Healthy Greek Pasta Salad
Healthy Greek Pasta Salad contains Mediterranean flavors and vegetables in tangy, oil-free hummus. Add tofu feta cheese for an added level of fabulous!
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 390kcal
Ingredients
Salad
- 8 ounces vegetable pasta cooked according to directions and cooled immediately. (or any pasta of choice)
- 1 large bunch kale approximately 5 cups, stem removed, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 1 large English cucumber diced
- 1 red onion diced (approximately 1 cup)
- ½ cup Kalamata olives sliced in half
- 1 cup grape tomatoes cup in halves
- 1 can artichoke hearts in water drained and diced
- ½ cup banana peppers
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 3 Tablespoons capers
- 4 Tablespoons fresh dill chopped
- 1 15 ounces can of chickpeas rinsed and drained
Hummus Dressing
- ½ cup hummus of choice I used Engine oil-free original
- The juice from 4 lemons ¼ cup
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
Tofu Feta Cheese (optional)
Instructions
Greek Pasta Salad
- Cook 8 ounces of vegetable rotini pasta or pasta of choice according to directions (mine required 9 minutes).
- Drain pasta and rinse in cold water until room temperature.
- Remove stems from the kale, and chop them into bite-sized pieces.
- Place kale in a large salad bowl.
- Add cold pasta, chickpeas, red onion, tomatoes, olives, mild peppers, artichokes, bell peppers, capers, and cucumbers.
- Add dill.
Tofu Feta Cheese
- Make the tofu feta cheese in advance and add it to the salad before serving
Dressing
- In a large measuring cup, juice lemons.
- Add red vinegar and hummus of your choice.
- Add water to thin.
- Whisk together.
- Pour dressing over salad mixture and toss several times, stirring the ingredients together to make sure everything is coated in dressing.
- Cover and place in a refrigerator until ready to eat.
- Best if the salad can rest in the dressing for at least 3 hours before serving.
- Great for leftover lunches.
Notes
- Marinating the tofu overnight helps it to absorb the flavors. Then, cooking it and putting it back into the marinade enhances the flavors.
- Extra firm tofu is suggested, so the tofu is harder in texture, similar to feta cheese.
- Any sized pasta or type of pasta works with this recipe.
- I suggest using a vegetable chopper to expedite chopping, and it also makes the vegetable uniform in size for easier eating.
- When lemons are in season, juice them and freeze them in Souper Cubes to have fresh lemon juice all year round. Each cube holds 2 Tablespoons of fluid.
- Try using different flavors of hummus for a unique flavor.
- For a shortcut, rinse the pasta in cold water after cooking to make the Greek pasta salad quickly.
- Dressing pasta salad in advance helps the flavors to develop, and the pasta absorbs the dressing.
- For a warm pasta salad, roast the vegetables and toss in the dressing while the pasta is warm.
- Choose gluten-free pasta for a gluten-free option.
Nutrition
Serving: 6g | Calories: 390kcal | Carbohydrates: 81g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 605mg | Fiber: 13g | Sugar: 16g