Simple Creamy Chickpea Pasta Salad with Fresh Herbs (Gluten-Free)

This super filling chickpea pasta salad is not only creamy and delicious, but it is PACKED full of fiber and fresh flavor!

I adapted this recipe from the New York Times Cooking site (you can view the original here if you have a subscription) by adding chickpea pasta, replacing celery with cucumbers (mild celery allergy), and by using plant-based ingredients instead of dairy!

What You'll Need:

Using fresh herbs is very important for this dish. It helps to make it not seem overly heavy and keeps it refreshing!

• Chickpea Pasta (or other pasta of choice)
• Canned Chickpeas
• Unsweetened Dairy-Free Yogurt
• Vegan Mayonnaise
• Lemon Juice
• Dijon Mustard
• Fresh Dill
• Fresh Parsley
• Diced Cucumbers
• Sliced Scallions
• Salt & Pepper

How to Make Chickpea Pasta Salad:

Creamy, flavorful, delish, and so filling, you've got to try this one!

First, Prepare the Ingredients

Begin by boiling the pasta, making note of how long your pasta of choice takes. Drain when done and rinse if necessary.

Drain and rinse the canned chickpeas. Lightly mash some (not all) of the chickpeas with a fork.

Dice the cucumbers, slice the scallions, and very lightly chop the fresh herbs.

Next, Combine Ingredients

In a (quite large) mixing bowl, add the cooled pasta, the rinsed chickpeas, and all of the remaining ingredients. Save a few sprigs of dill and parsley for garnish.

Mix everything together until well combined.

Finally, Garnish, Plate, & Enjoy!

Transfer to your serving dish of choice. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and garnish with the remaining dill, parsley, and any leftover scallions!

Ingredient Substitutions:

This recipe would also make a great plant-based chicken/chickpea salad by omitting the pasta! If you choose to use just chickpeas and no pasta, I'd suggest doubling the chickpeas.

I love Banza chickpea pasta! You can find it at Target, Whole Foods, Publix, etc. If you can't find it, feel free to use another legume-based pasta, whole-grain penne pasta, or your favorite gluten-free pasta!

If you prefer celery over cucumbers, use celery! I chose to use cucumber only because celery gives me a mild allergic reaction. This choice is completely yours!

If you can't get all of your herbs fresh, focus on having fresh dill. Dill is the most flavorful of the herbs, so the salad will benefit the most from having fresh dill. Plus, it's a pretty garnish! 🙂 If you can't get any fresh herbs, dried herbs will still work. Just use a smaller amount than the recipe specifies!

If you can't get a good almond milk yogurt, you can substitute about ⅓ cup of cashew cream + 2 ½ tablespoons of water mixed in.

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