If you know me well, you know I am not the best (or the biggest fan 😅) of meal prepping food… I *wish* I was, but I don’t always want to eat the same thing day after day, and I sometime have a hard time coming up with recipes that I really enjoy that store well in the fridge/taste as good days later as they do made fresh. I have however, found a few recipes that I love love love to meal prep and do so on a regular basis, one of those is my Kale Detox Salad which I literally make once a week and the other is the vegan pasta salad!

Not only is this vegan pasta salad recipe completely customizable (you can swap out or add ingredients easily!), it’s also super simple to make, and stores really well in the fridge. I originally never used to add chickpeas to this but after a happy accident last week I started adding them and now I wouldn’t make it any other way (hello, we love the vegan protein over here 🥳) The recipe I’m sharing below isn’t gluten-free (I used regular spiral pasta noodles) but you can certainly swap the pasta out for gluten-free pasta if you have one that you like! I generally eat gluten-free pasta but was concerned that the pasta noodles might get mushy so I went with regular pasta noodles but again, do what works best for you bb 💗 The below recipe makes about 4-5 servings for me, but after making it a few times it depends on how many extra veggies you add in! Sometimes I like to add raw zucchini or lightly steamed broccoli, but lately I’ve been sticking to the below!

Vegan Pasta Salad Ingredients:

• 1 lb spiral pasta (I used these!)
• 1 organic green bell pepper
• 1 organic yellow (or red!) bell pepper
• 1/4 organic red onion
• 1 pint organic cherry tomatoes
• 29 oz can of chickpeas
• Braggs Liquid Aminos
• Cayenne Pepper
• 2 TBSP. fresh parsley
• 2.25 oz can of sliced black olives
• 3-4 TBSP. Champagne Vinegar
• 2 TBSP. Olive Oil (I use this garlic infused one and LOVE it!)
• Red chili flakes
• Crushed Garlic
• 1 TBSP. Maple Syrup
• Salt & pepper

Vegan Pasta Salad Instructions:

The first thing I like to do is boil the pasta (just do that according to the directions on the package) as well as prep the air fried chickpeas. If you don’t have an airfare you can also do this in the oven! Drain, rinse and dry the chickpeas then place them in a bowl with garlic powder, cayenne pepper and Braggs Liquid Aminos. Toss the chickpeas and then drain excess liquid then pop them in the over on a parchment lined baking sheet to bake until crispy or airfare at 400 degrees for 15 minutes!

Next up chop all veggies and place them in a mixing bowl, along with your cooked pasta and crispy chickpeas.

The last step is to make the dressing! You can always use an Italian dressing instead for this vegan pasta salad, but I much prefer to make my own! Combine 3-4 TBSP. champagne vinegar + 2 TBSP. olive oil + red chili flakes + about 2 TBSP. of crushed garlic + 1 TBSP. maple syrup, mix and then pour over your pasta and veggie mixture. Top with salt and pepper to taste and toss everything together until pasta + veggies are coated in your dressing – then enjoy!