Mediterranean Tuna Chickpea Pasta Salad
Posted on July 27 2020
The beauty of this Mediterranean Tuna Chickpea Pasta Salad is how easy it is to make! Throw this huge fiesta of colours, flavours, textures and utter deliciousness together in mere minutes! Tossed in an olive oil, apple cider vinegar, fresh herb dressing – it’s just TOO GOOD.
Serve it up for a big family meal, or keep it in the fridge and enjoy all week long!
Personally I’m a fan of both options, although slightly more partial to the eat it all week long idea.
Which is what we’ve been doing, and let me tell you…GOOD DECISION.
It takes all the guess-work out of lunch. Or dinner. Whatever floats your boat. You can serve this salad with a variety of main dishes, or with some bacon appetizers which work wonderfully for a casual braai or BBQ get together.
Mediterranean Tuna Chickpea Pasta Salad is made with simple ingredients:
- Penne or rotini pasta (We love gluten-free options like Pulse Pasta or chickpea pasta, but you can use any pasta you like)
- Canned tuna
- Canned chickpeas
- Cherry or plum tomatoes
- Cucumber
- Red onion
- Calamata olives
- Creamy feta cheese
- Yellow bell pepper
- Fresh parsley
NB: You can totally use whatever you want in this salad, think of these ingredients as a guide, and then let the wind take you where it may.
For the fresh herb, olive oil dressing:
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Apple cider vinegar (raw and organic is best)
- Water
- Himalayan pink salt
- Ground black pepper
- Fresh garlic
- Honey
- Italian herb mix
- Fresh parsley and basil
I have to say, this pasta salad is even better the next day – the flavours settle and the pasta absorbs some of the dressing making it that much more SCRUMPTIOUS.
What I’m trying to say is leave it to sit in the fridge overnight if time allows and all that!
Best served chilled in summertime, or at room temperature in cooler months.
Also try my Baked Chicken Pasta With Coconut Sauce, Cauliflower Chickpea Pasta With Garlic Butternut Sauce and my Cuban-Style Chicken Rice Bake.
If you’ve been frequenting these parts for a while, you’ll know that I’m a real yoga enthusiast. And more recently ballet barre has become a big part of my workout regime.
BUT you guys, last week I was watching a Boho Beautiful video on YouTube (highly recommend them for yoga, pilates and meditation), and the husband of this duo mentioned he was into skipping workouts.
He was saying what a hectic cardio workout you get from skipping. I have to admit I didn’t realised skipping WORKOUTS were a thing. You?? Hmmmm.
Got me thinking…I used to skip back in the day. WAAAY back in the day. But I thought, why not give it a try?
Long story short, I’ve been doing skipping workouts on YouTube just about every day since, with a few rest days thrown in if I’m feeling too sore.
MY jungle hat – it’s a GREAT CARDIO WORKOUT. And really fun!
I would recommend starting with a beginners workout if you’ve never skipped before. If you’ve skipped before you’re probably fine to start with a 10 minute interval workout.
The “no rest” workouts are really hard-core and you’ll need a few weeks to build your endurance up before trying those.
ANYHOO – Long story short, I’ve been a tad hungrier for healthy carbs since I started skipping, hence the appearance of this Mediterranean Tuna Chickpea Pasta Salad in our lives!
My sweet boyfriend put it this way – think of your body like a car…The more fuel you use, the more you need to replace. Makes sense to me.
Whether skipping is your thing or not, LOL (got a bit distracted there), I hope you try this Mediterranean Tuna Chickpea Pasta Salad really soon.
Leave a note in the comments to let me know what you think, it makes my day when you do!!
Here’s the healthy and delicious, EASY recipe!
A fiesta of colours, flavours and utter deliciousness in mere minutes! Tossed in an olive oil, fresh herb dressing – it’s just TOO GOOD.
- FOR THE SALAD:
- 250 g penne pasta , or pasta of choice (I like gluten-free pulse pasta)
- 400 g canned chickpeas , drained and rinsed
- 340 g canned tuna in brine , drained
- 200 g calamata olives , drained, pips removed and sliced into quarters
- 2 cups plum or cherry tomatoes , sliced in half
- 1 yellow bell pepper or 3 mini peppers , sliced in half
- 2 cups cucumber , seeded and diced
- 1/2 red onion , finely chopped
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley , finely chopped
- 150 g soft feta cheese , cubed or crumbled
- FOR THE DRESSING:
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar , raw and organic
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 small clove garlic , minced
- 1 – 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp Italian herb mix
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley and basil , chopped
- Generous pinch Himalayan pink salt , to taste
- Ground black pepper , to taste
-
Cook pasta per instructions on the box. Set aside to cool.
-
Spoon pasta into large salad bowl or dish. Add all salad ingredients, toss.
-
Blend all dressing ingredients, or shake together in a glass jar with lid. Pour over salad and gently toss until evenly coated with dressing. Keep some aside to add later if you like.
-
Serve as a main dish or as a side, and enjoy!
Notes: As a main dish, this pasta salad will serve 6 – 8 depending on appetites, and as a side it should serve 12 people.
Best served chilled in summertime, or at room temperature in cooler months.
It’s even better the next day, so leave it to sit in the fridge overnight if time allows!
