The Best Vegan Summer Pasta Salad with Roasted Vegetables and Orzo
Summer has never tasted so good with the very best vegan summer pasta salad recipe. With roasted vegetables, garlic, and kidney beans, this delicious pasta salad is the perfect summer BBQ side dish. It's easy to make, hearty, healthy, and made with simple ingredients.
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 256kcal
Equipment
- 1 large sheet pan, lined *To roast the vegetables
- 1 large bowl *For the pasta salad
- 1 medium-sized saucepan *To cook the pasta
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry orzo
- 1 eggplant, ends removed and diced
- 3 large carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in 1/2
- ½ large red onion, peeled, thinly sliced, and then diced
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced and then diced.
- 4 radishes, thinly sliced
- 1 head of garlic, cloves separated, leave the skin on
- 1 can (15.5oz) kidney beans, washed and drained
- 3 tablespoons avocado oil *To roast the vegetables in
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil *To toss into the finished salad
- ¼ cup fresh minced basil
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- Place the diced eggplant, sliced carrots, chopped bell pepper, sliced radishes, halved cherry tomatoes, sliced red onion, and garlic cloves in a single layer on the lined cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss everything so that the vegetables are nicely coated. Cook for 25 minutes tossing everything at the 1/2 way point.
- While the vegetables are roasting, cook the orzo according to the package directions. Drain the water, drizzle a small amount of olive oil over the cooked pasta, and carefully toss it to coat the pasta completely. This is necessary in order to keep the pasta from sticking. Pour the pasta into a large bowl and set it aside.
- At the 20-minute mark, remove the pan from the oven, sprinkle the kidney beans over the top, and place the pan back into the oven for the last 5 minutes. This will heat up the beans.
- Remove the garlic cloves from the pan. Transfer the roasted vegetables to the bowl of orzo.
- Squeeze the garlic out of the peels into the pasta salad.
- Add the minced fresh basil. a drizzle of olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Give it all a good stir and serve immediately. You can serve this pasta salad warm or cold, both are great.
Notes
To store this pasta, place it into an airtight container and into the fridge. It will last about 2-3 days in the fridge.
I do not recommend freezing this pasta salad.
Feel free to replace the orzo with your favorite type of pasta. (the smaller the better). If you choose to use larger pasta, you may need to add additional olive oil.
You can replace the listed veggies with any other roasting vegetable. Some other ideas include broccoli, squash, asparagus, artichoke, and mushrooms.
Nutrition
Serving: 0.5cup | Calories: 256kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Sodium: 606mg | Potassium: 619mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 4481IU | Vitamin C: 32mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 2mg