Spiced-Up BLT Pasta Salad

“This is like a BLT sandwich but made into a pasta salad! As always, the L stands for lettuce and the T for tomato, but the B in this recipe name is for spicy, buttery bread cubes. The crispy cubes with Cajun-inspired seasoning are so irresistible—just try to be polite and leave some of the cubes for other guests.”- Fast Easy Cheap Vegan: 101 Recipes You Can Make in 30 Minutes or Less, for $10 or Less, and with 10 Ingredients or Less! by Sam Turnbull 

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SPICED-UP BLT PASTA SALAD

Course Salad

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups short pasta such as farfalle, shells, macaroni, or orecchiette (gluten-free if preferred)
• 2 tablespoons vegan butter
• 3 slices bread cut into small cubes (about 21⁄2 cups, gluten-free if preferred)
• 1 tablespoon Cajun Seasoning
• 2 large tomatoes cut into wedges
• 1 head romaine lettuce chopped
• 1/4 red onion thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup vegan mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions. Drain the pasta and rinse well with cold water to cool the pasta completely.
• In the meantime, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and melt the vegan butter. Add the bread cubes and seasoning, stirring to coat the bread. Fry the bread until it’s golden and crispy. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• To a large bowl, add the cooled and drained pasta, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Toss well to combine. Scatter the toasted bread cubes on top and serve right away.

Notes

QUICK TIP: To make your bread cubes extra-crispy, spread the cubes out on a baking sheet and let them sit out overnight before making this dish. They will dry out a bit, making them extra-crunchy!

MAKE AHEAD: If making ahead of time, keep the bread cubes in a separate container in the pantry and the pasta salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Add the bread cubes to the pasta just before serving so they don’t get soggy.

Excerpted from Fast Easy Cheap Vegan: 101 Recipes You Can Make in 30 Minutes or Less, for $10 or Less, and with 10 Ingredients or Less! by Sam Turnbull. Book and Photography Copyright © 2021 Samantha Turnbull. Published by Appetite by Random House, a division of Penguin Random House Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.

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