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This high protein pasta salad is so easy to make, absolutely delicious, and perfect to meal prep for lunches. It packs an impressive 39 grams of protein and 9 grams of fiber per serving for a balanced, satisfying meal you’ll love.
Your New Favorite Pasta Salad
What’s not to love about pasta salads? They’re easy to make, perfect for meal prep, and delicious! This high-protein pasta salad recipe is packed with nutrition too, so you’ll feel great having it for lunches all week long.
Pasta salads are kind of my favorite. You’ll love my Elote Pasta Salad and High Protein Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad too! Here’s why you’ll love this one:
- High protein. One serving packs around 39 grams of protein so that you can feel full, satisfied, and support your goals. Because it’s made with chickpea pasta and chicken, it has a lot more protein than your typical pasta salad.
- High fiber too. Protein tends to get all the attention, but fiber is super important too. This recipe has 9 grams of fiber from fresh veggies and chickpea pasta.
- Easy recipe for meal prep. This pasta salad is easy to throw together a big batch for a great option for meal prep!
- SO good. If you’re a pasta salad lover, this recipe is a no brainer. It’s not only nutritious but super tasty too.
Ingredients
Pasta Salad Ingredients
- Chicken breast: I love using rotisserie chicken to save time, but any cooked chicken will do! My Thin Sliced Chicken Breast (Air Fryer Recipe) or Air Fryer Shredded Chicken works great here too!
- Chickpea pasta: Banza chickpea pasta or Barilla chickpea pasta is my favorite for extra protein and fiber. The key is to make sure you don’t overcook it. Regular pasta works too, of course.
- Veggies: I like to use an English cucumber or Persian cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, shredded carrots, and sweet onion or red onion. You can swap in any other fresh vegetables that you like!
- Sharp cheddar cheese: I love using cheddar but fresh mozzarella, feta cheese, or any others that you enjoy will work great too.
Homemade Dressing Ingredients
- White wine vinegar: Or any kind of vinegar you like, like red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar. White balsamic is great too.
- Olive oil: To emulsify the dressing (and add healthy fats!).
- Dijon mustard: For some flavor and a little creaminess.
- Honey: Just a little to balance out the tangy flavors.
- Parmesan cheese: For a little bit of cheesy salty flavor!
- Spices: Salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.
Variations
- Greek pasta salad. Swap the cheddar for feta, add black olives or kalamata olives, and use white balsamic vinegar or regular balsamic vinegar in the dressing.
- Change up the dressing. My Garlic Parmesan Dressing, Balsamic Date Vinaigrette and Italian Sub Dressing would all be great too! You could even go creamy and add 1/4 cup of Greek yogurt or make my Cottage Cheese Ranch Dressing.
- Make it vegetarian. Omit the chicken and add more plant-based protein with a cup of edamame or 1 cup of black beans instead.
- Add your favorite vegetables. Chopped vegetables like broccoli, celery, or even chopped spinach would all work.
- Add fresh herbs. Fresh basil, parsley, dill or chives are all delicious.
How To Make High Protein Pasta Salad
- Make dressing. In a small bowl, combine white wine vinegar, olive oil, honey, parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Whisk until fully combined. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Add ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, add cooked chicken breast, cooked pasta, cucumber, tomato, bell pepper, shredded carrots, sweet onion and cheddar.
- Add dressing. Pour dressing over ingredients.
- Toss. Toss pasta salad gently until combined. Top with additional cheese if desired and enjoy!
How To Store
To store, place leftovers in an airtight container (or containers) in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. These are my favorite meal prep containers for this pasta salad! I recommend freshening up leftovers with a big of extra dressing before serving.
Jamie’s Tips
Recipe Tips
- Don’t overcook your pasta. Chickpea pasta is more fragile than traditional pasta, so make sure you cook it to al dente according to the package instructions, usually about 6-8 minutes of boil time. When it’s finished cooking, rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process.
- Time savers. Save yourself some time by using rotisserie chicken and your favorite Italian dressing from the grocery store.
- Freshen leftovers with dressing. The key to meal prepping pasta salad is tossing the pasta salad with a splash of fresh dressing before eating. Either make extra homemade or use your favorite store-bought.
More Meal Prep Lunch Ideas
If you’ve made and loved these High Protein Pasta Salad or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and comments below!
High Protein Pasta Salad
An easy, healthy and high protein pasta salad packed with veggies and tossed in a flavorful parmesan vinaigrette dressing.
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breast or rotisserie chicken, cooked, chopped and cooled
- 8 oz chickpea pasta, cooked according to package directions and cooled
- 1 cup English cucumber, diced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1 small sweet onion, diced
- 4 oz sharp cheddar, cubed
Italian Parmesan Vinaigrette
- 3 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup olive oil, or avocado oil
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 pinch salt, more to taste
- 1 pinch black pepper, more to taste
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine white wine vinegar, olive oil, honey, dijon mustard, parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Whisk until fully combined. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.
- In a large mixing bowl, add cooked chicken breast, cooked chickpea pasta, cucumber, tomato, bell pepper, shredded carrots, sweet onion and cheddar.
- Add dressing to the bowl of pasta ingredients and toss gently until thoroughly combined.
- Top with additional parmesan cheese if desired and enjoy! Makes 4-6 servings
Notes
Freshen up leftovers by adding a splash of extra dressing.
Nutrition
Calories: 525kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 39g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 84mg | Sodium: 451mg | Potassium: 677mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 5489IU | Vitamin C: 44mg | Calcium: 292mg | Iron: 6mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should only be used as an estimate.
Did you try this recipe?Leave a comment + star rating below!
Very delicious, and now I have all my lunches prepped for this work week. Thank you! 🙂
Delicious!! Great meal prep for lunches. Topped mine with some sriracha. So good
How much is one serving size? I’m not sure how to section it out for meal prep.
I didn’t measure them out exactly, I would just take 4 containers and divide it evenly since it makes 4 servings 🙂
Hi! What would be good sub for honey to lessen the sugar? Thank you!!!
You can definitely leave out the honey if you prefer, the dressing will just be tangier 🙂 but it will still be great!
Made this pasta salad for my meal prep for work lunches this week. It’s so good! And so filling! Today was day 3 and I’m still enjoying it. I left the dressing on the side and just stir it in when I’m about to eat it. I think next time I will try it with feta! I used whole wheat pasta.
Thanks for the review Jane, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I’ve made it with feta cheese too and can confirm it’s delicious, excited for you to try it that way! 🙂
This was so good and a hit as a trial run for a superbowl party, Go Eagles! 😄
Yay glad you loved it! Definitely a good Superbowl dish 🙂
This was so delicious! Husband and I had it for two days of lunches. Filling and fantastic!
Yay glad to hear!! 🙂 Thank you for leaving a review!