vegan cheeseburger pasta salad
This will be the star of every BBQ you go to this summer! It's everything you love about a classic cheeseburger put into a creamy vegan pasta salad.
Servings 7 to 8 cups
Ingredients
cheeseburger pasta salad
- 3 C / 280g small pasta shells
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 C veggie ground round, such as frozen Gardein beefless ground round
- 1 ¼ C white onion, finely diced, divided (¼ C diced, as raw garnish)
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 ½ C cherry tomatoes, quartered
- ¾ C cubed vegan cheddar cheese, from a block or slices stuck together
- 1 ¼ C garlic dill pickles, finely diced, divided (¼ C diced as garnish)
- ¼ C + 2 tablespoon chives, finely diced, divided (2 tablespoon as garnish)
- 3 C iceberg lettuce, shredded
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (as garnish)
- fresh ground black pepper (as garnish)
thousand island dressing
- 1 C vegan mayonnaise
- ¼ C green relish
- 2 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sambal oelek (chile paste), or hot sauce
- 2 tablespoon pickle brine
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 tablespoon chives, finely chopped
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a cast iron pan over medium-high heat, add vegetable oil, veggie ground round, 1 cup of diced white onion, garlic powder, sea salt and ground black pepper. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring every so often until the ground round is golden and the onion is soft. Set aside.
- Add dried pasta shells to a pot of salted boiling water and boil for 7 to 8 minutes until cooked al dente. Drain but do not rinse.
- To make the dressing, combine vegan mayonnaise, green relish, ketchup, apple cider vinegar, sambal oelek, pickle brine, onion powder, chives, sea salt and ground pepper in a bowl. Set aside.
- In a large bowl add cherry tomatoes, vegan cheddar cheese, 1 cup diced garlic dill pickles, ¼ cup chives, the cooked vegan ground round mixture and the cooked pasta. Pour 1 cup of dressing over top and toss to combine. Set aside to cool at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before topping with lettuce.
- Just before serving, top the cooled pasta with the shredded lettuce and the remaining ¼ cup of white onion, the remaining ¼ cup of pickles and the remaining 2 tablespoons of chopped chives. Sprinkle with smoked paprika and freshly ground black pepper. Toss and serve with extra thousand island dressing on the side.
