Easy High Protein Packed Vegetarian Pasta Salad

Tired of the same old boring lunches everyday? Try this meatless super high protein pasta instead! You can meal prep this healthy pasta salad recipe the night before and easily take on the go or enjoy at home. This vegetarian pasta salad uses chickpea noodles and edamame for a vegetarian protein punch.

One of my favorite foods has always been pasta salad. Cold salads in the summer just hit different. But classic pasta salad usually lacks tons of protein and is normally not a great meal on its own. That all changes with this high protein easy pasta salad recipe! This blog post is all about how to make this tasty dish for pasta salad season with the full recipe included.

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Many high-protein pasta salad recipes require chicken and we’re not doing that over here today. It combines fresh veggies, edamame, shredded cheese, and chickpea noodles with my favorite primal kitchen store bought dressing. It’s a delicious way to prep ahead a main course lunch idea. I love the use of chickpea pasta and edamame for protein!

What Makes This Pasta Special?

This pasta right here, my friends. I’ve tried some other chickpea pastas before in healthy recipes, but this new Aldi find is by far my new favorite. The ONLY ingredient is chickpeas. A lot of the other brands out there have some other added ingredients and while I still eat those brands, I think it’s even better if we can remove the other unnecessary additive ingredients.

Also this pasta has NINETEEN grams of protein per serving. WHAT! That is amazing! The pasta alone makes this salad high protein, but with the added savory flavor of edamame and cheese you’re looking at a meal sized protein portion.

Now of course, if you don’t live near an Aldi grocery store then use whatever chickpea flour pasta you want and have access to. I’ve used the Banza chickpea pasta a ton and normally just order it straight from Amazon. The Barilla chickpea pasta is also good. Or try lentil pasta. It works, too!

Let’s also talk about how DARN cheap this simple recipe is. The biggest expenses here really are just a box of pasta (which is under $4 most likely) and a bag of edamame (which is probably around $3). This is a great lunch if you’re on a budget. Make your own dressing for extra savings. Plus, you can eat on it more than one day! It’s also high fiber which is superb. Each serving has multiple grams of fiber.

How to Make This High Protein Pasta Salad

I’ll walk you through how to make this high protein pasta salad, but it’s ridiculously easy with just a few salad ingredients. It’s one of those creamy pasta salads you just can’t resist!

1. Cook Pasta According to Package Instructions

Boil your large pot of water and then toss in the box of chickpea pasta. After about 5-6 minutes, remove from heat and pour into a strainer or drainer. Immediately run cold water over top the cooked pasta to help stop the cooking process. Chickpea pasta is really fragile so I honestly stop the cooking process once it has become al dente pasta.

2. Chop Raw Veggies/Shred Cheese if Needed

When I made this I was really just using up what I had. I diced into small pieces a cucumber, carrot, half a red pepper, and shredded some cheddar. Bell peppers are just a must for me. While the pasta cooks, get to choppin’!

I personally think some shredded parmesan cheese, mozzarella pearls, or feta cheese would have been even better for healthy fats. I probably also would of added in some cherry tomatoes, red onions, kalamata olives, and maybe broccoli. too. Fresh herbs would be amazing as well. The great thing here is you can add whatever toppings you want!

3. Microwave Edamame and Shell

Use any frozen edamame you like, but I do think Bird’s Eye is good. Follow the instructions on the bag! Once it’s cooled off a bit you can easily handle the pods to shell into a small bowl. Or if you don’t want to dirty up a separate bowl, just throw them right in with the rest of the veggies!

I like to stick them in the freezer after removing them from the microwave for 5ish minutes or so just to bring them back to room temperature before handling them.

Edamame is such a great plant-based protein! I love that I thought to use it in this easy recipe.

4. In a Large Mixing Bowl Combine All Ingredients

Toss the drained pasta chopped veggies, edamame, and cheese in a large bowl! For additional protein I think cold black beans would even work. Add a little black pepper and salt if you think it needs it.

5. Top with Dressing of Choice

I love primal kitchen dressings for their clean dressing ingredients but you could also make your own homemade vinaigrette to pour over top. Or use whatever Italian dressing you love.

Since I only had a half bottle left of this dressing, I also added in olive oil, a bit of red wine vinegar, maple syrup, and lemon juice to try and give it some more flavor. Fresh basil would of been nice. I was sort of making my own homemade dressing to add with the primal kitchen stuff.

However, if I had an entire bottle of this dressing I would of just used that. For a creamy texture, you could try primal kitchen’s caesar dressing or ranch.

And that’s it! Enjoy this for a perfect lunch, as a snack or side dish, or really ANYTIME!! It’s so tasty and healthy. Next time I make a big batch I think I’ll add in rotisserie chicken or a cooked chicken breast to up the protein content even more. You could portion it out into mason jars to take on the go.

Store in an airtight container so you can munch it for the next couple of days! To really spice things up, drizzle some balsamic vinegar over top before eating. For a well balanced lunch, you could have this with a cup of greek yogurt, some chicken sausages, black beans, etc.

If you’re more of a recipe card person, I’ve included that down below. But really feel free to change it up with whatever fresh vegetables you want. Black olives, broccoli, green pepper, fresh mozzarella, artichoke hearts, toss in whatever you want! As long as you use a chickpea pasta and include edamame, you’ll hit your protein goal!

For best flavor, I like to wait a few hours before eating (if I can!) to let the dressing soak in to the full ingredient list. So if you’re going to scroll tiktok – make this beforehand!

If you’re tired of still feeling hungry after eating traditional pasta salad, give this high protein variation a try! It’s a great way to get more protein compared to regular pasta and makes for a great source of fiber using mostly fresh ingredients. I’ll be enjoying this whole dish!