Creamy Broccoli Pasta Salad with Green Goddess Dressing

This easy broccoli pasta salad (4 ingredients + dressing!) is the kind of creamy, comforting side dish that will make any meal more craveable. It makes a big batch so you can feed a crowd, and the tahini + mayo green goddess dressing is naturally plant-based but so flavourful, no one will know…but they WILL ask for the recipe.

I actually freaking love a pasta salad. I also love a creamy pasta. So why, when you put the two things together, do they sometimes turn out so disappointing? Like bland city, population me. I swear it’s why you see so much cheese and bacon in pasta salad recipes, ha ha…it masks the blahness of the salad itself.

But, um, I don’t eat those things, so when I want a really flavourful creamy, cold pasta salad I’ve gotta be clever. Which means leaning on one of my favourite things – fresh herbs – to make a ridiculously flavourful green goddess pasta salad dressing that’s gonna take things over the top. It clings to every nook and cranny in the broccoli and pasta and you won’t even miss the cheese.

This broccoli pasta salad is also kinda sneaky and healthy…with plenty of green veggies and a surprising little boost of protein. As a dietitian, I know it always shocks people to realize that pasta has some protein, as do peas. So a serving of this pasta salad has about 9g of protein and 3g of fiber, even with white pasta. That’s not nothing!

If you need a good veggie burger to serve this with, I highly recommend my easy chickpea falafel burgers! Want more flavourful, plant-based recipes that everyone will love, pick up a copy of my cookbook, Plant Magic!

Steal my 4 secrets to making this broccoli pasta salad extra flavourful

When a pasta salad is this simple, little details matter. After years of making pasta salads, these are the tricks I swear by to make your pasta salad actually taste like something.

The first: you must (must!) generously salt your pasta water so that the pasta itself is flavourful. Skip this and the pasta is a raft of nothingness in a sea of herby goodness.

Second: you’re gonna blanch the broccoli super quick in the pasta water. I’m sorry, but raw broccoli isn’t nearly as flavourful as one that’s had a quick dip in a salty pool.

My third secret? rinse and then dry the pasta for a few minutes as it cools so that there is less water clinging to the pasta that would dilute the dressing. You want the dressing to cling to the pasta like an annoying ex.

Finally: Layer the flavour. The dressing has plenty of herbs, but we’re gonna add MORE fresh herbs to the salad itself. The fresh basil gives you a burst of intense flavour that amplifies all the fresh herbs in the dressing.

More potluck and picnic ready salads:

• Creamy Vegan Potato Salad with Diced Tofu
• Marinated White Bean Side Salad with Olives
• Greek-ish Chickpea Salad with Creamy Balsamic Dressing
• Creamy Maple Tahini Kale and Apple Salad
• Nourishing Kale and Quinoa Salad with Edamame

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Creamy Broccoli Pasta Salad with Green Goddess Dressing

This easy broccoli pasta salad (4 ingredients + dressing!) is the kind of creamy, comforting side dish that will make any meal more craveable. It makes 8-12 servings so you can feed a crowd.

Course Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Diet Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword allergy friendly potluck dishes, dairy free pasta salads, healthy pasta salad, vegan pasta salads

Dietary Preference Gluten-Free, nut free, vegan, vegetarian

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 8 servings

Author Desiree Nielsen, RD

Equipment

• immersion or bullet blender for the dressing

Ingredients

• ¾ pound of your favourite pasta I like bow ties
• ½ pound broccoli crown chopped into bite sized florets
• 2 cups frozen peas
• 1 cup fresh basil sliced or torn
• 2 batches vegan green goddess dressing

Imperial – Metric

Instructions

• Cook pasta according to package directions. Blanch broccoli in last 1 min of cooking pasta.
• Place frozen peas in the colander, and drain pasta over the peas, to help thaw the peas and cool the pasta. Rinse the pasta very well with cold water.
• So you don’t dilute the dressing, let pasta dry! Spread everything onto a rimmed baking sheet for 5 minutes to dry.
• Place salad ingredients in a large salad bowl. Toss everything with half the dressing, assess and add more if you want. I typically use ¾ of the dressing.
You can use the last ¼ of the dressing, thinned with a tiny bit of water, to refresh leftovers if the dressing gets sucked up.

Notes

This salad serves 8-12 as a side dish, depending how many other dishes are on the table! It keeps really well for 3-4 days, but the dressing might need a refresh for more flavour.

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