July 4th and Thanksgiving are my homesick holidays. The clear start to summer and the Christmas season that those holidays represented is missing now. I feel so left out over here in Denmark… I wish I could be home in New England, having an American barbecue, watching fireworks, and joining the rest of my country in a long weekend.
Instead, it’s business as usual today, the sun won’t set until after ten, and it won’t get truly dark. Danes love the “light nights” of summer, but I miss looking for shooting starts on summer nights.
However, a veggie barbecue is on my weekend agenda, and I thought it would a good opportunity to share my vegan no mayo pasta salad recipe with you. Since it uses a red wine vinaigrette in place of mayonnaise, this recipe is perfect for picnics and barbecues.
The flavors and textures in this easy no mayo pasta salad recipe remind of the Marks & Spencer salad boxes I can’t get enough of when we’re in London… I’m practically obsessed with recreating them!
Vegan No Mayo Pasta Salad Recipe
1 lb. tri-color pasta, cooked & drained
1 tomato, seeded & diced
2 – 3 spring onions, sliced
1/2 cup minced cucumber
salt
olive oil
vinaigrette (recipe follows)
Toss the cooked pasta with a bit of olive oil to keep it from sticking together, then chill it for a few hours. Add the tomato, spring onions, and cucumber to the chilled pasta, sprinkle it with a bit of salt and chill it again until you’re ready to serve it. Right before you serve it, mix it up, and stir in some vinaigrette.
Vinaigrette
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 T sugar
2 T minced shallots
dash onion powder
1/4 t garlic powder
1/8 t coarse black pepper
1/8 t oregano
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 T dijon mustard
1 t lemon juice
1/4 t parsley
1/8 t salt
1/8 t basil
Put everything in a blender and blend it on high until it’s thick and creamy, then chill it until you’re ready to serve it.
Straight out of the fridge, this vegan no mayo pasta salad recipe is one of my favorite hot weather meals… it’s also great at room temperature as a side dish.
P.S. As part of my ongoing obsession with Marks & Spencer salads, I’ve dissected the ingredients list and recreated Marks & Spencer’s orzo pasta salad recipe here.
Reginia Cordell says
Being an expat is tough around the holidays. You’re right, it’s business as usual. There are a few groups here in Abu Dhabi who are having BBQs but I’m sitting them out. This pasta salad would be perfect at a BBQ. It looks fresh with all the veggies.
Sage says
I had the same in Denmark. I participated in the expat events when I first moved over, but I didn’t enjoy them, so now I just sit them out.
Joanne T Ferguson says
What a healthy and delicious looking pasta salad! I guess we all get into the routine of thinking mayo needs to go into pasta salad for it to be good! What a great summer salad and this would be great at a BBQ I was invited to for next week!
Kita Bryant says
The vinaigrette sounds better than the Mayo. I admit I use Mayo for every one of my salads but this sounds much better and much more tastier and healthy too. I will be trying this because I fix a lot of salads during the summer.
Mykidsguide says
This looks delicious and I love that it’s so healthy. I love mayo, but we know that it can be unhealthy if you have too much. The vinaigrette dressing is light and it sounds really good. I can’t wait to try this.
Sandy KS says
This is a very colorful salad. I make one similar to it. I add more veggies in.
As for missing your holidays. You can always create your own and create red, white and blue food theme to celebrate.
Sage says
I’ve tried that, and I’ve got a good Thanksgiving going, but any expat will tell you it’s not as simple as creating your own themes when you live so far away. Something major is missing when everyone else is going about their regular business and you’re like, ‘but wait, it’s a holiday!’
Christmas is celebrated on the 24th here instead of the 25th, and even that feels ‘off.’
It’s just how it is, but I don’t think I’ll stop missing home.
Brea says
This.Looks.Amazing. I love a good vinaigrette based salad recipe, but I’ve never thought to put it on pasta! I will definitely have to try this!
Sage says
So good on pasta : -)
Tyra says
This sounds so light for the summer months. And the lack of mayo makes it so much more healthy (and probably more flavorful). I will definitely be trying this out at the next BBQ, I’m a sucker for a good pasta salad!
tammileetips says
I love to make pasta salad! I prefer the ones with no mayo because its so much easier to store for bbqs when it’s so hot outside. That would be hard to be in another country for the 4th and miss the celebration back home.
Sage says
It’s tough for sure, but I’m happy to be an expat in the era of Facebook, Skype, and the internet. I can’t imagine how isolated I’d feel otherwise.
ODDree ANYwhere says
The pasta looks good. I have moved to a plant based diet and have been trying to get rid of animal products!
Sage says
I’ve been a strict vegetarian pretty much since I was 15, and I wish you every success in your switch!
CouponDivaDesirae says
That looks delicious! I am a hater of mayo, and hate it in just about everything except for deviled eggs. Something about the taste just makes me want to vomit. I have several boxes of these veggie noodles in the pantry that I will have to put to use with this recipe. Thanks again & I will be pinning it for later.
Sage says
Yay! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do : -)
Krystal's Kitsch says
I love making pasta salad! I have been truly missing out on it because I thought I didn’t “like” it! I made a recipe this summer and realized WHAT I WAS MISSING! I love that this one doesn’t use mayo. Sometimes mayo is overpowering for me.
Sage says
Oh yes… tastes change. It’s good to challenge yourself from time to time. From a food standpoint, moving abroad was one of the best things I’ve ever done because it totally challenged my perceptions of what I like and don’t like.
Erin says
This looks delicious! I miss ‘real’ pasta salad because my boyfriend is allergic to wheat, so we get everything gluten free now. Just doesn’t taste the same. But the women’s group at my church is having a picnic-themed activity soon and I’m in charge of food, so I do believe I’ve found one of the items for the meal!
Sage says
Enjoy : -)
plasterer bristol says
This sounds really delicious and something new to try. Thank you for sharing this.
Simon
Catherine @ Story Snug says
I know how you feel being an expat and missing your own country’s holidays :(
Thank you for sharing this delicious looking recipe :)
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