Pasta Salad goes high protein, vegan and gluten-free If you’re a pasta lover you likely enjoy it hot or cold. Pasta, in the traditional sense, is a base for everything you add to it. The options are endless. But pasta traditionally means gluten, white refined flour and sauces rich in cheese or meat. This pasta salad avoids all the negatives yet still delights the taste buds. My new find, Banza pasta, is made from chickpeas and provides a protein punch with delicious satisfying pasta. This bean pasta won’t spike your blood sugar or have you craving dessert. Below I share how I made this dish, but there’s really not much you couldn’t add to a pasta salad. The real goal is to make it very healthy and adding a nice variety of healthy vegetables will make it colorful as well. I topped it with my homemade lemon Cashew Cream Sauce which is very easy to make a totally delicious.Let me know how you enjoy it!
1/8cupfinely chopped red onionalternatively you could use green onions
1 1/2cupscashew cream sauce – recipe below.
2cupsred potatoessteamed (optional)
1organic avocadochopped in medium pieces
1/2cuporganic cherry tomatoes
Cashew Cream Sauce
1 cup raw organic cashews
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2tsp garlic powder
2tbspnutritional yeast
1organic lemon, juiced you can add more lemon juice to taste
Zest of lemon
Salt to taste
Instructions
Pasta
Cook the pasta according to package directions. Once cooked, drain thoroughly and rinse with cool water until the pasta is cool to touch.
While the pasta is cooking, cook the potatoes, if you’re using them, cook the peas and lightly steam any other veggie you’re choosing to add.
Chop the uncooked veggies to your desired shape and size: red cabbage, onion and avocado.
Add all ingredients to the pasta
Top with the cashew cream sauce
Adjust seasonings
Cashew Cream Sauce
Cover the cashews with filtered water and let sit while the pasta is cooking. About 10 minutes is fine.
Pour the cashews plus the water into a high speed blender.
Add the rest of the ingredients: onion, garlic, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, zest and salt.
Blend on high until sauce is thick and creamy.
Taste and adjust as needed. If it’s a bit too thick and didn’t get creamy enough, add a little more water. This is a forgiving recipe. If you make it too watery just add more cashews, they don’t have to be soaked first. The idea is that it’s thick and creamy but easily pourable.
Notes
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