Creamy Pesto Pasta Salad with Healthy Dairy-Free Ingredients

The Italians really knew what they were doing when they invented pesto. It elevates fresh basil to a near addictive level and pairs so well with pasta. The caveat: pesto usually contains cheese. Fortunately, it’s easy to make your own pesto at home, and cheese really isn’t required. Seriously! This creamy dairy-free pesto pasta salad employs a few tasty tricks and is easy to modify without sacrificing flavor.

Why You’ll Love this Dairy-Free Pesto Pasta Salad

• Full-Flavored: The perfect balance of salt and other natural ingredients replaces the umami in this cheese-free dish.
• Light & Healthy: The oil is reduced and replaced with tofu for a creamy finish without added fat. You can even make it oil-free!
• Ready in Minutes: You don’t need to refrigerate it ahead of time. Simply blend the pesto, toss with the cooked pasta and tomatoes, and enjoy!
• So Versatile: We’ve included a ton of options below to help inspire your custom made dairy-free pesto pasta salad.

Recipe Options

Pasta Choices

You can make this dish even higher in protein with lentil pasta (also gluten-free). But if you are going to make it ahead, regular wheat pasta or corn pasta (for gluten-free) tend to keep best. Lentil pasta and many other types of gluten-free pastas don’t hold up well when refrigerated.

Herb Variations

Feel free to swap in other fresh herbs in for part of the basil. We really like parsley, but oregano, tarragon, or cilantro can each add a different flavor twist. You can even use part spinach if you want to tone down the herbs.

Tasty Additions

• Bell Peppers, chopped
• Roasted Red Peppers, drained and sliced
• Sun-Dried Tomatoes in Oil, drained and sliced
• Sweet Or Purple Onion, sliced
• Kalamata, Black, or Mild Green Olives, halved or sliced
• Baby Spinach or Arugula Leaves
• Carrot, shredded
• Leftover Roasted Vegetables (like Zucchini or Broccoli)
• Chopped Cooked Chicken (not vegan, of course)
• Chickpeas, drained or roasted

Recipe FAQs

• Can I Make this Pasta Salad Ahead? It is best fresh, but I do have a few tips for helping it last a few days in the refrigerator. Use oil, don’t substitute water or milk alternative. Store the tomatoes separately, and add them before serving. And finally, add a squeeze of lemon juice to the pesto to help keep the basil from oxidizing too much.
• Can I Omit the Nutritional Yeast? Yes, you can. The small amount in this recipe adds a hint of cheesiness. It combines with the salt and nuts to help mimic parmesan. But the pasta salad will still be delicious without it.
• Do You Have a Soy-Free Option? Yes, but it will be higher in fat. You can make a double batch of our classic Dairy-Free Pesto and use it instead.

Special Diet Notes: Dairy-Free Pesto Pasta Salad

By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, optionally gluten-free, peanut-free, vegan, plant-based, and vegetarian.

For nut-free pesto pasta salad, you can substitute sunflower seeds for the nuts.

Alisa Fleming

Dairy-Free Pesto Pasta Salad

5 from 1 vote

This dish is best when served fresh. If you opt to make it ahead or store any leftovers, then you might want to add a little lemon juice to the sauce. It helps to preserve the freshness of the basil and tastes good too!

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Servings: 8 servings

Course: Entree

Cuisine: Italian

Calories: 294

Ingredients Method Nutrition

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x?

• 16 ounces pasta (can use gluten-free, if needed)
• ¼ cup pine nuts
• 3 to 4 large garlic cloves
• 3 cups fresh basil
• 5.5 ounces firm silken tofu drained
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (can sub water or unsweetened milk alternative for oil-free)
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
• ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
• 1 ½ cups cherry tomatoes halved
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste (optional)

Method

 

1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions, and then rinse with cool water. Put the cooked pasta in a large bowl.
2. Put the pine nuts and garlic in your food processor or blender and pulse until finely minced. Add the basil, tofu, oil (or liquid), nutritional yeast, and salt and process until smooth.
3. Pour the creamy pesto sauce over the pasta and add the tomatoes. Toss until evenly coated.
4. Sprinkle with black pepper, if desired. Enjoy immediately!

Nutrition

Serving: 1 servingCalories: 294kcalCarbohydrates: 45.6gProtein: 10.5gFat: 7.9gSaturated Fat: 1.2gSodium: 157mgPotassium: 294mgFiber: 3gSugar: 2.4gVitamin A: 639IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 56mg

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