You can make this recipe in about the time it takes to boil the pasta. It’s packed with crunchy veggies, a delicious honey-mustard dressing, and plenty of fiber and protein. It’s excellent for meal prep, potlucks, and picnics. You can have it for a quick lunch or a healthy dinner. The other day, Louise even had leftovers for breakfast! What? Just like our creamy pasta salad and pesto pasta salad, this recipe is perfect for spring, summer, and early autumn. Inspired by our chickpea salad and Mediterranean salad, we use simple but flavorful ingredients to create a versatile dish packed with vitamins, antioxidants, and plant protein. From a nutritional standpoint, combining pasta (good quality Italian 100% semolina/durum wheat pasta – not white flour noodles) with chickpeas is the perfect pairing to keep you healthy, nourished, and satiated.
Pasta
Pick your favorite pasta. We recommend rotini, fusilli, or farfalle. For a gluten-free option, use gluten-free pasta. You can even replace regular pasta with chickpea pasta, lentil pasta, whole wheat, or protein pasta. However, we don’t think that’s necessary as regular Italian pasta made with 100% semolina/durum wheat contains plenty of protein. Also, to cook 8 ounces of pasta (230 grams), enough for four people in this recipe, you’ll need 2 quarts of boiling water (8 cups or 2 Liters) and one tablespoon of salt (15 grams).
Chickpeas
You can use canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans) or dried chickpeas. Here’s our guide on how to cook chickpeas. You can substitute black beans or white beans for chickpeas.
Vegetables
– Cherry tomatoes: substitute any other ripe tomato cut into bite-size pieces. You can also substitute red bell peppers for tomatoes. – Cucumber: substitute thinly sliced zucchini or radishes. – Kalamata olives: substitute regular black or green olives or Taggiasche olives. – Red onion: substitute shallot or spring onions. – Corn: we use canned corn kernels. Substitute diced yellow bell pepper. – Sun-dried tomatoes in oil add a ton of flavor, and we recommend them. Substitute marinated artichoke hearts, crumbled feta cheese, grilled eggplant, or grilled zucchini. – Avocado: it adds healthy fats, vitamins, and creaminess.
Fresh herbs
We use fresh flat-leaf parsley. Other herbs that work well in chickpea pasta salad are thinly sliced fresh basil, dill, cilantro, or chives.
Dressing
For the dressing, we recommend the following:
Extra virgin olive oil: substitute regular olive oil. Fresh lemon juice: substitute apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar. Maple syrup: substitute honey, agave syrup, date syrup or sugar. American mustard: substitute Dijon mustard. Dried oregano: substitute Italian seasoning. Sea salt: substitute kosher salt. Black pepper: substitute red pepper flakes. Garlic powder: optional.
1. Make the dressing
To a medium bowl, add extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, honey or maple syrup, dried oregano, salt, and black pepper. Whisk until emulsified, then add drained and rinsed chickpeas. Stir the chickpeas in the dressing and set aside to marinate while you prepare the other ingredients.
2. Boil the pasta
Cook the pasta per package directions in a large pot with plenty of salted boiling water. Drain and rinse it under cold water for 10 seconds to prevent it from overcooking. Now shake the water off and add the pasta to a large mixing bowl. While the pasta cooks, prepare the vegetables.
3. Chop and mix the veggies
To the same bowl, add halved cherry tomatoes, diced cucumber, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, corn, diced avocado, finely chopped onion and parsley. Add the marinated chickpeas and the dressing. Mix well, then taste and adjust for salt. Ideally, set aside 15 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld. Tip: If you are making this recipe ahead, you might want to keep the avocado out to prevent it from browning and add it shortly before serving the salad. If you need extra protein, add grilled chicken, prawns, grilled tofu, crumbled feta, or mozzarella balls. We especially recommend this recipe for picnics, potlucks, or packed lunch, as you can make it ahead of time and bring it with you.
Questions
Storage
Make ahead: Chickpea pasta salad is an excellent meal prep recipe that keeps well for several days. It tastes even better a few hours after it’s made. However, remember to add the avocado shortly before serving the salad so that it doesn’t turn brown. Refrigerator: Store the salad in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days. Remove it from the fridge 15 minutes before serving, as the veggies taste better at room temperature. Freezer: This recipe is not suitable for freezing. For more salad ideas, check out Louise’s compilation post with our 45 best salad recipes.
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