A simple, healthy, vegan gluten free pasta salad with creamy, roasted artichokes, bright fresh basil, garlic and Parmesan cheese. Big flavors and SO easy!
PIN Vegan Gluten Free Pasta Salad
PIN Vegan Gluten Free Pasta Salad
(Originally post March 24/2014, Photos Updated March 2018, narrative not changed)
So, let’s be crazy.
And, by crazy, I mean let’s talk about stuff that DIDN’T HAPPEN this weekend.
1. I didn’t become queen of the universe. Drat.
2. I didn’t get to eat only cheesecake for ALL THE MEALS. Drat, the sequel.
3. I didn’t get to watch “Free Birds.”
Now, I want to talk about that last point some more. Have you heard of this new movie? It’s that cartoon about the turkeys that go back in time to the first Thanksgiving to get turkey off the menu? I have seriously been so excited to see it. Yes, you can judge.
It all started when it came out in Theatres. I actually dragged Mr. FFF out to see it, disguised as “date night.” You know what? It was the first weekend that we arrived in Florida and…WE GOT LOST ON THE WAY TO THE THEATRE! This caused us to miss the movie. Devastation ensued.
So, we found it at Redbox this weekend. Excitement ensued.
Until we got home…and tried to play the disc….and it DIDN’T PLAY BECAUSE IT WAS SO SCRATCHED.
I’m sorry for all the yelling, I’m just upset about the whole dealio.
So, I’m assuming that the world is out to get me, and really doesn’t want me to ever see “Free Birds.” Life is hard.
You know what though? Aside from the lack of cartoon turkeys in my weekend, it did have one redeeming factor. THIS VEGAN GLUTEN FREE PASTA SALAD.
Liiiiike, we’re talking SIMPLE, BOLD flavors that mix and mingle together to create the PERFECT Italian-esque notes on your tongue. Aaaand, tender, CHEWY but firm gluten free pasta. Not like the avocado pesto healthy pasta salad and healthy pasta salad with strawberries, where we TRIED to pretend the zucchini noodles were as good.
THEY ARE NO REAL PASTA.
In usual Taylor fashion, I decided to try something that I have never done before when making this spaghetti pasta salad – roasting an artichoke. Have you tried this? It’s really not all that hard. At all. It just looks scary because, well, have you seen an artichoke?
They’re pokey. Like little, vegetative dinosaurs.
How-ev-er, the slight peppery-ness of the olive oil not only paired ah-may-zing with the artichoke (kind of like in that spinach and artichoke stuffed chicken breast!) but with a slight POP of lemon juice to create the simplest, healthy vegan gluten free pasta salad recipe to ever walk the earth. Ya know, if pasta walked.
Never mind.
I was hoping to use the leftovers of this dairy free pasta salad to have super easy lunches for Mr. FFF to bring to work…until he ate the WHOLE SALAD in ONE DAY. <–CARB COMA.
At least I know it was good I guess?
If you wanna be the MVP of your next Potluck, make THIS. It would be even be a great pasta salad for kids!
Everyone will LOVE IT. And you’ll love how EASY IT IS.
Ingredients
For the artichokes:
- 3 Whole artichokes *
- 6 cloves Garlic, peeled
- 3 Tbsp Olive Oil
For the salad:
- 8 oz Gluten free spaghetti noodles
- 4 Tbsp Pine nuts
- 1 tsp Olive Oil
- 2 Tbsp Garlic, finely minced
- 1 1/2 Cups Cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 Cup Fresh basil thinly sliced
- Parmesan for topping (optional - leave off for vegan)
For the vinaigrette:
- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
- Juice of one large lemon
- Pinch of salt/pepper
Instructions
- To roast the artichoke:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees
- Cut off the top third and the bottom stem, right at the base, of each artichoke, so that they sit up straight.
- Place each artichoke on a large square of heavy duty tinfoil (or double layer of regular tinfoil) and stuff 2 garlic cloves into the top of each.
- Slightly spread the leaves apart with your fingers and drizzle each artichoke with olive oil, about 1 Tbsp or so.
- Wrap the tinfoil up tightly around each artichoke and place on a baking tray and into the oven until nice and soft, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. It could be slightly less and could be slightly more.
- Once the artichokes are roasted, let them cool until you can handle them.
- Pull each leaf off the artichokes(you can scrape off all the meat with your teeth if you like!) until you get to the base. Pop the bottom part off, which will reveal some furry looking stuff. Once you scrape that off, you have the artichoke heart!
- Repeat with remaining artichokes and thinly slice the hearts, and set aside. *^
- Bring a large potof salted water to a boil, and cook the pasta until al dente, about 8-9 minutes.
- While the pasta cooks, heat your oven to 400 degrees and toast the pine nuts until golden brown, about 5-7 minutes.
- Heat the 1 tsp olive oil in a small pan on medium/high heat and sauté the garlic until just golden brown, about 1-2 minutes.
- In a large bowl, toss together the cooked pasta, pine nuts, sauteed garlic, halved cherry tomatoes and sliced basil.
- Combine the olive oil, fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper and pour over the salad, tossing until evenly coated.
- Garnish with fresh, grated Parmesan cheese, if desired
- DEVOUR
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Info:
Recipes written and produced on Food Faith Fitness are for informational purposes only.
FOR THIS RECIPE, I RECOMMEND:
WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS PER SERVING: FREESTYLE SMART POINTS: 7 POINTS+:7 . OLD POINTS:5
(per 1/6 of recipe without cheese and not taking into account the oil for roasting artichokes, as it doesn’t touch the hearts, which is only what are used)
STAY IN DA KNOW (AND GET SPECIAL BEHIND-THE-SCENES INFO) BY FOLLOWING ALONG WITH FFF ON PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, AND TWITTER!
This post may contain affiliate links, but I only recommend products that I actually use and <3. Thanks for supporting FFF!
Chris @ Shared Appetite says
Great looking salad Taylor! And redbox has me so annoyed… it started out great when I first began renting stuff through them, but the last lik 5 movies we’ve rented have been so scratched that they skip like crazy and freeze part way through! Grrrrrr. Do you know you can go on their website and get a free credit for your next rental? But then you go to use your free rental and that one is scratched too, hahaha
Taylor Kiser says
Thanks Chris!
WHAT?! I didn’t know this. But, you have a point. UGH first world problems haha!
Amy @ Amy's Healthy Baking says
I totally wanted to see that movie too!! But we haven’t exactly gotten around to it either… At least my guy enjoys animated movies. We actually went to see “Monsters University” for my birthday and “Brave” too! Seriously awesome having a boy who willingly watches my favorite Disney movies along with his scary/bloody/action/shoot-em-up movies too. Maybe we’ll just have to watch the movie in between BlogHer sessions! 😉
Your photos look amazing for this pasta! Is this around when you started playing with the light? They look really bright and cheerful, and the colors really pop. Gorgeous! No wonder Mr. FFF ate it all in one day!!
Taylor Kiser says
Caleb is OBSESSED with Brave….I didn’t like it that much, but I did enjoy Monsters University!
YES to watching between sessions. Best ever.
Yep, these are light playing pictures! Thanks lovely, I was super pumped on these!! 😀
Amy @ Amy's Healthy Baking says
You’re welcome sweetie — they look fabulous!! 🙂
Jocelyn@Brucrewlife says
How terrible that you’re having such bad luck with that movie. I would’ve made my hubby go rent it from a different red box, ha! 😉 Thank goodness you had this pasta salad yumminess to make things all better! I need to cook with artichokes more often.
Taylor Kiser says
Haha…oh I thought about it girlfriend!
Thanks! Artichokes are DA BOMB. com!
Dorothy Boucher says
Hello 🙂 I am new to your page 🙂 I seen this and had to comment on it , talk about wow!! yummy Pasta happens to be one of my favorite dishes , I think I can eat it any way someone makes it.. lol with in reason heheh, thanks for share
Taylor Kiser says
Haha! I am RIGHT with you Dorothy. I ADORE pasta because it’s SO yummy and versatile! It’s so great to have you here, I hope that you find lots of recipes that you like! Thanks for the comment, it means a lot! 😀
Kris Kelbrants says
Hey there Taylor, honestly you are too cute. I love that someone shares my love for these type of movies, if you love that you have to see “Early Man” by the makers of Wallace & Gromit. My husband took me and my daughter to it, and wouldn’t tell us what we were seeing. I LOVED it. Cute message too. Then after that Google, The Muppets, singing “Danny Boy” between those 2 things, life will be full.
Oh yes, and I think I”ll bring this recipe to Easter dinner – thank you.
Last, would you be willing to share with a beginning blogger – a) what do you use to edit your photos with words/graphics – is it Canva? And where do you get the exact nutritional information? Thank yooooouuu!
Taylor Kiser says
I haven’t even heard of that one! Definitely must watch it! I LOVE those cutesey movies!
I use Lightroom and Photoshop, not canva 🙂 And I use Spark people recipe calculator for nutrition info! It’s Free 🙂
Emily says
Gluten free pasta is seriously so good now. There are so many different varieties of gluten free pasta now, and they don’t taste any different from normal. That’s cool that you roasted your own artichoke. I’ve never done that!
Taylor Kiser says
Right?! It used to be sooooo not good, but now GF options are so tasty! 🙂
Albert Bevia says
This is my type of pasta salad, loaded with so many great ingredients and flavors, specially fond of all that fresh basil and Parmesan….great post and recipe 🙂
Taylor Kiser says
Thank you! Fresh basil is my fav!
Sandra says
So is this pasta still good the second day. I’ve made some in the past and they turn to cardboard. Just curious.
Taylor Kiser says
I personally think so! 🙂
Katarina says
I made this for a summer block party, but the host is allergic to garlic so I made some modifications. I sliced two stalks of celery thin, coated them in cumin, and sautéed it in olive oil instead of using garlic. I also added about two tablespoons of fresh cilantro from my garden and I skipped the Parmesan. It’s delicious!
Taylor Kiser says
YUM! So glad you love it – your changes sound SO tasty!