Easy Chickpea Pasta Salad

This easy chickpea pasta salad is the perfect summer lunch recipe! It can be prepared ahead of time and enjoyed during the week for packed lunches or enjoyed immediately. It is also completely customizable – feel free to add any extra veggies or beans!

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Servings: 2

Ingredients

• 1 can of chickpeas (540mL)
• 1 tsp olive oil (see notes for oil-free)
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 1/2 cups red cabbage
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tomato
• 1 avocado
• 2-3 large lettuce leaves
• 150g pasta

Lemon Dressing

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 1 clove of garlic
• Pinch of salt

Equipment

• Non-stick frying pan
• Pot

Instructions

1. Add water to a pot and bring to a boil to cook the pasta.
2. Heat a frying pan on medium heat with a tsp of olive oil. Drain and rinse a can of chickpeas, then add the chickpeas to the frying pan with soy sauce and mix well. Keep an eye on the chickpeas while you prepare the rest of the vegetables.
3. Chop or shred red cabbage, then add it to a bowl with white vinegar and salt and let it sit for a few minutes to pickle (this step is optional – the red cabbage can also be added directly to the salad).
4. Dice a tomato, slice your avocado, and wash and chop the lettuce.
5. Prepare the lemon dressing by mixing together the olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, maple syrup, minced garlic and salt in a small bowl or jar.
6. Remove the chickpeas from heat and drain pasta once it is cooked. If you want to cool down the pasta before preparing the salad, you can rinse it with cold water.
7. Assemble the pasta salad by mixing together pasta, red cabbage, tomato, sliced avocado, lettuce and chickpeas. Drizzle the dressing on top and mix well.
8. Enjoy immediately! See notes for storing the salad for meal prep or leftovers.

Notes

*For an oil-free version, fry the chickpeas in soy sauce (without oil), and omit oil from the lemon dressing (you may choose to then double the dressing recipe).

*Any veggies can be added to this salad such as peppers, corn, extra beans, etc.

*If you’re preparing this salad ahead of time or want leftovers, store the dressing separately from the salad ingredients. Drizzle a bit of lemon juice on the avocado to prevent it from going brown.