You can handle that, right? The ease of pasta salad is a HUGE reason that I love it so much ?
Other Plant Based Pasta Salads:
See how to make this Easy Macaroni Salad:
Vegan Macaroni Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound of macaroni pasta
- 1 small red bell pepper, diced
- 2 stalks of celery, diced
- ⅓ cup of red onion, diced
- ¼ cup of sweet pickles, diced (optional- they’re not my personal favorite honestly)
- 3 tablespoon of fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 2 large carrot, diced
- ¾ cup of mayo, use vegan if needed
- 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons of maple syrup
- 1 ½ tablespoons of dijon mustard
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder
Instructions
- Start by cooking your pasta according to package directions. Drain and let cool slightly while you chop the veggies.
- Make the dressing by whisking together the mayo, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, dijon mustard, garlic powder, and salt and pepper.
- In a large bowl, mix together the pasta, bell pepper, celery, red onion, pickles, parsley, and carrots. Pour the dressing over the salad and mix to coat everything in the sauce.
- Serve and enjoy! This can be made ahead or enjoyed right away.
Hope to try these recipes.