It’s been getting hot here, and I’ll be honest, I really don’t feel like doing much cooking, no standing forever in the kitchen, but I still have to feed my family meals that they will eat, and have to nourish myself as well…

When I’m feeling lack of inspiration in the kitchen, and wanting to save money, that’s when I go to pasta salad. It’s very versatile and can be used for a variety of diets, and is pretty cheap.

Kids love pasta salad, adults like pasta salad- who doesn’t? Perfect for a hot summer day, and perfect for whoever doesn’t feel like cooking.
This is more a recipe guideline than an exact recipe, because you can put whatever you want in it and it’ll still be yummy.

Easy Pasta Salad Recipe- Vegan, Gluten Free Option

Ingredients:
Pasta- use gluten free pasta to make this gluten free
Italian dressing (I use homemade Italian dressing)
Veggies- ideally raw, but cooked is fine so long as they’re not mushy- such as:
Carrots (slice thin)
Zucchini (slice thin)
Tomatoes (either cherry, or diced small or cut into wedges)
Cucumbers (sliced or diced)
Green beans (fresh cooked, or raw, or cooked frozen)
Green peas (fresh or cooked frozen)
Radishes (sliced small)
Kohlrabi (sliced small)
Cabbage (sliced thinly)
Broccoli (small florets)
Cauliflower (small florets)
Peppers (diced small or cut into thin slices)
Mushrooms (sliced thinly)
Avocado (cubed, so long as it’s not too mushy)
Celery (chopped small)
Herbs and Other Flavorings (can be left out) such as-
Fried onions
Fried leeks
Chopped scallions
Chopped parsley
Chopped cilantro
Garlic powder
Other Optional Add Ins:
Pickles (chopped small)
Olives (black or green)
Cooked chickpeas
Sprouted lentils or lentils cooked until al dente
Canned corn or canned baby corn
Hard boiled eggs
Diced chicken
Sunflower seeds
Pumpkin seeds
Slivered almonds
Walnuts

Extra salt if needed

Instructions:
1. Cook the pasta.

2. Chop up and add the vegetables, cooking some if necessary.

3. Pour Italian dressing on it liberally.

4. Taste. Add more dressing as necessary, or more salt or some garlic powder.

5. Eat cold. Can be even better after marinating. You may need to adjust seasoning after marinating.


Are you a pasta salad fan? What do you put in yours? Does this look like a recipe you’d try?