Roasted Vegetable Chickpea Pasta Salad
on Aug 29, 2022
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There’s nothing better than a sheet pan fill in the blank. Any recipe that involves a lot of vegetables roasted in a hot oven is always a win. And before you correct me, I know this roasted veggie chickpea pasta salad is technically not full a sheet pan meal because you have to simmer the noodles on the stove, but it still has all that convenience. And most importantly, it’s tasty and has plenty of crispy, golden chickpeas. (Yes, the same ones I use to top my chickpea spinach stuffed sweet potatoes.)
Table of Contents
Why You Need This Recipe
A sheet pan in the oven does most of the cooking for you. Of course, it does take some effort to do the cutting and prep. But then just toss those vegetables on the pan, and they will transform in the oven.
You can multitask. While the zucchini, squash, peppers, tomatoes and chickpeas are roasting, go ahead and cook the pasta.
It’s a great vegetarian pasta salad. Shareable for a crowd and adaptable for taste and dietary preferences, you can skip the cheese and change the pasta to make it vegan or gluten-free.
What Is Chickpea Pasta?
Call it a continual reinvention, but different types of pasta keep appearing on the grocery store shelves. I will forever be a fan of the standard blend of flour, water and eggs, but these new variations are very exciting too. That’s because they involve more nutrition like fiber and protein. Also, they have less carbs and calories than traditional pasta.
Made from legumes, chickpea pasta is a bit chewier and has more texture. It’s gluten-free too. I love that it has its own style and personality that’s not trying to pretend it’s the real thing. As you cook this pasta, the water does get foamy, so rinse it off with water in a colander when it is ready. Since you’re making pasta salad, this is a step you would do anyway no matter what kind of noodles you’re using.
The Ingredients
This is what you need:
- Vegetables: I include a mix of diced zucchini, yellow squash and red peppers and halved grape tomatoes. They roast together with the chickpeas on the pan.
- Chickpeas: Open a can, drain and rinse them before adding these garbanzo beans to the veggies.
- Pasta: I like doubling down and using chickpea pasta with the roasted chickpeas, but you can use any type that you have in your pantry like whole wheat pasta. Shorter shapes work best such as rotini, gemelli or penne.
- Garlic cloves roast in the oven, and then they get mashed into the dressing.
- Olive oil: For the best flavor, use extra virgin olive oil.
- Parmesan cheese is a finishing touch. If you want to keep things vegan, use nutritional yeast instead. For something saltier, swap in crumbled feta cheese.
- Scallions & chives both add nice onion flavor. You can include parsley and basil too for more options of fresh herbs.
- Vinegar: The dressing calls for white wine vinegar, but you can substitute with red wine vinegar or champagne vinegar. Keep it light.
- Mustard adds flavor to the vinaigrette and helps it emulsify.
- Salt & pepper season the vegetables and the vinaigrette.
How To Make This Chickpea Pasta Salad
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
1. Stir the zucchini, yellow squash, peppers, tomatoes, chickpeas and garlic with olive oil, salt and pepper in a big bowl.
2. Arrange the veggies, chickpeas and garlic on two sheet pans in a single layer with the tomatoes cut side up. You won’t be able to fit everything onto just one pan.
3. Roast the vegetables until they are browned at the edges and the chickpeas are crispy, about 25-30 minutes. Give them 10 minutes to cool.
4. Cook the pasta while the vegetables are roasting. Follow the package directions, cooking until al dente in salted boiling water. Then rinse in a colander with cold water.
5. Make the vinaigrette. Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins into a small bowl and mash them with the vinegar, olive oil, mustard, salt and pepper.
6. Assemble the pasta salad. Combine the vegetables, chickpeas, scallions, chives, parmesan and pasta. Then pour in the vinaigrette.
Serving
This vegetable pasta salad is best served at room temperature right after you assemble it. That’s because the chickpeas lose their golden crispiness the longer they have been out of the oven. Treat this like a main dish salad or serve it as a side dish.
If you want a protein, you can also stir in chopped grilled or roasted chicken. For a shortcut, you can also use shredded rotisserie chicken.
Leftovers
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days. The chickpeas will not be as crispy as they are when they’re freshly roasted. You can also add baby spinach or arugula to really turn this into a salad.
More Chickpea Recipes
Chickpea Spinach Pasta
Sriracha Lime Chickpeas
Roasted Tomato Chickpea Quinoa Salad
Chickpea Greek Salad
Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpeas with Herby Tahini
More Pasta Salad Recipes
Classic Italian Pasta Salad
Roasted Broccolini Zucchini Pasta Salad
Southwestern Pasta Salad
Strawberry Cucumber Pasta Salad
Roasted Tomato Zucchini Pasta Salad
Tortellini Pasta Salad
Did you make this pasta salad? Please leave a comment and rating below. Thanks!
Roasted Vegetable Chickpea Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- For pasta salad
- 2 medium zucchini diced
- 1 medium yellow squash diced
- 2 red bell peppers diced
- 1 pint grape tomatoes halved
- 1-15 ounce can chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 2 garlic cloves in their skins
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 8 ounces chickpea pasta rotini, gemelli or penne
- 2 scallions thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon minced chives
- 1/4 cup shaved parmesan for serving
- For dressing
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon whole grain mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, stir the zucchini, yellow squash, peppers, tomatoes, chickpeas and garlic with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.
- Spread the vegetables, chickpeas and garlic on 2 sheet pans in a single layer. Arrange the tomatoes cut side up.
- Roast the vegetables until they are browned at the edges and the chickpeas are crispy, about 25-30 minutes. Rotate the pans in the oven halfway through roasting. Let the vegetables cool for 10 minutes.
- While the vegetables are roasting, simmer the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente according to package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water in a colander.
- For the vinaigrette, squeeze the roasted garlic cloves into a small bowl and mash and whisk them into the vinegar, 3 tablespoons olive oil, mustard, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.
- Combine the roasted veggies and chickpeas in a large bowl with the pasta, scallions, chives and Parmesan. Then stir in the vinaigrette.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Thanks For Sharing this amazing recipe. My family loved it. I will be sharing this recipe with my friends. Hope the will like it.