01 Nov Cilantro Avocado Pasta Salad (GF, Seed Free, Nut Free)
Halloween is here, and it calls for my family’s annual pumpkin carving party!
I love halloween. It’s so fun to dress up and I love love love getting together with everyone and carving pumpkins. Our party turned out to have over 40 people this year, it was a bit crazy!
Having guests over means having to prepare food…… And for 40 people, my mom and I had a small panic attack. Of course, she picked the easiest route and ordered a giant pizza. And by giant, I mean GIANT! She got a 60 piece pizza from Big Mama’s and Papas Pizza in Eagle Rock, and it was bigger than the width my dining table. Along with this, she ordered 7 boxes of Little Caesar’s Pizzas. So our menu was pizza, candy, some random dips from trader joes, and cookie butter cookies (vegan, but not the best choice for healthy eating). For me, this was a disaster. What was I going to eat?
So, what’s a girl to do when she needs a quick and easy delicious vegan recipe to make with ingredients she had offhand? Head off to Pinterest of course! Pinterest is a life saver. If you haven’t checked it out, you are missing out. It has information about anything and everything you need. Any type of party you’re hosting, any recipe you want for a specific ingredient, you can find it there, along with all of the DIY crafts you need to make a new craft every single day for the rest of your life (seriously).
Let me just mention, this recipe is gluten free too! I discovered a delicious vegan organic gluten free pasta, with only 2 ingredients (quinoa and corn).
So anyways, I went onto Pinterest, and I found the perfect pasta salad recipe that was vegan and of ingredients I had in my fridge and pantry. It seriously took 30 minutes to make, and it was only that long because of the wait for the pasta to cook.
Anyone who is short of time or just needs ideas for a good party dish, check out Pinterest.
This recipe was originally posted on The Diva Dish.
Cilantro Avocado Pasta Salad (GF, Seed Free, Nut Free)
An easy and delicious pasta salad perfect for your next dinner party!
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 11 minutes
- Total Time: 36 minutes
- Yield: 4
Ingredients
Pasta Salad:
- 2 1/2 cups quinoa pasta
- 2 cups spinach
- 2 medium avocados, diced
- 1 (15 oz) can chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 1/4 cup onion finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
For the Dressing:
- Juice of 1 large lemon
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon agave
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- Dash of salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
Cook pasta as according to directions on packaging (about 11 minutes) . Once cooked, drain it and allow it to cool for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile in a food processor or high speed blender, blend together the cilantro and spinach in the food process until fine, but not mushy.
Pour into a large bowl, then gently mix in the garlic, onion, tomatoes, avocado, and beans. Once uniform, toss in the cooked pasta, then pour in the dressing and fold into the salad until everything is coated.
Place into the refrigerator to set for at least 10-15 minutes, then dig in!
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