As promised, I’ve got more for you than just chocolate. This week we’re celebrating seasonal indulgence with an easy recipe for creamy dairy free ranch pasta salad. It’s the perfect dish for showcasing fresh summer produce, and can be whipped up quickly for lunch or made ahead, chilled, and taken to potlucks and barbecues.
What many people don’t realize is that several traditional recipes can be enjoyed dairy-free with just a simple ingredient swap. That store-bought ranch dressing may be loaded with milk, but at home, you can just use your favorite unsweetened dairy-free milk beverage. I usually use coconut milk beverage in recipe testing for two reasons: it’s a little richer than most other milk alternatives and it’s naturally free of top allergens, making my dish “friendly” for more viewers. That said, you can use your favorite unsweetened dairy-free milk beverage, whether it be coconut, cashew, almond or soy!
I simply love how versatile this dairy free ranch pasta salad is. You can adjust the seasonings to suit your mood (increase the salt and pepper for more punch, squeeze in more lemon to brighten, add a little cayenne and paprika to spice things up) and the seasonal add-ins are endless. I used fresh cut corn, grape tomatoes and sliced olives, but you might like any of the following produce: sliced celery, grated carrot, blanched broccoli florets, chopped bell pepper (red, green, yellow or orange!), summer squash wedges (lightly steamed), peas, or green beans.
To make this dairy free ranch pasta salad a meal, add your favorite protein, whether it be chopped cooked chicken, bacon, chopped tempeh, or black beans.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Silk. The opinions, text, recipe, photos, and awesome corn kernel cutting skills are all mine.
Special Diet Notes: Dairy Free Ranch Pasta Salad
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, optionally egg-free, optionally gluten-free, nut-free, peanut-free, optionally soy-free, optionally vegan / plant-based, and vegetarian.
For gluten-free dairy free ranch pasta salad, I use non-GMO corn-based pasta (conchiliette shown here), which I find holds its shape much better than rice-based and quinoa varieties for pasta salad.
For egg-free, soy-free and/or vegan ranch pasta salad, mayo is your wild card. Regular and low fat mayonnaise are almost always dairy-free, but they do contain eggs. Fortunately, there are now several brands of vegan mayo to choose from, which work equally well in this dairy ranch pasta salad. Soy oil and / or soy protein may be found in regular or vegan mayo, so be sure to seek out a soy-free version, if needed.
- 1 lb dry pasta (gluten-free, if needed)
- 1 cup mayonnaise or vegan mayo
- ¼ cup unsweetened dairy-free milk beverage (I use Silk Unsweetened Original Coconut Milk Beverage)
- 2 tablespoons fresh minced parsley
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 ears corn, cooked (see below)
- 1 cup grape tomatoes or sliced red bell pepper
- ⅔ cup sliced black olives
- Cook the pasta according to the packaged directions. Rinse with cold water once cooked.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayo, milk beverage, parsley, lemon juice, garlic powder, onion powder, ¼ teaspoon salt, and black pepper.
- Cut the kernals away from the corn and place in a large bowl. Stir in the cooked pasta, tomatoes, and olives. Pour on the dressing and gently stir to evenly coat.
- Taste test and add more salt, to taste, if desired.
- Cover and chill until ready to serve.
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