Gluten-Free, High Fiber, High Protein Pasta Salad
Before Doug and I cleaned up our diets, I used to make this super delicious pasta salad recipe. My daughter reminded me of it recently when she asked for the recipe.
I couldn’t find a recipe and don’t really remember where I got it. I knew the ingredients are fairly simple and straightforward, so I was happy to recreate it and try to clean it up a little. It is such a good side dish for any type of grilled meat, hamburgers, chicken...you name it! The original version called for bowtie pasta and blue cheese dressing. I swapped out the pasta for chickpea pasta to add fiber and protein and switched up the dressing to Tessamae’s avocado ranch. The result is out of this world and I feel good about eating it. More importantly, I feel good after eating it! Win-win-win😊
Pro Tip:
You can also add diced chicken, sliced beef sirloin, shrimp, tofu or chickpeas to this salad and have a full meal!
Gluten-Free, High Fiber, High Protein Pasta Salad
1 box of Banza rotini pasta
1 can of chopped black olives
½ block of feta cheese
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1 green onion, chopped
½ cup of quartered cherry tomatoes
1 tablespoon of Mrs. Dash original seasoning
½ tablespoon of Italian herbs
1/3 cup of Tessamae’s avocado ranch dressing
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions: Cook pasta according to the instructions on the box (cook for minimum time to keep pasta intact). Chop up celery, green onion and tomatoes. Once the pasta is cooked, rinse with cold water and add to a mixing bowl. Add in chopped celery, green onions and tomatoes. Add in the Mrs. Dash seasoning and Italian herbs. Lastly pour in the dressing and toss to mix. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Note: This dish is so cute using bowtie pasta. I was unable to find any chickpea bowtie pasta, but if you do, please try it out! Also, don’t skip the black olives even if you don’t like them. There are several in my family that do not like black olives but they like them in this salad so give it a try!
Enjoy!
