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Plants Not Plastic

Classic Macaroni Pasta Salad

This easy pasta salad recipe is delicious, inexpensive, simple, healthy, whole food plant based & oil free. The sauce is made without a processed mayo using potatoes as the base, and it can even be made nut free (or gluten free if you use a gluten free pasta). A perfect, cold side dish for warm weather and a backyard barbeque.
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Prep Time 1 hour
Chilling Time 1 hour
Total Time 2 hours
Servings: 5 cups
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Calories: 257.8
Ingredients Equipment Method Video Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 16 oz dry macaroni or other pasta of choice should be 1 package
  • 1/2-3/4 small yellow onion ~1/2-3/4 cup, diced
  • 1/2-1 regular red bell pepper ~3/4-1 cup, diced; option [note#1] AND/OR
  • 1 medium carrot ~ 1/2-3/4 cup, shredded; optional [note#1]
  • 3-4 stalks celery ~1/2-3/4 cup, diced or sliced
  • 1/4-1/2 regular jalapeno finely diced; optional, if you want it spicy
  • 1/4 cup raw unsalted cashews soaked (see directions); OPTIONAL [note#2]
  • 1 medium Russet potato ~1.25-1.5 cups, peeled and chopped [note#2]
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne or to taste
  • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper or to taste
  • 1/4 tsp salt or to taste
  • 1 tbsp agave sub sugar
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice sub distilled vinegar
  • 2 tsp sriracha optional, if you want it spicy
  • 3 tbsp water

Equipment

  • 2 small-med saucepans
  • Medium mixing bowl

Method
 

  1. Soak cashews for 30 minutes to an hour in boiled water.
  2. In the meantime bring potatoes in a pot of water to a boil potatoes and summer for 10-15 minutes until fork tender and cook pasta per package directions [note#3].
  3. Slice and dice your veggies and set them aside.
  4. Drain the cashews and both sets of potatoes, reserving some of the peeled potato cooking water.
  5. To a blender add the soaked cashews, peeled potatoes, spices, agave, vinegar or lemon juice and peeled potato water and blend until a smooth, thick sauce has formed; add more water 1 tbsp at a time if needed.
  6. Combine all ingredients together, starting with your pasta and sauce and adding the remaining ingredients in the smallest amounts first, then taste and adjust by adding more of each ingredient to your preference [note#4].
  7. Chill in the fridge for an hour before serving.
  8. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

  1. Carrots and bell pepper will add a necessary sweetness to the salad; use both or just one to your preference.
  2. Cashews add some nice richness that you would typically get from mayonnaise in a pasta salad, but this recipe is very tasty without it and the cashews are high in fat. If you follow a lower fat diet, limit nuts from your diet and/or are allergic to nuts, you do not need to include them. This will also save you time! Keep in mind that adding the cashews will bump it from 17-30% fat as a percentage of calories for the whole recipe; I try to stick to 10-20%.
  3. I prefer to cook my pasta slightly al dente, as it will marinate with everything in the fridge and soften during that time.
  4. I say it this way because I find that personal preference may like more sweetness or more crunch from the celery, or less spiciness from the onion. I've put the ingredients in the amounts I prefer you can always add more, so start with less and add if needed since you won't be able to take away.