This Italian vegan pasta salad is full of zesty flavor, featuring kalamata olives, capers, tomatoes, and crisp romaine lettuce.
This post was created in partnership with DeLallo. All opinions are our own.
The other night Alex made Larson and me a “throw together” dinner with odds and ends from our pantry and refrigerator. Pasta, various veggies, and crunchy romaine lettuce came together into an Italian vegan pasta salad that was like eating pasta and salad all at once! Not only was it delicious, the romaine and veggies helped us take our time and be satisfied eating less pasta overall. After I tasted it, I knew we had to create an “official” recipe for it here on A Couple Cooks.
A weeknight healthy vegan dinner recipe, this simple pasta salad features olive oil and Italian ingredients with big flavor: Kalamata olives, capers, and pepperoncini. To top it off, a very special pasta: biodynamic pasta from DeLallo! Biodynamic is a new hip term in food. Keep reading for what it is, and the recipe!
Related: 25 Best Salad Recipes | Homemade Italian Dressing
What is biodynamic pasta?
So what is biodynamic? It’s actually a difficult concept to describe in one sentence, but let me try anyway. Biodynamic is one step up from organic. Meaning: all biodynamic foods are organic. But biodynamic farms go a step further by focusing on things like biodiversity, crop rotation, animal welfare, and soil fertility. So, biodynamic is like “organic plus”! It’s farmed in a way that’s even more thoughtful and gentle on the Earth.
What does biodyanmic mean for pasta? DeLallo’s biodynamic pasta is the first biodynamic pasta we’ve tried. (We had biodynamic wine in Sonoma this spring and loved it) So, we learned a thing or two about what biodynamic pasta is. Here’s DeLallo’s description of how biodynamic translates to pasta production:
- This whole-wheat pasta is grown and harvested in Southern Italy within the eco-safe standards of sustainable biodynamic farming. It is certified biodynamic by Demeter USA (the official certification body).
- Biodynamic farming is minimally dependent on any imported materials. It relies on only farm-generated pest control and fertility. No growth hormones, chemical pesticides or unnatural fertilizer are used.
Related: Best Vegan Dinner Recipes
How to make vegan pasta salad
This vegan pasta salad is full of flavor. With no meat or dairy, the vegan Italian ingredients have to carry the weight. This pasta with Kalamata olive and capers is dressed simply with olive oil, so there’s no overwhelming dressing flavor. It’s all about the Italian ingredients here! Here are the essential ingredients in this pasta salad:
- Pasta: You can use any shape of short pasta you like: fussili or bow ties would work well too. If you can, try to find DeLallo’s biodynamic pasta: it’s very high quality and affordable for all the care that goes into the farming!
- Kalamta olives: We also used DeLallo Pitted Greek Calamata Olives here, and the Kalamata variety really carries the flavor. If you’re not an olive fan, you may have to add additional salt to make up for the flavor.
- Capers: What are capers? Capers are berries from a caper bush that are served pickled; you’ll find them sold in small, thin jars. Capers add a salty, tangy flavor to Mediterranean style dishes. In this vegan pasta salad, they add just the right savory, salty flavor.
- Pepperoncini: To up the tangy factor and make this pasta salad reminiscent of Italian chopped salad, we’ve also added sliced jarred pepperoncini.
- Romaine hearts: Pasta salad with romaine lettuce? Yes! Chunks of crunchy romaine hearts break up the pasta and make it incredibly refreshing. It’s like eating your salad course and pasta course at the same time.
Looking for more capers recipes?
Looking for more recipes with capers? Here are a few of our faves.
Looking for more vegan dinner recipes?
Outside of this vegan pasta salad, here are some of our favorite vegan dinner recipes:
- Chickpea Couscous Bowls with Tahini Sauce
- Vegan Pesto Pasta
- Vegan Corn Chowder
- Masoor Dal (Indian Red Lentils)
- Mediterranean Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
- Perfect Vegan Black Bean Burger
- Very Veggie Vegan Pizza
- “Can’t Believe It’s Vegan” Spaghetti & Meatballs
- Moroccan Cauliflower Soup
- Loaded Quinoa Tacos
- Best Stir Fry Vegetables with Teriyaki
- Avocado & Chickpea Salad
- Herb infused Cucumber Water
- Easy Vegan Recipes for Beginners
This recipe is…
This Italian vegan pasta salad recipe is vegetarian, vegan, plant based, refined sugar free, and naturally sweet.
Print
Italian Vegan Pasta Salad
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 main dish servings, more as a side 1x
Description
This Italian vegan pasta salad is full of zesty flavor, featuring kalamata olives, capers, tomatoes, and crisp romaine lettuce.
Ingredients
- 1 pound DeLallo Biodynamic Whole-Wheat Penne Rigate Pasta (vegan)
- 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt (plus additional for pasta water and sprinkling)
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- Fresh ground black pepper
- 2 medium zucchini
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes (if you don’t have access to good fresh tomatoes, sub ½ cup thinly sliced sundried tomatoes)
- 1/2 medium red onion
- ¼ cup jarred capers, drained (like these DeLallo Capers)*
- ½ cup jarred sliced pepperoncini, drained*
- 1 1/2 hearts of romaine lettuce (6 cups chopped)
- ¾ cup DeLallo Pitted Greek Calamata Olives
Instructions
- Boil the pasta a large pot of water salted with 1 tablespoon kosher salt. When pasta is al dente, drain, rinse under cold water, and return to pot. Add 3 tablespoons olive oil, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, the oregano, Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, and fresh ground pepper.
- Meanwhile, thinly slice the zucchini. Warm 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat in a skillet and saute the zucchini, stirring in ¼ teaspoon kosher salt and more fresh ground black pepper. Saute until just lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Then add the zucchini to the pot with the pasta.
- Slice the tomatoes in half and sprinkle them with a bit of kosher salt. Slice the red onion into half moons. Add the tomatoes, red onion, capers (drained) and pepperoncini (drained) to the pot with the pasta.
- Chop the romaine into bite sized pieces and add it to a large bowl. Add the olives to the lettuce. Sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt and mix with your hands so the olive brine coats the lettuce. Add the pasta and veggies to the romaine and toss to fully integrate.
- Serve immediately. If you’re not vegan, top with grated Parmesan cheese, but it’s optional and not needed for flavor. Store leftovers refrigerated for a day or so (you can also add additional olive oil and/or salt if it looses flavor over time).
Notes
*Don’t even think about omitting the capers here! Like the Kalamata olives, they’re key to the pasta’s flavor. **Some pepperoncini come as whole peppers; look for sliced jarred, or thinly slice the whole peppers yourself.
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Pasta
- Cuisine: Italian
Keywords: Italian, Italian Pasta Salad, Vegetarian Pasta Salad, Vegan Pasta Salad, Vegetarian, Vegan, Mediterranean, Olives, Kalamata Olives, Capers, Pepperoncini, Tomatoes
Very good!!!
Thank you! Hope you’re able to try it out.
This looks so good, can’t wait to try it!
Thank you, let us know if you do!
I love this quick weeknight pantry-staple dinner idea!
I love this recipe, it feels like eating in a fancy Italian restaurant.
Made this tonight!! Delicious!! I did what you told me not to do LOL and omitted the capers because I was scared haha I’ve never tried them before! And it was still delicious! Husband has raved about it all night!
★★★★★