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Vegan Ranch Pasta Salad {GF}

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Easy to make and much healthier than those boxed pasta salads, my tasty Vegan Ranch Pasta Salad would be perfect for BBQs, potlucks or parties! Plus it’s dairy and gluten-free! 

Plate of Vegan Ranch Pasta Salad with fork in foreground and large bowl of Vegan Ranch Pasta Salad in background

BBQs, picnics, and potlucks are such fun ways to celebrate with family and friends. I’m always looking for something delicious to bring to impress people and show them how tasty a plant-based diet can be like some Street Fair Corn or Ramen Noodle Salad. In my pre-vegan days, one of my favorite foods at our family BBQs used to be that boxed Betty Crocker Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad. It was obviously not the healthiest thing in the world but I loved it anyway. So much so that I usually ate like half the box myself!

Becuase I missed having that pasta salad during our BBQs, I decided to create a recipe that was healthier and plant-based that everyone would enjoy. So I came up with this copycat recipe that my whole family has loved (including omnivores). Now no one misses the old boxed stuff!

Dairy-Free Ranch

First, I needed to whip up a tasty vegan ranch dressing. I make a delicious ranch dipping sauce for my Buffalo Quinoa Balls and I considered using that. Although that sauce is tasty and would definitely work for this pasta salad, the ranch I ultimately created for the dish is quicker to make and a bit lighter in texture than my original version which I think works better on the pasta.

Added Protein

I love the taste of bacon bits and ranch together (did you know any of those bacon bits – like the one from McCormick – were actually vegan?!) but instead of using those since they are more processed, I thought tempeh could work as a good substitute – and it did! However, if you’re in a rush and have bacon bits on hand, you can always use them in this vegan ranch pasta salad instead of tempeh.

Most health food stores like Whole Foods will have tempeh and many large mainstream grocery stores carry it now – I have found some at my local Stop and Shop. If you have never tried tempeh or tried it before and didn’t’ think it was for you, give this cooking technique a try, it’s really good! I also use it in my Spicy Sesame Noodles and I talk about it more in my Teriyaki Tempeh.

overhead shot of Vegan Ranch Pasta Salad on plate with fork and large bowl

Vegan Ranch Pasta Salad

I hope you enjoy my vegan ranch pasta salad! If you get a chance to try out it out, please rate the recipe and leave me a comment below – I’d love to hear your thoughts. Share your pictures on Instagram too and tag @v.nutrition and #vnutrition so I won’t miss it!

This #vegan ranch pasta salad is a healthy and satisfying dish for any BBQ or potluck!Click To Tweet
5 from 1 vote
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Ranch Pasta Salad {gluten free}

Easy to make and much healthier than those boxed pasta salads, my tasty Vegan Ranch Pasta Salad would be perfect for BBQs, potlucks or parties! Plus it’s vegan, gluten free! 

Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 6 servings
Calories 258 kcal
Author Mary Ellen

Ingredients

PASTA

  • 12 oz gluten-free pasta shell pasta (or any kind that fits your diet)
  • 1/2 cup frozen baby peas
  • 6 sun-dried tomatoes chopped
  • 1 small carrot shredded

TEMPEH BACON BITS (use half of the recipe)

Vegan Ranch (see recipe below)

    Instructions

    1. Cook pasta to package directions.

    2. While pasta is cooking, put tempeh block in a bowl and mash it with a fork until crumbly. Then add tamari, apple cider vinegar, cumin, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

    3. Add oil to large pan. Once heated, add tempeh crumbles and cook for about 5 minutes until heated and browned.

    4. Make vegan ranch sauce (recipe below).

    5. When pasta is done, add peas to cooked hot pasta and let sit for about a minute to heat up the peas.
    6. Add carrots and sun-dried tomatoes to pasta.
    7. Stir ranch sauce into pasta.
    8. Mix in 1/2 of the tempeh (or feel free to use all of it if you want!).

    Recipe Notes

    This nutrition info is based on the chickpea pasta that I linked to in the ingredients list.

    Nutrition Facts
    Ranch Pasta Salad {gluten free}
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 258 Calories from Fat 59
    % Daily Value*
    Total Fat 6.6g 10%
    Total Carbohydrates 6g 2%
    Dietary Fiber 10g 40%
    Protein 18.6g 37%
    Vitamin A 76%
    Vitamin C 4%
    Calcium 7%
    Iron 34.3%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    5 from 1 vote
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    Vegan Ranch

    Rich and creamy ranch without the dairy!

    Course condiment
    Prep Time 5 minutes
    Servings 6
    Calories 187 kcal
    Author Mary Ellen

    Ingredients

    Instructions

    1. Add all ingredients to a high-speed blender and blend until smooth.

    Nutrition Facts
    Vegan Ranch
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 187 Calories from Fat 180
    % Daily Value*
    Total Fat 20g 31%
    Total Carbohydrates 2.9g 1%
    Protein 0.8g 2%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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    Vegan Ranch Pasta Salad on plate and closeup below

     

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    Vegan Ranch Pasta Salad | Easy to make and much healthier than those boxed pasta salads, my tasty Ranch Pasta Salad would be perfect for BBQs, potlucks or parties! Click to read more or repin to save for later!
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    Comments

    2. LOL!!! Two weekends ago, we were doing our food tasting for our wedding and this beautiful salad came out with a specific dressing for the salad and my fiance looked at it funny and was like, uh. I hate. it. And I looked at him like EXCUSE ME but you didn’t even try it… And he was like. Yeah, I know. But I also know it needs ranch. In fact, everything on this table needs some ranch. LMFAO!!!!

      Reply

      • Thanks Kimmy! I bet coconut bacon would be awesome in this! Great idea, next time I do a ranch kind of thing I’m totally using coconut bacon (and crediting you of course!).

        Reply

        • Ok I made this tonight for supper and pretty well kept the entire recipe the same, except I added broccoli as I had some in the fridge that needed using up. I did it with tempeh bacon too as I wanted to try it the way you made it the first time. Holy crap it’s insanely delicious! I had 1.5 bowls of it and wanted to keep going… but figured moderation was key 😉 SO GOOD!!!!

          Reply

          • I’m so glad you liked it Kimmy! Moderation is key but it’s hard lol.

            It’s funny, I actually asked Matt if I should add broccoli to this dish and he said I probably didn’t need it – good to know the broccoli worked in there too!

            Reply

    5. Oh, my gosh! I totally remember those boxed salads. I always had boxed salads & boxed rice mixes in my college dorm. They were easy to have on hand and cook with limited cooking equipment. It’s funny. I actually thought they were almost healthy because of the dehydrated vegetables in them! Well, it was better than my breakfast of Twinkies… Haha! Thank goodness for healthier versions like this one!

      Reply

      • I used to have soooo many boxed pastas in my dorm too! I got them on sale and then bought like 100 of them for the semester and ate the whole box myself!

        I thought they were healthy too – 2 tablespoons of dehydrated veggies were they only vegetables I probably ate that day!

        Reply

    7. Oh this looks so good! I love to add sundried tomatoes to my pasta salad as well… They’re so tasty! I need to try tempeh this way… We have a love/hate relationship: I would love to love it but every time I’ve had it I didn’t like it much. I’m about to give up!

      Reply

    11. I’m not sure why, but I’ve never actually tried making pasta salad (I only ever have it as just…well, pasta (with sauce + veggies/meat). I need to try this though–it looks amazing, and way better than the box!

      Reply

    16. It looks delicious! I haven’t made a pasta salad for a long time but my mum has a couple of favourites that she’s been making for years and it’s great to remake an old favourite but in a healthier way!

      Reply

    20. This pasta salad is delicious and so simple! It came together very quickly and tasted amazing 🙂 It is one of those dishes that you could never tell was vegan, which is great for sharing with family and friends who get turned off by the word vegan alone!

      Reply

      • Thank you so much! I am so happy you liked it! I’m with you, I bring this to parties and people don’t realize it’s vegan and they love it. When they find out it’s vegan, they’re so surprised – but probably wouldn’t have tried it if they heard the word vegan beforehand. 🙂

        Reply

      • Hi Margaret! I think it’s best the same day but I’ve eaten it a few days later and it still tastes really good. I guess it’s not the taste so much as it looks best the day you make it – pretty much like anything else. I made the video for this Monday and finished the last of it for lunch yesterday and I still really enjoyed it, one of my co-workers actually said it smelled really good. 🙂
        I might just add a little extra mayo if you are going to eat it a day or so later to keep it creamier.

        Reply

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