Pasta Salad with Grilled Italian Sausage, Peppers, Mushrooms, & Cherry Tomatoes (Vegan)

 This easy crowd-pleasing vegan pasta salad recipe featuring grilled Italian sausage, peppers, mushrooms, and cherry tomatoes is full of fresh flavors and a family favorite! It’s the perfect dish for BBQs, potlucks, and picnics! 

This post was sponsored by Field Roast, but the opinions and text are fully my own.

Hot days, poolside lounging, digging in the sand, surfing at the beach, and lazy mornings…school’s officially over and it’s Summer you guys! Which also means BBQs, grilling, and fun delicious crowd-pleasing potluck dishes or easy fresh weeknight meals!

My favorite types of summer meals are those that get most of their flavors from the main ingredients themselves instead of needing a lot of extra seasoning or sauces. I love using colorful veggies coupled with roasting or grilling to bring out the flavor profiles.

So I’m officially kicking the summer off right with this new vegan Pasta Salad recipe with Grilled Italian Sausage, Peppers, Mushrooms, & Cherry Tomatoes! Yep…I said that right. Field Roast Grain Meat Sausages…and they are plant-based!

What Makes This Vegan Pasta Salad So Delicious

No special sauces, no mayo, no major seasonings…so what makes this particular pasta salad recipe so delicious? It boils down to 5 main ingredients & the method in which they are cooked!

1. Colorful Bell Peppers
2. Mushrooms
3. Plant-Based Field Roast Italian Sausage
4. Cherry Tomatoes
5. Fresh Basil

Grill the bell peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes and Field Roast sausage until they’re slightly charred! This brings out their flavor and enhances the texture. I prefer to use red, orange, or yellow bell peppers for this recipe because of their extra sweetness when grilled.

Not to mention that Field Roast Italian Sausage is to-die-for! So flavorful and hand-crafted so that you don’t need much of anything else as far as seasonings go.

Why I Love Field Roast Sausages

The star of this recipe is of course the Field Roast  plant-based Italian sausage!! Have you tried it, or any other Field Roast sausage??

I know what you may be thinking…”but you’re not always a huge fan of grain-meat products due to the texture and taste…?” Well you’re completely right, which is why you know these sausages by Field Roast must be amazing for me to stand behind them and plan to make them a fridge staple in our house this summer!

Ingredients. The sausages are made with whole foods and contain no soy. They use fresh cut vegetables (such as eggplant, fennel, potato, etc.), dried fruits, and unique spice blends.

When you can look at the ingredients in a product, can easily count them, and know exactly what each one is, you know it’s going to be awesome! For me, that’s HUGE selling point when I’m deciding which products I’m going to stock in my fridge

Texture. Texture is key for me when it comes to grain meat products. It’s very easy to work these sausages into any of your dishes and cook them in a variety of different ways:

• Crumble and sauté them on a pan stove-top till they brown up
• Slice them and roast or broil in the oven
• Grill in an open-fire for a BBQ

Flavor. Field Roast has three main flavors of plant-based sausages:

• Italian
• Mexican Chipotle
• Smoked Apple Sage

Each one is completely unique in taste. I love adding their Mexican Chipotle Sausage into breakfast scrambles, potato hashes, or even as a filling in tacos. They also have Frankfurters & an Apple Maple Breakfast Sausage if you want to keep it simple or are looking for another breakfast alternative.

Versatile. There’s really no wrong way to use and cook these sausages. They pair up well with a variety of different cuisines and dishes.

Here are some ideas on how you can use Field Roast sausages:

• Throw them into pasta dishes
• Make some tacos
• Slice and add them into soups
• Use them as a pizza topping
• Crumble and make stuffed peppers or mushrooms
• Mix them into any veggie sauté
• Grill them up, serve in hot dog buns + add all the fixings

But I Don’t Have An Outdoor BBQ!

Don’t have an outdoor fire-loaded BBQ? No worries because you don’t need one to enjoy the grilling flavors in this vegan pasta salad!

Outdoor BBQ. Grill whole bell peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, and vegan sausages on a fire-loaded BBQ until slightly charred. Then slice up the peppers, dice the mushrooms, and crumble the grilled sausages!

Stove Top and Oven. Crumble and sauté the sausage stove-top until browned and slightly crispy in texture. Toss the sliced bell peppers, diced mushrooms, & cherry tomatoes with some salt, pepper, & fresh garlic and broil in the oven until charred to get that “grill” flavor!

So, outdoor BBQ or not…you can easily make this vegan pasta salad anytime and anywhere! In fact, I prefer to cook the sausage stove-top so that I can crumble it & sauté until browned for the perfect texture.

And if you’re planning on grilling at the beach or park, pre-mix all the ingredients, except for the mushrooms, peppers, and sausage! Then once you get to your site, grill the rest and toss with the pasta for the perfect summer dish!

How To Make This Easy Pasta Salad – Step By Step

Grill the mushrooms, peppers, & Field Roast sausage via method preferred (outdoor BBQ vs. oven/stove-top).  If you are cooking in the kitchen, crumble and sauté the sausage stove-top while the veggies are broiled in the oven.

In the meantime, boil the pasta (you can use any type of pasta), drain, and rinse with cold water since this is meant to be a cold pasta salad recipe.

Toss the cooked pasta with balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, and salt.

Add in the sliced peppers, diced mushrooms, crumbled sausage, and fresh basil!

Toss & season to taste with salt & fresh pepper!

Store in the fridge until you’re ready to serve! Tastes great cold or at room temperature!

This vegan pasta salad contains all my favorite ingredients, is perfect for BBQs, potlucks, or summer picnics, a family favorite (my kids loved it!), simple and easy to make, and full of fresh flavors.

So what are you waiting for? Grab some Field Roast sausages from Whole Foods, Walmart, or online at Vegan Essentials and make this epic vegan pasta salad recipe! While you’re at it, try out one of my other favorite Field Roast products…their Chao slices!

Pair this easy pasta salad with any of these to host the perfect BBQ or picnic!

• Drinks – Pineapple Mango Agua Fresca, Pomegranate Strawberry Mint Lemonade
• Salads – Spicy Fruit Salad, Mixed Green Salad w/Buffalo Roasted Cauliflower & Vegan Ranch
• Sides – Stuffed Anaheim Peppers w/Walnut Crumble, Fresh Mango Kiwi Salsa
• Something Sweet – Chocolate Coconut Chia Pudding Fruit Pie, Chocolate Covered Dates Stuffed w/Orange Cream

If you like this recipe or post, be sure to leave a comment and use the rating field! You can also tag me on Instagram with any re-makes, @vegetariangastronomy so I don’t miss it, as I love sharing them on Re-Make Fridays! Or you can help me spread the word about my recipes on Pinterest and Facebook!

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5 from 7 votes

Pasta Salad with Grilled Italian Sausage, Peppers, Mushrooms, & Cherry Tomatoes (Vegan)

This easy crowd-pleasing vegan pasta salad recipe featuring grilled Italian sausage, peppers, mushrooms, and cherry tomatoes is full of fresh flavors and a family favorite!

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Total Time30 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer, Main Dish

Cuisine: Italian, Vegan

Keyword: easy potluck recipe, vegan pasta salad, vegan sausage

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 329kcal

Author: Anjali Lalani

INGREDIENTS

• 14 oz rotini pasta , see notes below
• 4 Field Roast Italian Sausages
• 1 cup fresh basil , finely chopped
• olive oil

For The Roasted Veggies:

• 15 cremini mushrooms , de-stemmed
• 3 bell peppers , orange, red, or yellow variety
• 15 cherry tomatoes
• 5 cloves garlic , minced
• 1/2 teasp dried thyme

Pasta Seasoning:

• 2-3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 teasp salt , to taste
• 1 teasp fresh lemon juice
• red crushed pepper (optional)
• freshly ground black pepper (optional)

US Customary - Metric

INSTRUCTIONS

• Heat a large pot of water to boil. Add a tiny amount of salt and olive oil.
• Once the water starts boiling, add in the pasta and cook according to package. Once done, rinse thoroughly with cold water, toss with a tiny bit of olive oil to avoid sticking, and set aside. In the meantime, continue with the rest of the recipe. 

Stove-top & Oven Method:

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Halve the mushrooms & cherry tomatoes, and slice the bell peppers. 
• Toss the veggies with the minced garlic, thyme, some olive oil, and season with salt to taste.
• Spread a single layer of the veggies on the baking sheet and broil on HI for about 15 minutes or until the veggies start to grill & slightly blacken. 
• In the meantime, heat a non-stick pan on medium-high heat with a tiny bit of olive oil.
• Crumble all of the Field Roast Italian Sausages and saute for about 10 minutes until they start to become slightly textured & browned. 
• Once the veggies and sausage are done, set aside and allow to cool. 

Outdoor BBQ Method:

• Rub the bell peppers, mushrooms, & cherry tomatoes with some olive oil, salt, dried thyme, and the minced garlic. 
• Skewer the cherry tomatoes & mushrooms to easily grill on an open BBQ.
• Grill the Field Roast Italian Sausages, bell peppers, mushrooms, & cherry tomatoes on a fire-loaded BBQ until the veggies are slightly charred & sausages are grilled. Set aside to cool.
• Once easy to handle, slice the bell peppers, halve the mushrooms & cherry tomatoes, and crumble the plant-based sausages. 

To Prepare Pasta Salad:

• Add all the ingredients listed under 'Pasta Seasoning' above to the cooked pasta. Toss to combine. 
• Add the grilled veggies, crumbled grilled sausage, and fresh chopped basil. 
• Toss everything well to combine. 
• Season once more with salt, lemon juice, and/or freshly ground black pepper to taste. Add some red crushed pepper for added heat. 
• Serve cold or at room temperature!

NOTES

You can use your stove-top/oven or an open-fire BBQ grill for this recipe. Both methods will turn out great.

• If you're planning on grilling the veggies & Field Roast sausages at some other location, cook and toss the pasta with the past seasonings. Season and skewer the veggies ahead of time. Then grill once you get to your location, and toss everything together. 

Pasta:

• I prefer using rotini shaped pasta for this recipe, but you can use any shape you prefer.
• I've used both the quinoa & brown rice rotini pasta (gluten-free) & regular rotini pasta. Since this recipe is more or less a dry pasta, most lentil-based pastas may not work well in this recipe (too dry). 

Plant-Based Sausage:

• I prefer to crumble the sausage for this recipe, but you can dice/slice if you prefer.

Make-Ahead Tips:

• This recipe can be made the day before.
• If you want to split it up into two days, you can grill the veggies & sausage the day before. Then the day of, simply boil the pasta and toss with the rest of the ingredients.

This recipe is kid & toddler approved!

For Gluten-Free:

• Use gluten-free pasta, and either omit the Field Roast sausage or substitute in this sun-dried tomato walnut crumble recipe (note, I have not tried this version without the Field Roast sausage).

Nutrition Info:

• Uses Field Roast Italian Sausage nutritional information.

NUTRITION

Calories: 329kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 4g | Sodium: 384mg | Potassium: 463mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1785IU | Vitamin C: 65.6mg | Calcium: 53mg | Iron: 2.3mg

Did you Make this Recipe ?Mention @VegetarianGastronomy or tag #vegetariangastronomy!

This post was sponsored by Field Roast, but the opinions and text are fully my own.