Veggie Pasta Primavera

Vegan pasta primavera is a perfect dish for cleaning out your fridge and using up those veggies that are about to go bad. I like to use a medley of colorful produce, but my staples are always bell peppers and onions. There are times when these are the only two ingredients that make it into the dish, and it’s still wonderful and satisfying! During the summer months, with the vast variety of garden and seasonal vegetables available, I never make it the same twice!

The homemade vegan parmesan used in this recipe is a secret ingredient that can be used in lots of other dishes and even veggie pizza and our spaghetti with vegan meatballs or this vegan meatball sandwich.

Ingredients needed

The recipe card at the bottom of the page has the full list of ingredients with measurements and instructions.

These simple plant-based ingredients are all that you need to make vegan pasta salad in your own kitchen.

• Pasta- Use any vegan pasta you prefer from spaghetti to bow tie varieties.
• Vegetable broth– It’s really easy to make your own veggie broth from vegetable scraps if you want to give it a try.
• Veggies- We include vegetables like bell peppers, onions, cherry tomatoes, and fresh basil. Other options include mushrooms, broccoli, squash, zucchini, snow peas, and shelled edamame.
• Seasonings- Simple dry spices include Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Other seasonings are lemon juice and veggie broth.
• Vegan parmesan- We’ve included an easy homemade vegan parmesan recipe that takes about 5 minutes to make and is great to keep on hand for other dishes.

Variations & Shortcuts

1. Precut Veggies- Most supermarkets carry fresh chopped fajita veggies like tri-color peppers and sliced onions in the frozen section which work really well in this recipe and save you from needing to chop vegetables.
2. Turn it into spaghetti- Looking to mix things up and turn an ordinary primavera pasta recipe into something fun?  Use traditional spaghetti or angel hair pasta and, because the veggies are sliced into long strips, you can eat your veggie spaghetti with chopsticks. Perfect for a summer picnic basket at the park!

How to make vegan pasta with veggies

STEP #1: You will want to begin by making the homemade vegan parmesan which is super easy. Simply add all of the parmesan ingredients to your blender and Pulse but don’t blend.

STEP #2: The texture will become a fine meal perfect for sprinkling on vegan spaghetti and vegetable lasagna. Set it to the side while preparing the other ingredients.

STEP #3: Preheat your oven to 450°F. Wash and slice the veggies you plan to use. For me, green bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, and purple onions are always on the list. Other options might include mushrooms, broccoli florets, squash, zucchini, snow peas, and shelled edamame. Toss the prepped vegetables, except for the tomatoes and basil, into a large bowl.  Add the vegetable broth, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and garlic to the bowl. 

STEP #4: Thoroughly coat the veggies with the seasoning mix and then spread them out thinly on a baking sheet. I use a silicone baking mat to roast the veggies without oil, or you can use parchment paper if you don’t have a mat. Be sure to spread them out evenly, we want them in direct contact with the heat of the pan so that they will crisp up a little around the edges. Once the veggies are coated, pop them into the preheated oven and roast for 20 minutes or until tender with slightly caramelized edges.

STEP #5: While the veggies are cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the pasta in salted water according to the package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of the water from the pasta before draining.

STEP #6: When the pasta is cooked and drained, add it back to the now empty pasta pot and begin adding in the reserved pasta water, roasted vegetables, cherry tomatoes, and half of the vegan parmesan cheese.