This chickpea pasta salad is made with pasta, cucumber, pepper, tomatoes, chickpeas, and feta cheese. We topped this salad with our favorite greek salad dressing.
We love making pasta salads with leftover pasta or freshly made pasta. We love to serve it for lunch, at a barbecue, or as a light dinner. You can add shredded chicken or tuna, for extra protein and enjoy this easy meal whenever!
If you like making easy pasta recipes, you should check out our greek pasta salad, spinach pasta salad, creamy pesto pasta bake, and our favorite baked goat cheese pasta.
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Why this recipe works
- It's a great way to use leftover pasta.
- Is a light pasta salad that can be made for lunch, dinner, or as a side dish.
- Is loaded with vegetables and chickpeas that will keep you full for a long time.
- Can be made in advance.
Ingredients
Before you start to make this pasta salad with chickpeas recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Pasta- use any kind of your favorite pasta, we like using short pasta for pasta salad.
Tomatoes- you can use cherry tomatoes for this recipe or your favorite kind of tomatoes. We love using Roma tomatoes.
Bell pepper- we used orange bell pepper for this recipe. Any kind of bell pepper will work great.
Chickpeas- we used canned chickpeas for this recipe but freshly cooked chickpeas will work great as well!
Cucumber- use fresh cucumber for this recipe. Cut the cucumber into small pieces.
Feta cheese- we love to top our pasta salad with feta cheese. If you are vegan or dairy-free, feel free to skip the feta cheese.
For the salad dressing:
Olive oil– to make the salad dressing, we used olive oil. Canola oil or vegetable oil will work as well.
Red wine vinegar- use red wine vinegar or white wine vinegar.
Dijon mustard- you will need a teaspoon of dijon mustard for this recipe.
Lemon juice- use fresh lemon juice for the best flavor.
Spices– for spices, we used kosher salt, black pepper, and dried oregano.
Fresh garlic– use freshly grated garlic for the dressing.
Instructions
Step 1: Prepare the salad dressing by mixing olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, minced garlic, dried oregano, salt, and pepper in a jar or a medium mixing bowl.
Step 2: Bring a large pot of salted water and cook the pasta according to the package instructions. drain and rinse the pasta with cold water to stop the cooking process.
Step 3: In a big bowl, add the cooked pasta, cucumber, tomatoes, bell pepper, chickpeas, and feta cheese.
Step 4: Add the greek salad dressing on top and mix with a wooden spoon until combined. Serve and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Make the pasta in salted water. this will make sure that the pasta flavor isn't flat. add a generous amount of salt to the boiling water.
- Cook the pasta to al dente. to stop the pasta from turning soggy from the juices, cook the pasta al dente. this step will keep your pasta salad fresh and delicious.
- Use fresh ingredients! this pasta salad is the perfect side dish for any occasion, it's fresh and summery so make sure that you use fresh vegetables and fresh ingredients. the quality of the ingredients really makes this salad the best.
Faq's
Yes! This pasta salad fits well with a lot of different flavors. You can serve it with Italian dressing, middle eastern dressing, lemon dressing, red wine dressing, etc.
This pasta salad will last for up to 3 days in the fridge, stored in an airtight container.
Yes! This recipe works great with chicken. Roast or cook chicken breast, seasoned with salt and pepper, then slice it into small slices and mix it with the pasta salad. You can serve this with air fryer chicken and broccoli.
Storing
Store this pasta salad in the fridge sealed tightly with plastic wrap for up to 3 days.
Make in advance
To make this pasta salad in advance, pre-make the pasta a day or two ahead, cut the veggies a day or two ahead, and make the dressing a day or two ahead. When ready to serve, throw the pasta, veggies, and dressing together, mix well, and serve!
Substitutions
Vegan- It is very easy to make this recipe vegan, simply replace the feta cheese with vegan feta cheese, or don’t use cheese at all.
Whole grain- You can use any kind of your favorite pasta kinds and pasta shapes., like chickpea pasta, brown rice pasta, spinach pasta, quinoa pasta, etc.
Gluten-free- you can make this recipe gluten-free by using gluten-free pasta. Simply follow the instructions as written. Also, replace the flour with gluten-free flour.
Variations
Chicken- This recipe works great with chicken. Roast or cook chicken breast, seasoned with salt and pepper, then slice it into small slices and mix it with the pasta salad.
Seasoning- use your favorite variations of spices. Some of our favorites are Italian seasoning, everything bagel seasoning, paprika, onion powder, chili flakes, etc.
More light pasta recipes:
Tiktok Baked Feta Pasta- This baked feta pasta is incredibly delicious and easy to make. This pasta dish went viral in Finland, and because of this recipe, the grocery stores in Finland ran out of feta cheese.
Pesto pasta bake- This pesto pasta bake is a super delicious pasta dish that is made in under an hour and tastes like restaurant pasta!
Spinach Pasta Salad- This Spinach Pasta Salad is made with fresh spinach, feta, red onion, cherry tomatoes, and freshly made pasta combined together with a simple homemade salad dressing that makes the perfect refreshing and filling summery pasta salad.
If you tried this recipe, don’t forget to leave a rating and a comment below. We love hearing from you.
If you liked this recipe:
📖 Recipe
Chickpea Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 400 g Pasta uncooked
- 2 Tomatoes
- 2 Cucumber
- 1 Bell pepper
- 1 can Chickpeas
- ½ cup Feta cheese
For the salad dressing:
- ½ cup Olive oil
- ¼ cup Red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 Garlic cloves
- ½ teaspoon Dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon Black pepper
- 1 tablespoon Lemon juice
Instructions
- Prepare the salad dressing by mixing olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, minced garlic, dried oregano, salt, and pepper in a jar or a medium mixing bowl.
- Bring a large pot of salted water and cook the pasta according to the package instructions.
- In a big bowl, add the cooked pasta, cucumber, tomatoes, bell pepper, chickpeas, and feta cheese.
- Add the greek salad dressing on top and mix with a wooden spoon until combined. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Make the pasta in salted water. this will make sure that the pasta flavor isn't flat. add a generous amount of salt to the boiling water.
- Cook the pasta to al dente. to stop the pasta from turning soggy from the juices, cook the pasta al dente. this step will keep your pasta salad fresh and delicious.
- Use fresh ingredients! this pasta salad is the perfect side dish for any occasion, it's fresh and summery so make sure that you use fresh vegetables and fresh ingredients. the quality of the ingredients really makes this salad the best.
Mary
This is so good. I ate the leftovers for breakfast!