Flavorful Pasta Salad
This flavorful recipe is a fresh take on the Greek salad. It’s a perfect, colorful dish to bring to any type of get together. I’ve made this flavorful pasta salad more times than I can count. It’s composed of crisp veggies and a delicious homemade dressing that delivers fresh flavors to the table.
Bring this amazing pasta salad to any occasion and impress everyone. I’ve brought it to several potlucks and picnics and it always goes over well. And if you’d like to make it in advance, you’re in luck. This flavorful pasta salad stores well in the fridge for several days; only the avocado needs to be added directly before serving.
We’ll begin by boiling pasta. In the meantime, we’ll chop a variety of veggies, whisk our dressing, and set it all aside. We’ll be using agave in this recipe, but feel free to add your choice of sweetener. We’ll also add chickpeas as a plant-based protein, but feel free to substitute a protein of your choice. Additionally, you can use gluten-free pasta to make this recipe gluten-free; this pasta salad will taste just as amazing. If you decide to use different ingredients for this recipe, I would love to hear from you. I always feel very fortunate to have an opportunity to learn about food from anyone!
This pasta salad uses avocado and olive oil as flavorful, healthy fats. We also include vegan feta cheese with the fresh veggies for added flavor and a creamier texture. You may elect not to use olive oil to make the recipe oil free.
I encourage you to share your experience in the comments below if you tried this Flavorful Pasta Salad recipe or made it differently. If you took a photo, please share with me on my instagram account ‘zesty_zahra’ and I will share your stories there. I am always happy to learn about people’s food choices and preferences!
Flavorful Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 4 oz Pasta
- ½ cup Chickpeas canned
- 1 Carrot shredded, medium-size
- ¼ cup Red Onion finely diced
- ½ cup Cherry Tomatoes diced
- 5 Black Olives diced
- ½ cup Fresh Parsley diced
- ⅓ cup Vegan Feta Crumbles
- 1 Avocado chopped, medium-size
Dressing
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
- ½ tsp Agave
- 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
- 1 tsp Garlic minced
- 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
- ½ tsp Salt or to taste
- ½ tsp Black Pepper or to taste
Instructions
- Boil pasta by following the directions on its package. Drain water and let pasta cool down. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- In the meantime, in a small mixing bowl add olive oil, red wine vinegar, agave, lemon juice, dijon mustard, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and black pepper. Whisk together well and set aside.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl add boiled pasta, chickpeas, carrots, red onion, cherry tomatoes, olives, feta crumbles, fresh parsley and avocado, along with the dressing. Mix everything well together, and adjust salt and pepper to taste. Serve chilled.