Green Pea Pasta Salad

This bright and flavorful Green Pea Pasta Salad is a lovely spring recipe. It's easy to make, offers lots of protein, and is totally vegan.

Course Lunch, Main Course, Salad

Cuisine American

Diet Vegan, Vegetarian

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 10

Total Time 20

Servings servings

Calories 527

Author Timothy Pakron

Ingredients

1 pound pasta mezze rigatoni or desired shape*
1 pound frozen peas
2 cloves garlic peeled and left whole
1 teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
⅓ cup olive oil
15 ounces cannellini beans drained and rinsed (1 can)
½ cup nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons rice vinegar or plain
1 teaspoon tamari or soy sauce
2 teaspoons dijon mustard or whole grain
2 large lemons
1 bunch parsley rinsed well and roughly chopped
1 bunch dill* rinsed well and roughly chopped

Instructions

Cook the pasta: Fill a large pot with water, salt generously, mix well, and bring to a boil. Once at a boil, throw in the pasta and mix well. Cook according to the instructions on the box, stirring every so often to prevent sticking.
Add the peas and drain: When the pasta is cooked to perfection, toss in the peas. Cook for only a few seconds and then strain the pasta and the peas into a colander and return to the stove with the heat off.
Season the peas and pasta: Microplane the garlic cloves directly into the pot (or you can mince them on a cutting board and add them). Then add in the salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and olive oil. Toss well to coat everything evenly. Then throw in the cannellini beans, nutritional yeast, rice vinegar, tamari, and dijon mustard. Toss again and transfer to a large serving bowl.
Add the fresh ingredients: Once the pasta salad has cooled down a bit, add in the juice and zest of both lemons, along with parsley and dill. Mix well to combine and give it a taste. Add more salt and pepper, if needed, and enjoy immediately or serve chilled.

Notes

Ideally, you want to use a bite-sized noodle that works well with collecting ingredients. The tubular shape of the small rigatoni featured here works nicely, but you could also use cavatappi or penne. This is up to you and really, any shape will be just fine.

If you don't have dill or would prefer to not use it, that's ok! The parsley will be just fine on its own. Just make sure to use the whole bunch! The more herbs the better, in my opinion.

Nutrition