Vegan Greek Pasta Salad

Step 1

If you have store-bought vegan feta cheese, skip to the next step. If you want to make my recipe for vegan tofu feta cheese, start by pressing the water out of your tofu for about 10 minutes (or 15 minutes) so that it can absorb flavors. You can use a tofu press or wrap paper towel around the tofu block and use a heavy pan on top to help press water out while you make the marinade. Mix the rest of the tofu feta ingredients in a large mixing bowl until smooth: 2 tbsp nutritional yeast, 2 tbsp miso paste, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1 tbsp garlic powder, 1 tbsp dried oregano, 1 tsp salt and 2 tbsp olive oil (optional). Cut pressed tofu into small cubes and mix with the marinade. Allow tofu cubes to marinate while you prepare the Greek pasta salad.

Step 2

Meanwhile, cook your preferred pasta according to package instructions. To make this recipe higher in protein, use a high-protein pasta.

Step 3

While pasta is cooking, prepare your Greek salad vegetables. Dice the bell pepper and red onion. De-seed the cucumber by cutting out the side part with a knife or spooning out (to prevent pasta from getting soggy) and dice into small pieces. Finely chop the fresh parsley. Slice black olives into small slices. Cut grape tomatoes in half or leave them whole to prevent the salad from getting soggy.

Step 4

Once the pasta has finished cooking, drain, rinse and set aside. Let it cool before putting everything together.

Step 5

In a large mixing bowl or pot of pasta, combine the cooked pasta, bell pepper, red onion, cucumber, parsley, grape tomatoes, black olives, tofu feta cheese as well as a can of chickpeas (drained and rinsed).

Step 6

IF you have a store-bought vegan Greek pasta salad dressing you want to choose, skip to the next step. For a homemade Greek dressing, mix together the juice of 1 freshly squeezed lemon, 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 1/4 cup nutritional yeast and 2 tbsp olive oil.

Step 7

Pour the salad dressing over the pasta salad and toss until well combined.

Step 8

Enjoy your vegan Greek pasta salad right away or store in tightly sealed container(s) in the fridge for up to 4 days.