Kale and Chickpea Pasta with a Honey Basil Vinaigrette

I love cold pasta salads. They are so fun to create and can be so versatile with the ingredients. You can customize them to make them gluten-free, plant-based, dairy-free, and even low-carb! I was sick of eating the same foods, so I made a few swaps to the grocery list this week. I made a big batch of this delicious kale and chickpea pasta salad with a honey basil vinaigrette, and it’s the yummiest quick and easy side to have with meals! I’m already looking forward to making another version of it this weekend.

We have enjoyed this pasta salad with grilled chicken, butternut squash soup, or just a quick snack in the afternoon! This pasta salad is filled with so many healthy ingredients, and I used chickpea pasta to make it even healthier! The basil vinaigrette is one of our favorites, and I make it weekly! I use pine nuts as a cheese substitute, and I love the nutty flavor it adds to the vinaigrette. We make this so much that I had to plant my basil in the house because I had to run to the store to purchase basil almost daily! The vinaigrette is good on salads, chicken, spaghetti squash, and so much more! 

Kale & Chickpea Pasta Ingredients

Banza Chickpea Pasta – Substitute with any pasta kind you’d like! I’ve made this pasta with a multi-grain bowtie. 
Purple Onion
Chickpeas – White northern beans are perfect as a substitute 
Kale
Cucumber
Tomatoes
Fresh Mozarella – Omit the mozzarella if you want to make this recipe plant-based.

Basil Vinaigrette Ingredients

Olive Oil – You can sub for avocado oil
Pinenuts – The pinenuts make the basil vinaigrette taste like parmesan. If you don’t want to use pinenuts, you can use almonds (pre-soaked in water) or parmesan cheese. 
Fresh Basil
Black Pepper
Sea Salt
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Honey – Or a sweetener of your choice
Lemon Juice

I love that you can keep this pasta salad in the fridge for a week, and it just gets better each day as it marinates in the honey basil vinaigrette! I love using kale because it never gets soggy like other lettuce. 

Kale & Chickpea Pasta Salad with Honey Basil Vinaigrette

Taralynn McNitt

Delicious and easy recipe filled with healthy ingredients!

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, dinner, lunch,, Salad

Cuisine American

Servings 20

Ingredients

  

Kale and Chickpea Pasta Salad

• 7 Cups Cooked Pasta I used chickpea pasta
• 1 Cup Grape Tomatoes Sliced
• 1 Cup Cucumbers Chopped
• 1/2 Small Red Onion Chopped
• 1 Cup Chickpeas Washed & Drained
• 1 1/2 Cup Fresh Mozzarella Chopped
• 7 Cups Fresh Kale Chopped

Honey Basil Vinaigrette

• 1 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 Cup Pinenuts
• 2 Teaspoons Lemon Juice
• 2 Teaspoons Honey
• 1 Cup Fresh Basil Leaves
• 1 Tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 Tsp Onion Powder
• 1/2 Tsp Sea Salt
• 1/2 Tsp Black Pepper

Instructions

 

Honey Basil Vinaigrette

• Add olive oil, chickpeas, lemon juice, honey, black pepper, sea salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and basil to the blender. Blend on high for 30-seconds.

Kale and Chickpea Pasta Salad

• In a large bowl, mix the pasta, kale, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, and chickpeas together.
• Pour the honey basil vinaigrette on top, and coat well.
• Fold in the mozzarella, and season with extra black pepper.

Notes

Store in the refrigerator! 

Keyword salad, gluten-free, dairy-free, healthy recipe, pasta salad, basil, salads, vinaigrette, easy recipes

I hope you try out this recipe and love it! ♥️ 

Questions for you!

1. What is your favorite type of pasta?
2. Have you ever tried pumpkin pasta?