Vegan Creamy Pesto Chickpea Salad (Printable)

A vibrant mix of pasta, creamy vegan pesto, chickpeas, arugula, and fresh vegetables for a light, nutritious meal.

# What You’ll Need:

→ Pasta

01 - 10 oz short pasta such as fusilli or penne

→ Creamy Vegan Pesto

02 - 2 cups fresh basil leaves
03 - 0.5 cup raw cashews, soaked 1 hour and drained
04 - 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
05 - 2 cloves garlic
06 - 2 tablespoons lemon juice
07 - 0.25 cup extra virgin olive oil
08 - 0.25 cup unsweetened plant-based milk
09 - 0.5 teaspoon salt
10 - Freshly ground black pepper to taste

→ Salad

11 - 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
12 - 3 cups fresh arugula
13 - 3.5 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
14 - 0.5 small red onion, thinly sliced
15 - 1 small cucumber, diced

# How To Make It:

01 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package instructions until al dente. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold running water until completely cooled.
02 - While pasta cooks, combine basil, soaked cashews, nutritional yeast, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, plant milk, salt, and black pepper in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides as needed. Adjust seasoning to taste.
03 - Transfer the cooled pasta to a large mixing bowl. Add chickpeas, arugula, cherry tomatoes, red onion, and cucumber.
04 - Pour the creamy pesto over the salad mixture and toss thoroughly until all ingredients are evenly coated.
05 - Taste and adjust seasoning with additional salt, pepper, or lemon juice as desired. Serve immediately or refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow flavors to meld.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The cashew pesto sneaks in so much creaminess that nobody will notice there's no dairy involved.
  • Chickpeas make this genuinely filling enough to be a main dish, not just a side sitting on the plate apologetically.
  • You can throw it together on a weeknight without any real cooking skills—just a blender and confidence.
02 -
  • If you don't soak those cashews, your pesto will taste gritty and bitter—learned that the hard way on a Tuesday night when I was impatient.
  • Don't dress this more than a few hours ahead or the arugula will turn into defeat; it wilts quietly and ruins everything.
03 -
  • Don't skip the soaking step for cashews—it's literally the difference between silk and sad, and it only takes an hour of planning.
  • Taste the pesto before it meets the pasta; this is your moment to adjust it to exactly how you want it, not how the recipe dictates.
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