Vegan Creamy Pesto Chickpea Salad (Printable Version)

A vibrant pasta salad highlighting creamy pesto, chickpeas, and peppery arugula for a fresh, nourishing lunch.

# What You Need:

→ Pasta

01 - 10 oz short pasta such as fusilli or penne

→ Creamy Vegan Pesto

02 - 2 cups fresh basil leaves
03 - 1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked 1 hour and drained
04 - 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
05 - 2 cloves garlic
06 - 2 tablespoons lemon juice
07 - 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
08 - 1/4 cup unsweetened plant-based milk
09 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
10 - Freshly ground black pepper to taste

→ Salad

11 - 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
12 - 3 cups fresh arugula
13 - 3.5 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
14 - 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
15 - 1 small cucumber, diced

# How To Make:

01 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water to cool completely.
02 - While pasta cooks, combine basil, soaked cashews, nutritional yeast, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, plant-based milk, salt, and pepper in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth and creamy, scraping down sides as needed. Adjust seasoning to taste.
03 - In a large mixing bowl, combine cooled pasta, chickpeas, arugula, cherry tomatoes, red onion, and cucumber.
04 - Pour the creamy pesto over the salad mixture and toss well to coat everything evenly.
05 - Taste and adjust seasoning with additional salt, pepper, or lemon juice as needed. Serve immediately or chill for 30 minutes to enhance flavors.

# Cooking Tips:

01 -
  • The pesto tastes genuinely creamy without a single dairy product, thanks to soaked cashews doing all the heavy lifting.
  • It's colorful, protein-packed, and feels like restaurant food but takes less than 30 minutes.
  • Chickpeas make it filling enough to be a main dish, but light enough you won't feel weighed down afterward.
02 -
  • The pesto will thicken slightly as it sits, so if you're making this ahead, save a bit of extra plant milk to loosen it right before serving.
  • Don't skip soaking the cashews—I learned this the hard way when I tried a shortcut and ended up with gritty, separated pesto that was impossible to fix.
03 -
  • For a nut-free version, blend sunflower seeds or silken tofu with the other pesto ingredients—both create an equally creamy texture without the cashews.
  • If you're short on time, skip the soaking step for cashews and use raw tahini instead; it adds creaminess instantly and changes nothing about how good this tastes.
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