Creamy vegetarian taco pasta salad with healthy avocado hemp hearts dressing! A quick and easy meal is perfect for lunch, dinner, parties, and potlucks.
The new recipe in my “easy dinner ideas” theme is a delicious vegetarian taco pasta salad with creamy avocado dressing. Earlier I had shared kanjiyum payarum and falafel salad, do check those recipes too.
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Pasta doesn’t have to be cheesy; you can make some filling pasta salad recipes that can be relished as a side or for any meal, and this taco pasta salad is one such recipe. If you love pasta like me, then do check out my 10 must try vegetarian pasta recipes.
Our favorite seasoning these days is taco seasoning. I am using it in most Mexican-inspired dishes, be it my Tex Mex veggies or vegetarian taco soup, or this pasta; I used the taco seasoning to flavor it. Like every other salad recipe, you can customize this as per your preference.
Healthy avocado hemp hearts dressing.
The dressing is so creamy, but I haven’t used any mayo or sour cream. All the goodness comes from avocado and hemp hearts. The taco seasoning, cilantro, and lemon juice add tons of flavor too. This avocado dressing is versatile, and you can use this as a sandwich spread or a dip. Please do give this a try and I am sure you will be making this again and again.
Now let’s get straight into the ingredient details and the recipe.
Ingredients
Pasta: You can use any pasta of your choice. I have used two cups of Garofalo pasta for this salad.
Other ingredients for the salad: Along with pasta, we also need kidney beans, frozen corn thawed to room temperature, onions, tomatoes, and bell peppers.
For the creamy avocado dressing: We need avocado, hemp hearts, lemon juice, cilantro, and taco seasoning.
Apart from these ingredients, we also need water to cook the pasta, salt, and olive oil. Please check the recipe card for the exact measurements.
Substitutions and variations
- For a gluten-free option, you can use gluten-free pasta like quinoa pasta or lentil pasta. Alternatively, you can skip the pasta and add more greens and vegetables to make it a taco vegetable/garden salad.
- Use black or pinto beans instead of kidney beans or a combination.
Dietary specifications and storing suggestions
This taco pasta salad is nut-free and vegan. I always make this pasta fresh as needed and, so far, have stored it in the refrigerator for a day. You can enjoy this pasta warm or cold and serve it with soup of your choice for a filling meal.
How to make vegetarian taco pasta salad
Cook the pasta
- Cook the pasta of your choice according to the package instructions. I cooked my two cups of dried pasta in 6 cups of boiling water with 1 tsp salt for 8 minutes. Make sure to cook the pasta aldente. Reserve ⅓ cup of pasta cooking water and drain the remaining water.
- Spread the pasta on a plate, add ½ tbsp of oil, and mix well. Add oil and spreading in a plate helps prevent pasta from clumping.
Prepare the dressing
- In a blender, add the sliced avocado (reserve some for the salad, too. I used one and a half avocados for the dressing), lemon juice, hemp hearts, taco seasoning, and cilantro. (reserve a tsp or two for the salad)
- Blend it smoothly by adding ⅓ cup of the reserved pasta water.
Assemble the salad
- Add the cooked pasta, chopped onion, bell peppers, tomato, cilantro, kidney beans, corn, olive oil, and remaining salt to a mixing bowl.
- Add the prepared dressing too.
- Mix well. Check for the seasoning and adjust accordingly. Serve it with a slice of lemon and sliced avocados.
Recipe Notes
- I did not add any jalapenos. Add a tsp of finely chopped deseeded jalapenos or ½ of dark chili powder for a spicy version.
- We need two medium-sized avocados for this recipe. Depending upon the size, adjust the number of avocados. But you won’t need more than two avocados for this measure.
- I kept this taco pasta salad vegan and did not add any sour cream or cheese. You can add both for a much creamier version.
- Adjust the measure of vegetables as per your preference. You can also include red and green bell peppers.
- Make sure to cook the pasta aldente.
- If you feel the pasta is dry, add one more tbsp of oil but not more.
More vegetarian pasta recipes
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📖 Recipe
Vegetarian Taco Pasta Salad With Avocado Hemp Hearts Dressing
Ingredients
Measurement Details: 1 cup=240ml; 1 tbsp = 15ml; 1 tsp = 5ml;
- 2 cups Garofalo pasta or pasta of your choice
- 2 tsp salt divided
- 6 cups water or as required to cook the pasta
- 15.5 oz kidney beans 1 can
- ¼ cup corn frozen, thawed to room temperature
- ½ cup tomato chopped. 1 Roma tomato
- ½ cup colored bell peppers finely chopped
- 1.5 tbsp olive oil divided
- ½ cup onion half of medium-sized onion
For the dressing
- 2 tbsp hemp hearts
- 2 tsp taco seasoning
- 2 medium-sized avocado divided
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- ¼ cup cilantro finely chopped
Instructions
Cook the pasta
- Cook the pasta of your choice according to the package instructions. I cooked my two cups of dried pasta in 6 cups of boiling water with 1 tsp salt for 8 minutes. Make sure to cook the pasta aldente. Reserve ⅓ cup of pasta cooking water and drain the remaining water.
- Spread the pasta on a plate, add ½ tbsp of oil, and mix well. Add oil and spreading in a plate helps prevent pasta from clumping.
Prepare the dressing
- In a blender, add the sliced avocado (reserve some for the salad, too. I used one and a half avocados for the dressing), lemon juice, hemp hearts, taco seasoning, and cilantro.
- Blend it smoothly by adding ⅓ cup of the reserved pasta water.
Assemble the salad
- Add the cooked pasta, chopped onion, bell peppers, tomato, cilantro, kidney beans, corn, olive oil, and remaining salt to a mixing bowl.
- Add the prepared dressing too.
- Mix well. Check for the seasoning and adjust accordingly. Serve it with a slice of lemon and sliced avocados.
Notes
- I did not add any jalapenos. Add a tsp of finely chopped deseeded jalapenos or ½ of dark chili powder for a spicy version.
- We need two medium-sized avocados for this recipe. Depending upon the size, adjust the number of avocados. But you won’t need more than two avocados for this measure.
- I kept this taco pasta salad vegan and did not add any sour cream or cheese. You can add both for a much creamier version.
- Adjust the measure of vegetables as per your preference. You can also include red and green bell peppers.
- Make sure to cook the pasta aldente.
- If you feel the pasta is dry, add one more tbsp of oil but not more.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.
Delicious recipe 😋 Made this on a weekday lunch . Such a quick recipe to put together. Kudos to you for coming up with such wonderful creative recipes .
K and I enjoyed this warm .
I made a few changes like , fajitas instead of chopped bell peppers and used orzo . Tasted like a Chipotle bowl .. so flavorful.
That’s a great idea. Thanks for sharing.