Part healthy salad and part comforting pasta, this Tikka Masala Pasta Salad recipe has everything you love about your favorite Indian sauce in one bowl. Serve chilled or make ahead for an easy vegan meal, and enjoy hot or cold. Gluten-free, soy-free and nut-free option.
Indian food cravings are not to be taken lightly. However, when it’s just too hot to make hot and spicy tikka masala, but you’re still craving all those flavors, make this easy pasta salad tossed with a quick tikka masala dressing!
An Indian-inspired vegan pasta salad that’s satisfying, quick and easy, and made with simple, everyday ingredients! I love the versatility of the pasta salad. You can take it in so many directions.
This vegan pasta salad is great as a main course or side dish. It’s packed with lightly spiced and wonderfully aromatic Indian flavors, and includes a creamy no-mayo dressing and lots of crunchy fresh vegetables.
why you’ll love this tikka masala pasta salad
- it goes very quickly
- it’s very tasty
- it has vegetables, pasta and tofu.
- it can be made gluten-free and soy-free
- It satisfies both summer salads and Indian cravings with sauce!
More vegan pasta salad recipes:
Easy summer pasta salad with grilled vegetables
Tuscan pasta salad with lemon vinaigrette
Peanut and sesame noodle salad
Tabbouleh pasta salad
Southwestern Pasta Salad with Black Bean Dressing
Print recipe
Vegan Tikka Masala Pasta Salad
Part healthy salad and part comforting pasta, this Tikka Masala Pasta Salad recipe has everything you love about your favorite Indian curry in one bowl. Serve chilled or make ahead for an easy vegan meal, and enjoy hot or cold. Nut free. Options for gluten-free Soyfree
Servings: 4
calories: 223calories
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 4 ounces (113.4 g) farfalle or other pasta cooked according to package directions
- 1 big tomato thinly sliced or chopped
- 1/2 green pepper minced
- 1/2 cup Red onion chopped
- 6 to 7 ounces (170.1 g) firm or extra firm tofu chopped or cut into thin slices or rectangles
- 3 to 4 soup spoons 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 soup spoons tomato paste
- 2 soup spoons non-dairy yogurt or use a non-dairy creamer option like coconut cream or cashew cream or blended tofu
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garam masala less or more according to your preferences
- 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 according to your preferences
- 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 chickpeas
Instructions
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Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and rinse under cold water and add to a bowl.
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Chop the vegetables you plan to use, then add them to a bowl. Add tofu, cilantro and nuts or seeds and mix well.
Prepare the dressing:
-
Add all the dressing ingredients to a bowl and mix well. If the dressing is too thick, add about a tablespoon of water and stir. Heat it in a pan or in the microwave until it comes to a boil. Then taste and adjust the salt and flavor, it will be salty but it goes all over the bowl so you want to keep it a bit on the salty side. Heating the dressing helps the spices to bloom. Cool for a few minutes.
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Add this dressing to your salad bowl and toss well to coat. Taste and adjust salt and flavor. Add more lemon juice if needed, more black pepper if needed. Garnish it with a little more fresh cilantro, let it cool for 15 minutes or more then serve.
Remarks
- Yogurt substitute: use any other non-dairy creamer option like coconut cream or cashew cream or blended silken tofu
- Soy free: add a can of chickpeas instead of tofu.
- nut free : omit pecans and add seeds of your choice, use nut-free yogurt or non-dairy cream
- Gluten-free: use gluten-free pasta
Nutrition
Nutritional intakes
Vegan Tikka Masala Pasta Salad
Amount per serving
calories 223
Calories from fat 72
% Daily Value*
Fat 8g12%
Saturated fat 1g6%
Sodium 362mg16%
Potassium 330mg9%
Carbohydrates 30gten%
3g fiber13%
Sugar 5g6%
Protein 10g20%
Vitamin A 682UI14%
Vitamin C 22mg27%
Calcium 92mg9%
Iron 2mg11%
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Ingredients:
- pasta – farfalle or any other form of pasta cooked according to package directions
- vegetables: tomato, pepper, onion
- to add protein, I like to add firm or extra firm tofu to the salad. You can chop it or cut it into thin slices or rectangles
- chopped pecans are added for a bit of crunch. Instead, if pecans, you can use any other nut or seed like pumpkin seeds or hemp seeds or walnuts.
- chopped fresh cilantro adds color – feel free to use parsley if you’re not a cilantro fan
- For the dressing, we mix tomato paste with dairy-free 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 more authentic, but you can omit it or add 1/4 tsp ground mustard
- another optional add-on would be 1/2 cup to 1/4 cup chickpeas or white beans
Tips and variations:
- Yogurt sub: use any other non-dairy creamer option like coconut cream or cashew cream or blended silken tofu
- Soy free: add a can of chickpeas instead of tofu.
- nut free : omit the pecans and add the seeds of your choice
- Gluten free: use gluten-free pasta
How to make Vegan Tikka Masala Pasta Salad:
Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and wash in cold water and add to a bowl.
Chop the vegetables you plan to use, then add them to a bowl. Add tofu, cilantro and nuts or seeds and mix well.
Prepare the dressing:
Add all the dressing ingredients to a bowl and mix well.
If the dressing is too thick, add about a tablespoon of water and stir. Heat it in a pan or in the microwave until it comes to a boil. Then taste and adjust the salt and flavor, it will be salty but it goes all over the bowl so you want to keep it slightly salty. Heating the dressing helps the spices to bloom. Cool for a few minutes
Add this dressing to your salad bowl and toss well to coat. Taste and adjust salt and flavor. Add more lemon juice if needed, more black pepper if needed.
Garnish with fresh cilantro, let cool for 15 minutes or more, then serve.
Storage:
For best results, keep your leftover pasta salad in a sealed container. Typically, pasta salad lasts about 3-4 days when properly stored.
