This Mediterranean Pasta Salad with Spiced Chickpeas is a bright and flavorful dish that incorporates lots of fresh, nourishing ingredients. It can be served room temperature or chilled and is great for summer!
If you’re looking for a delicious pasta salad that is both light and super satisfying with healthy ingredients, I’ve got you! We had so much fun creating this bright and cherry pasta salad recipe for the upcoming holiday weekend.
Plus, it’s made using the wonderfully fresh ingredients from Sprouts! Sprouts Farmers Market has such great-quality produce and selection. Thankfully, this makes it super easy to grab the vegetables I need for my recipes. The tomatoes, red bell peppers, cucumbers and fresh parsley, and of course those lemons, add awesome flavor and texture to this dish.
The Sprouts Organic Italian Seasoning Salt-Free made the perfect spice blend for the roasted chickpeas in this dish, too!
The dish is full of vibrant colors and flavors, and is versatile to use your favorite pasta type. Here I used whole wheat rotini. The rotini is a fun shape that’s perfect for holding the tangy lemon-parsley vinaigrette. Penne or bowtie pasta are other great options.
Reasons why I’m loving this dish
- You may have noticed that I love all things pasta, and this delicious dish is no exception! It’s both comfort food-ey yet light and fresh.
- There’s loads of textures from the crisp cucumbers and roasted chickpeas.
- The kalamata olives add a delicious tanginess, along with the lemony vinaigrette.
- The chickpeas and volume of vegetables make this dish so satisfying.
How this dish comes together
This Mediterranean Pasta Salad with Spiced Chickpeas is ready in a few super easy steps.
- Cooking your favorite pasta.
- Roasting the spiced chickpeas.
- Dicing up your vegetables and saute the bell peppers.
- Whisking the dressing together.
- Combine and enjoy!
Mediterranean Pasta Salad with Spiced Chickpeas
Ingredients
- 2/3 lb. whole wheat pasta or pasta of your choice
- ½ to ¾ cup chopped kalamata olives preference
- 2 ½ cups cucumbers peeled and chopped (seeds removed if desired)
- 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes sliced lengthwise
- 2 bell peppers de-seeded and chopped
- 1 can chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 2 tsp. oil divided
- ¼ tsp. kosher salt
- ¼ tsp. pepper
- 1 ½ tsp. Italian seasoning divided
Dressing:
- ½ cup olive oil
- Juice of 2 lemons divided
- 1/3 cup fresh parsley finely chopped
- 1 tsp. red wine vinegar
- ¼ tsp. Italian seasoning
- 1 ¾ tsp. dijon mustard
- 1 ½ tsp. kosher salt
- ¼ tsp. pepper
- ½ Tbsp. agave or maple syrup
- 2 Tbsp. red onion finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Cook 2/3 lb. pasta in salted water until just al dente, according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
- In a small/medium bowl, add the 1 can chickpeas. Drizzle with 1 tsp oil, ¼ tsp. kosher salt, ¼ tsp. pepper, and 1 ½ tsp. Italian seasoning, toss to combine. Spread the chickpeas onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake for 15 minutes.
- In a large pan, add 1 tsp. oil and the 2 bell peppers. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently until tender.
- In a large bowl, add the ½ to ¾ cup kalamata olives, 2 ½ cups cucumbers, 1 pint of tomatoes, and the cooked bell peppers.
- Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a bowl (½ cup olive oil, juice of 1 ½ lemons, 1/3 cup fresh parsley, 1 tsp. red wine vinegar, ¼ tsp. Italian seasoning, 1 ¾ tsp. dijon mustard, 1 ½ tsp. kosher salt, ¼ tsp. pepper, ½ Tbsp. agave or maple syrup, 2 Tbsp. red onion, reserving the juice of ½ lemon for just prior to serving.
- Add the cooked pasta, chickpeas, and the dressing to the large bowl, and gently toss the ingredients until fully combined.
- Drizzle the juice of the remaining ½ lemon just prior to serving, and toss to combine.