This Vegan Tuna Pasta Salad is the perfect dish to bring to a friend’s house, have at a barbecue, or pack for an easy meal-prepped lunch! Even better, this Vegan Tuna Pasta Salad is vegan, which means it is dairy free. It is covered in a light yet creamy vegan yogurt dressing that even your non-vegan friends are sure to love. For more meal-prep friendly and satisfying salads, try my Meal Prep Orzo Salad and Spring Roll in a Bowl Salad next!
Jump to:
Notes on Ingredients
- Noodles: I used elbow noodles here, but any shape or kind of noodle works. I love to use high-protein pasta or you can use gluten-free pasta to make this recipe gluten-free.
- Chickpeas: Drain and thoroughly rinse chickpeas before using to help reduce any gas and bloat.
- Dairy Free Yogurt: Be sure to choose a plain and unsweetened yogurt option.
- Garlic Powder: You can use fresh garlic if you prefer (1 clove minced).
Please take note that this is important information about the ingredients used in this recipe and the FULL recipe with measurements and details can be found DOWN BELOW (scroll to it) in the recipe card.
How do you make Vegan Tuna Pasta Salad?
- Boil water and cook the noodles.
- Then, chop up the celery, red pepper, dill, and red onion.
- Steam the green peas.
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas, then mash them in a small bowl.
- In another small bowl, whisk together dressing ingredients.
- Then, in a large bowl, combine the noodles, veggies, and dressing together.
- Finally, toss the salad to combine and enjoy!
- Step 1: First, cook the noodles and chop the veggies. Steam the green peas and drain, rinse, and mash the chickpeas.
- Step 2: Then, whisk together dressing. In a large bowl, add all ingredients and toss thoroughly to combine.
Commonly Asked Questions
Store this pasta salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. It is best eaten cold so no need to reheat! The flavors in this salad get better over time so this dish makes for the perfect meal-prep!
Yes! Use certified gluten-free pasta noodles.
You can substitute any of the vegetables for other vegetables you have on hand. I recommend still cutting everything into super small, diced, bite size pieces so be sure to chop super well any veggies you use. (I love using a veggie chopper for this step!)
I recommend using a veggie chopper to get the same size, tiny pieces of veggies. I seriously use this chopping kitchen gadget all the time!
I love Siggi’s plant-based plain yogurt for this dressing.
Save this for later?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Extra Helpful Tips
- Avoid overcooking the noodles! You want to be able to stir the noodles with the rest of the ingredients and the sauce without them breaking apart or getting mushy. I recommend boiling your noodles 1 minute less than the box calls for.
- Dice all the veggies the same size into tiny pieces. You do not want random big bites of onion!
- If you don’t have a masher, use a fork to mash your chickpeas.
How to Store
Store this pasta salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. It is best eaten cold so no need to reheat!
If you tried this Vegan Tuna Pasta Salad or any other recipe on my blog please leave a 5 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Vegan Tuna Pasta Salad (with creamy yogurt dressing!)
Equipment
- 1 pot
- 1 knife
- 1 bowl large
- 1 potato masher optional
- 1 strainer
- 1 vegetable chopper optional
Ingredients
- 12 oz macaroni
- 15 oz can chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 1 cup celery diced
- 1 bell pepper diced red
- ½ cup onion diced red
- 1 cup peas steamed green
- ⅓ cup dill chopped fresh
creamy dressing
- ⅓ cup yogurt unsweetened dairy free
- ⅓ cup mayo vegan
- 3 tablespoon pickle brine
- 1 lemon juice
- 2 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Cook the pasta, then rinse with cold water.
- While pasta cooks, chop all of your vegetables to be the same size.
- Drain and rinse chickpeas, then mash with a masher or fork.
- In a small bowl, whisk dressing ingredients together until combined.
- Add the pasta, mashed chickpeas, veggies and dressing together in a bowl. Stir well until well coated in the dressing!
- Enjoy!
Erin says
This tastes amazing. I could eat it forever. Highly recommend.
Katie says
Hi! Just curious how much lemon juice to add to the dressing? Is it 1 lemon juiced or is there a measurement missing? Thanks!
Taylor says
Hi! Taylor from team HealthyGirl here!
1 lemon juiced 🙂
Carrie says
Hey, sounds great but confused how it’s a tuna salad without tuna? What am I missing?
Taylor From HealthyGirl Kitchen says
Tuna fish is not vegan, so this is a vegan tuna salad.
Briana says
What kind of df yogurt do you prefer for dressings?
Taylor From HealthyGirl Kitchen says
Siggis plain non flavored dairy free.
Amanda says
I’m not usually a pasta salad person, but the pickle brine in the dressing had me intrigued. I liked that this (and all her recipes) are very vegetable-forward. I used half the pasta and it still made plenty! Thank you!
Sarah Rumney says
This salad is delicious and easy to make!
Monica says
What great salad. So filling and it has a great texture. The recipe is missing the pickle serving. On the instagram reel she shows adding pickles. But I went ahead and added 2 dilly pickles.
Hyba says
Hello
I want to try this salad and I was just wondering in the reel you added olive oil in the dressing , may I ask how much ?
Thank you
Taylor From HealthyGirl Kitchen says
Hi! No Oil – Here are the ingredients for the dressing: Creamy dressing :
1/3 cup unsweetened dairy free yogurt
1/3 cup vegan mayo
3 tbsp pickle brine
1 lemon juiced
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
Jordan Stacy says
This pasta salad is addicting in the best way – it’s filled with fiber, plant-based protein, healthy fats, and nutrients!