Disclosure: This put up could include affiliate hyperlinks. I’ll earn a small fee for my endorsement, suggestion, testimonial, and/or hyperlink to any services or products from this web site.
This Mediterranean Chickpea Pasta Salad tosses hearty chickpeas, cooked pasta, and a wide range of contemporary veggies in a tangy and herbaceous purple wine French dressing. A easy aspect dish with the perfect of the Mediterranean in each chunk! Vegan, Gluten-Free Choice.
When you’re solely going to make one pasta salad this summer time, make it this 30-minute Mediterranean Chickpea Pasta Salad! It’s straightforward to place along with contemporary veggies, protein-packed chickpeas, pasta, vegan feta, and a purple wine French dressing, making it a terrific go-to aspect dish for picnics or a wholesome meal prep possibility.
Desk of Contents
All About This Summer season Pasta SaladÂ
Too scorching to cook dinner? Pasta salad is the reply! As my favourite summer time meal, there’s nothing fairly like a bowl of chilled pasta salad on a heat summer time day, particularly when it’s filled with Mediterranean veggies and hearty chickpeas.
This Mediterranean Chickpea Pasta Salad is usually on repeat in my kitchen all through the summer time. It’s a refreshing 30-minute meal that tosses colourful greens, pasta, vegan feta cheese, and canned chickpeas in a tangy French dressing. The prep is a breeze and it shops properly for as much as 5 days!
Convey this straightforward vegan pasta salad with you to the picnic lunch or potluck, or take pleasure in it for wholesome weekday lunches. It’s all the time successful, regardless of the event.Â
What You Want for This Chickpea Pasta Salad
This chickpea salad requires a handful of contemporary greens, in addition to canned chickpeas, cooked pasta, and a easy 7-ingredient French dressing.
- Pasta: I used farfalle, however any short-cut pasta, like penne, rotini, or macaroni, will do! Your favourite gluten-free pasta or entire wheat pasta works properly, too.
- Chickpeas: keep on with canned chickpeas to make this salad as fast and simple as potential. They’re handy, hearty, and fill this salad with roughly 80 grams of plant protein!
- Mediterranean Greens: this can be a Mediterranean pasta salad in any case, so it wants a wide range of contemporary and colourful veggies, like cherry or grape tomatoes, cucumber, purple onion, and kalamata olives.
- Vegan Feta Cheese: dairy-free feta rounds out the salad with its salty creaminess. I just like the vegan feta from Violife Meals and Observe Your Coronary heart, though the selfmade marinated tofu feta from my Greek-Impressed Kale Salad is all the time my go-to alternative!
- Contemporary Herbs: Chopped parsley and mint leaves add a pop of freshness to each chunk.
- Purple Wine French dressing: this straightforward but contemporary and flavorful salad dressing comes collectively in a pinch with further virgin olive oil, purple wine vinegar, garlic, Dijon mustard, dried oregano, kosher salt, and black pepper.
Learn how to Make a Mediterranean Chickpea Pasta Salad
- Add the salad dressing elements to a jar, seal the lid on prime, and shake vigorously till it’s emulsified. Put aside.
- Cook dinner the pasta in a pot of boiling salted water till al dente. Drain the water and rinse the pasta underneath chilly water.
- Add the room temperature pasta to a big bowl together with the chickpeas, greens, olives, herbs, and feta. Pour the dressing over prime and toss to mix.
- Serve the chickpea pasta salad instantly or place it within the fridge to chill earlier than serving.
Caitlin’s Cooking Suggestions
- Make the dressing at the least half-hour forward of time: There’s nothing fairly as jarring as biting into uncooked garlic cloves. That’s why I like to recommend prepping the dressing upfront. Over time, the purple wine vinegar will mellow out the uncooked garlic’s robust flavors.
- Don’t overcook the pasta! Al dente pasta (a young texture with a slight chunk) that’s rinsed underneath chilly water is essential to a chilly pasta salad that lasts for days. Overcooked pasta shall be gentle, mushy, and really fragile, making the leftovers lower than ideally suited.
- I extremely suggest chilling the salad: Giving the assembled pasta salad half-hour to relax within the fridge offers the flavors time to get even higher!
Serving Ideas
Personally, I consider no vegan picnic is full with no pasta salad. That’s why I like to recommend serving this salad at picnics or any summer time celebration with extra refreshing dishes, like this Crunchy Broccoli Salad, this Dilly White Bean Cucumber Salad, and these Rainbow Veggie Sandwiches with Hummus.
And since it travels and shops so properly, it’s also possible to benefit from the chickpea salad for a straightforward lunch or snack in the course of the work week. Both serve it by itself or pair it with a bowl of this Roasted Tomato Soup or this Vegan Chickpea Salad Sandwich for a well-rounded meal.
When you’re on the lookout for extra vegan pasta salad recipes, you’ll additionally love this Creamy Dill Pickle Pasta Salad, this Mediterranean Pasta Salad, and this Triple Tomato Basil Orzo Salad!
Or, you probably have extra canned chickpeas to make use of up, you may take pleasure in them on this Absolute Finest Mango Chickpea Salad, these Crispy Buffalo Chickpeas, and this Summer season Peach and Chickpea Salad.Â
Learn how to Retailer Leftover Pasta Salad
As soon as absolutely dressed and assembled, the leftover salad will preserve for as much as 5 days. Retailer it in a coated salad bowl or an hermetic container within the fridge to assist preserve it contemporary.
I don’t suggest freezing this pasta salad as a result of the textures of the cooked pasta and greens won’t be the identical upon thawing.
Substitutions and Variations
- Extra Add-In Concepts: Add sun-dried tomatoes, black olives, marinated artichoke hearts, sliced zucchini, chopped spinach, summer time squash, bell peppers, pickled purple onions, inexperienced onions, contemporary chives, or a pinch of purple pepper flakes.
- Gluten-Free Choice: Swap the common pasta in your favourite short-cut gluten-free pasta noodles or bean-based protein pasta.
- Chickpea Substitute: Be at liberty to make use of cannellini, navy, nice northern, or lima beans rather than the chickpeas.
- Add Extra Protein: You may add crispy tofu, soy curls, or hemp seeds to show this aspect dish right into a filling major meal.
Recipe FAQs
I personally desire this salad served at room temperature or chilled to totally benefit from the contemporary, juicy, and crisp veggies. That being stated, you may serve it heat if that’s what you like.
Sure. You’ll must cook dinner 1 3/4 cup of dried chickpeas in boiling water till they’re gentle and tender, then await them to chill earlier than including them to the salad.
Further virgin olive oil is crucial to the salad dressing. With out it, the dressing received’t emulsify correctly or have its signature wealthy mouthfeel. When you’re on the lookout for oil-free pasta salad recipes, you would possibly take pleasure in this Creamy Dill Pickle Pasta Salad or this Pesto Orzo Salad.
Get pleasure from! When you make this recipe and resolve to share it on Fb or Instagram, don’t neglect to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I’d additionally like it for those who might go away a remark beneath with a recipe ranking! Thanks for the assist 😊
For the Salad:
- 8 ounces pasta gluten-free if essential
- 1 15 ounce can chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 1 dry pint (10 ounces) contemporary tomatoes diced or reduce in half
- 1 English cucumber quartered and sliced
- 1/2 purple onion small cube
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives reduce in half (non-compulsory)
- 1/2-1 cup crumbled feta I used dairy-free
- 1/3 cup chopped contemporary parsley
- 2 tablespoons chopped contemporary mint (non-compulsory)
-
Make the Dressing: In a resealable jar, add the oil, lemon or vinegar, garlic, mustard, oregano, salt, and black pepper. Seal and shake vigorously, till emulsified. Let sit; the vinegar will mellow out the garlic over time.
-
Cook dinner the Pasta: Generously salt a big pot of water and convey to a boil. Cook dinner the pasta to al dente, in line with package deal directions, stirring sometimes. Drain the pasta and rinse properly with chilly water till the pasta involves room temperature.
-
Mix: Add the chilled pasta to a big bowl together with the chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, olives, feta, parsley, and mint. High with the dressing and toss till properly mixed.
-
Serve & Retailer: Serve instantly, or place within the fridge and chill for half-hour earlier than serving. Leftovers will preserve within the fridge for as much as 5 days.
- Gluten-Free: Use gluten-free pasta as an alternative of wheat-based pasta to make this recipe gluten-free!
Energy: 434kcalCarbohydrates: 56gProtein: 13gFats: 18gSaturated Fats: 3gPolyunsaturated Fats: 3gMonounsaturated Fats: 11gSodium: 677mgPotassium: 442mgFiber: 9gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 478IUVitamin C: 12mgCalcium: 85mgIron: 4mg
