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Part healthy salad, part comforting pasta, this Tikka Masala Pasta Salad recipe has everything you love about your favorite Indian sauce in one bowl. Serve fresh or make ahead for an easy vegan meal, and enjoy either warm or cold. Gluten-free, soy-free & nut-free option.
Indian food cravings are not to be taken lightly. However, when it’s simply too hot to whip up a hot and spicy tikka masala, but you are still craving all those flavors, then make this easy pasta salad tossed with a quick tikka masala dressing!
An Indian-inspired vegan pasta salad that is satisfying, quick and easy and made with simple everyday ingredients! I love how versatile pasta salad is. You can take it in so many directions.
This vegan pasta salad is great as a main or a side dish. It is bursting with slightly spicy and wonderfully aromatic Indian flavors, and features a mayo-free creamy dressing and lots of crunchy fresh veggies.
why you’ll love this tikka masala pasta salad
- it comes together very quickly
- it’s very flavorful
- it has veggies, pasta and tofu.
- it can be made gluten-free Nutfree and Soyfree
- It satisfies both summer salad and saucy Indian food cravings!
More Vegan Pasta Salad recipes:
Easy Summer Pasta Salad with Grilled Vegetables
Tuscan Pasta Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
Southwestern Pasta Salad with Black Bean Dressing
Vegan Tikka Masala Pasta Salad
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 4 ounces farfalle or other pasta cooked according to package instructions
- 1 large tomato, thinly sliced or chopped
- 1/2 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup red onion, chopped
- 6 to 7 ounces of firm or extra firm tofu, chopped or made into thin slices or rectangles
- 3 to 4 tablespoons chopped pecans or other crunchy additions such as pumpkin seeds or hemp seeds or walnuts
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
For the dressing:
- 2.5 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons non-dairy yogurt or use non dairy cream option such as coconut cream or cashew cream or blended up tofu
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garam masala, less or more to preference
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 3/4 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder or paprika, less or more to preference
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, omit for less heat
- 1/2 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves, or use 1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
- Optional: 1/2 cup to 1/4 cup of chickpeas
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package, drain and rinse in cold water and add to a bowl.
- Chop up the vegetables that you plan to use then add to a bowl. Add the tofu, cilantro and the nuts or seeds and mix well.
Make the dressing:
- Add all of the ingredients of the dressing into a bowl and mix really well. If the dressing is too thick add in a tablespoon or so of water and mix in. Heat it in a skillet or microwave until it just comes to a boil. Then taste and adjust salt and flavor, it will be salty but it’s going over the entire bowl so you want to keep it a bit on the salty side. Heating the dressing helps the spices bloom. Cool for a few minutes.
- Add this dressing to your salad bowl, and toss well to coat. Taste and adjust salt and flavour. Add more lime juice if needed, more black pepper if needed. Top it with some more fresh cilantro, let it chill for 15 minutes or more then serve.
Video
Notes
- Yogurt substitute: use any other nondairy cream option such as coconut cream or cashew cream or blended up silken tofu
- Soyfree: add in a can of chickpeas instead of tofu.
- nutfree : omit the pecans and add seeds of choice, use Nutfree yogurt or non dairy cream
- Gluten-free: use glutenfree pasta
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredients:
Ingredients:- pasta – farfalle or any other shape of pasta cooked according to package instructions
- veggies: tomato, bell pepper, onion
- for added protein I like to toss some firm or extra firm tofu into the salad. You can chop it or cut it into thin slices or rectangles
- chopped pecans are added for some crunch. Instead if pecans you can use any other nut or seed such as pumpkin seeds or hemp seeds or walnuts
- fresh chopped cilantro adds some color – feel free to use parsley if you are not a fan of cilantro
- For the dressing, we blend tomato paste with non-dairy yogurt and lime juice
- tikka masala spices: salt, pepper, garam masala, coriander, garlic and onion powder, Kashmiri chili powder or paprika and cayenne
- dried fenugreek leaves make this taste extra authentic but you can omit this or add 1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
- another optional add-in would be 1/2 cup to 1/4 cup of chickpeas or white beans
Tips & Variations:
- Yogurt sub: use any other nondairy cream option such as coconut cream or cashew cream or blended up silken tofu
- Soyfree: add in a can of chickpeas instead of tofu.
- nutfree : omit the pecans and add seeds of choice
- Glutenfree: use glutenfree pasta
How to make Vegan Tikka Masala Pasta Salad:
Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package, drain and wash in cold water and add to a bowl.
Chop up the vegetables that you plan to use then add to a bowl. Add the tofu, cilantro and the nuts or seeds and mix well.
Make the dressing:
Add all of the ingredients of the dressing into a bowl and mix really well.
If the dressing is too thick add in a tablespoon or so of water and mix in. Heat it in a skillet or microwave until it just comes to a boil. Then taste and adjust salt and flavor, it will be salty but it’s going over the entire bowl so you want to keep it slightly salty. Heating the dressing helps the spices bloom. Cool for a few mins
Add this dressing to your salad bowl, and toss well to coat. Taste and adjust salt and flavour. Add more lime juice if needed, more black pepper if needed.
Top it with some fresh cilantro, let it chill for 15 minutes or more then serve.
Storage:
For best results, keep your leftover pasta salad in a sealed airtight container. As a rule, pasta salad lasts for about 3-4 days when properly stored.
This was really delicious! And forgiving. You don’t need all of the spices and you can adjust the spice level. I left out the tofu, but next time will add paneer and/or chicken. I added chick peas and pistachios for crunch. Very unique dish to bring to a potluck, too…full of flavor!
Yay! Glad you liked it.
We just happened to have left over farfalle in the fridge. This came together so fast and was delicious! We omitted the salt altogether and don’t miss it.
Awesome!
Another winner, Richa! Now, this is a Pasta Salad worthy of capital letters. It’s not your run-of-the-mill pasta salad — it’s got loads of deep, complex flavors. It’ll wake up your taste buds, and they’ll be crying for more!
I used a can of chickpeas instead of the tofu and added some zucchini, but I made the dressing with every ingredient in the list — even the dried fenugreek leaves. It is a scrumptious main dish pasta salad.
Thanks so much, Vicki! So glad you loved the recipe. Your review is so kind.
I could have eaten the whole recipe on my own :9 I was gonna skip the pecans because lazy, but they added smokiness, richness, and crunch, it was so moreish. Another winner from Richa and team. Thank you!
Yay! Glad you liked it.