Whole wheat pasta and chickpeas provide fiber and other nutrients that support health.

Macaroni salad is a staple at summertime picnics and BBQs across America. While this perennial favorite gets gobbled up by the ton every year, I can’t say that I’m a fan of the typical recipe. Pasta salad with chickpeas and cottage cheese is a better, more satisfying twist on this American favorite.

Read: Dozens of recipes for pasta salad with all kinds of interesting ingredients.

Pasta salad can be served as a side dish with meat or fish.

Pasta Salad is Good for You

Pasta salad with chickpeas and cottage cheese isn’t only for the warmer months; it can be a healthy option year-round, too. Here’s why.

Cooked and cooled pasta (any kind) is a source of resistant starch, a type of fiber that feeds the beneficial bacteria in the gut that help prevent colon cancer and support overall health. Legumes, such as chickpeas, and cooked and cooled potatoes, also provide resistant starch. Foods rich in fiber can help prevent, and manage, prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.

Meatless Vegetarian Pasta Salad Recipe

I like a hearty pasta salad that’s more than a side dish.  Here’s how I build a better pasta salad to enjoy as a meatless meal or as a side dish.

• Whole wheat pasta. Whole wheat pasta is a great way to include whole grains. I like the slightly nutty taste of whole wheat pasta, which is higher in fiber than the regular kind. I favor shapes such as rotini because the ridges hold onto the dressing.

Whole wheat pasta is brimming with manganese, a mineral you need for strong bones and cartilage, and for many other bodily functions.

Read: Why carbohydrates are good for you

• Legumes. Chickpeas, a type of legume, and pasta are a satisfying combo that you can really sink your teeth into.  Legumes provide protein, and fiber, which helps to better regulate your energy levels, and they supply iron, folate, and phytonutrients, which are plant compounds that protect cells from damage.

• Cottage cheese. I like cheese in my pasta salad for the taste, as well as the protein and calcium. Using low fat cottage cheese in place of some of the feta cheese cuts down on calories and saturated fat.

Low fat cottage cheese has 11 times less saturated fat than feta cheese, but is lower in calcium.

Pasta Salad with Cottage Cheese and Chickpeas can be a side dish or a main meal.

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Pasta Salad with Chickpeas and Cottage Cheese

Delicious pasta salad that's good for you, too!

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Keyword chickpeas, cottagecheese, cottagecheeserecipe, macaronisalad, pastasalad

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Ingredients

• 16 ounces whole wheat rotini pasta, uncooked
• 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained
• 2 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 1 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 cup finely diced red onion
• 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Instructions

• Cook pasta until just about done (al dente). Drain well and place pasta in a large serving bowl.
• Add the chickpeas, tomatoes, parsley, onion, cottage cheese, and feta cheese. Combine well.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Add the dressing to the pasta mixture and toss until well combined. Serve chilled.

Notes

Per serving: 253 calories; 10 grams protein; 40 grams carbohydrate; 6 grams fiber; 7 grams fat (2 grams saturated fat); 6 milligrams cholesterol; 284 milligrams sodium; 80 milligrams calcium.