This vibrant Lemon Basil Chickpea Pasta Salad is full of flavor and texture with cucumbers, chickpeas, cherry tomatoes, red onions, feta, and a bright lemon basil dressing!
What kind of pasta do you use in this recipe?
- You can use pasta made from actual chickpeas, or your favorite brand of gluten free pasta in a variety of shapes if you wish this to be gluten free
- Or you can use a pasta made with traditional flour in a spiral shape, cavatappi, bowtie/farfalle, fusilli, or penne pasta
- I use actual canned chickpeas in this recipe which add great nutrition and texture
Ingredients for this pasta salad
- Canned chickpeas
- Cherry tomatoes
- Cucumbers
- Red onion
- Feta Cheese
- Fresh Basil
- an a vibrant Lemon Basil dressing
Make the dressing
I recommend making the dressing in a mini blender, regular blender, or food processor to help infuse the basil and garlic into the dressing. However, in the recipe card I have instructions for whisking it by hand too.
Can I make this recipe in advance?
I recommend making this pasta up to one day in advance and reserve some of the dressing to pour on top right before serving.
This recipe will stay fresh in the fridge for about 3 days. It can dry out in the fridge after several hours because the pasta and ingredients absorb the dressing, so you can reserve some of the dressing and pour some on top of each plate right before serving to hydrate the pasta salad.
Bon Appetit ya’ll,
Leslie O.
Equipment
- 1 large pot for cooking pasta
- 1 cutting board
- 1 blender or food processor or you can make the dressing by hand
Ingredients
For the pasta salad
- 1 pound spiral shaped pasta or cavatappi, penne, bow tie pasta, or chickpea based pasta
- 1 15 oz can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans rinsed and drained
- ½ cup red onion chopped
- 1 whole cucumber some of the skin removed
- 1 handful cherry tomatoes cut in half or one whole tomato diced
- 4 oz feta (a block or already crumbled) plus more for topping when serving
For the Lemon Basil Dressing
- ¾ cup olive oil
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 6-7 fresh basil leaves or ½ tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp pizza seasoning blend (I like McCormick's) or Italian herb seasoning blend
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 clove garlic
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt to the water before heating.
- When the water comes to a boil add the pasta of choice to the water and stir. Cook according to the package directions, but take it out about 1 minute less than the directions say to ensure the pasta is al dente and still has a little bit of a "bite".
- Drain the pasta in a colander and add olive oil to the drained pasta and stir so it doesn't stick together while cooling. Cool the pasta before mixing it with the ingredients.
Chopping the ingredients
- Rinse and drain the can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans in a colander or strainer and set aside in a bowl.
- While the pasta water is coming to a boil, chop the ½ cup red onion. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half. Peel part or all of the cucumber and remove the seeds if using an English cucumber. Hot house cucumbers tend to have softer skins and more tender seeds so you don't have to remove them.Tear 3-4 basil leaves for adding in the pasta (the remaining will go in the dressing).
- Crumble the feta if it's from a block of feta.
For the Dressing
- It's best to blend this dressing in a blender, mini blender, or food processor to fully blend the basil and garlic. However you can make it by hand in a bowl with a whisk if you don't have any of these pieces of equipment.
- Remove the skin from one clove of garlic
- Add the garlic clove, juice of one lemon, 2 tbsp red wine vinegar, 3-4 basil leaves, 1 tsp pizza seasoning (or Italian herb seasoning), 1 tsp dijon mustard, and ¾ cup olive oil in a blender, mini blender, or food processor and blend until combined.If making the dressing by hand, chop the garlic and basil really finely, and whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl (except for the olive oil). Then slowly pour in the olive oil while whisking constantly until the dressing is combined and emulsified.
Bringing it all together
- Add the pasta to a large bowl and add the red onion, cucumber, tomatoes, chickpeas, and pour over the dressing. Stir to combine the dressing into the pasta salad. Top with crumbed feta.Before serving add a bit more crumbled feta and a squeeze of lemon over each plate if you wish.
Making this pasta salad in advance
- I recommend making this pasta up to one day in advance and reserve some of the dressing to pour on top right before serving.This recipe will stay fresh in the fridge for about 3 days. It can dry out in the fridge after several hours because the pasta and ingredients absorb the dressing, so you can reserve some of the dressing and pour some on top of each plate right before serving to hydrate the pasta salad.
Video
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I’m not a fan of chickpeas. How about a substitution ov black beans, navy bean, or pinto beans, or even lentils if the other three don’t work?
I apologize for the delayed response, I somehow missed this comment! Yes any of these substitutions should work. Whatever bean or legume you like should be tasty!