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You are here: Home / Healthy Recipes / Avocado Chickpea Feta Pasta Salad with Basil Vinaigrette

August 13, 2018 17 Comments

Avocado Chickpea Feta Pasta Salad with Basil Vinaigrette

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This avocado chickpea feta pasta salad is packed with whole-grain pasta, tomatoes, chicken, and diced red onion and tossed with a light homemade basil vinaigrette
Avocado Chickpea Feta Pasta Salad with Basil Vinaigrette

Back-to-school season is here, which means it’s time to start thinking about packing lunches again!

I just finished college, but I still have 3 more years of school to go. I actually just started my first year of law school at Wake Forest University last week! I’ve heard people joke that law school feels like middle school all over again because everyone has a locker again and most people bring their lunches.

While I have no desire to return to middle school, I actually do enjoy packing my own lunch. I try to plan in advance to make something like this feta chickpea pasta salad for the week.

It’s a perfect lunch for school (or work), because it’s quick to assemble, it stays fresh for a few days, and it has a great mix of whole grains and protein. For recipes like this, I typically use either leftover chicken from another meal or buy a rotisserie chicken from Whole Foods!

Since I’ve made an effort to eliminate plastic in my kitchen as much as possible, I love using these U-Konserve stainless steel containers to pack my lunch.

Avocado Chickpea Feta Pasta Salad with Basil Vinaigrette in a stainless steel container

I’m not one for soapboxes, but the short explanation (as I understand it) is that plastic releases toxins/chemicals when it’s heated, not just in the microwave, but also in the dishwasher.

So, I’ve used stainless steel and glass containers instead of plastic containers for the past few years. I toss both types of containers in the dishwasher and wash the plastic lids by hand. Both are a bit pricier than plastic containers, but the price difference is worth it to me to avoid toxins.

These U-Konserve stainless steel containers containers are my favorite since they’re not heavy or breakable like glass, and they’re cute, stackable, and come in a ton of fun colors. (And glass containers are still handy when you need to microwave your food!)

No matter how you pack it in your lunch (or eat it at home), I hope you love this pasta salad!

Avocado Chickpea Feta Pasta Salad with Basil Vinaigrette in a stainless steel lunch container

If you try this chickpea feta pasta salad, let me know in a comment or take a photo and tag me @livbane on Instagram! I’d love to see!

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5 from 3 votes

Avocado Chickpea Feta Pasta Salad with Basil Vinaigrette

This avocado chickpea feta pasta salad is packed with whole-grain pasta, tomatoes, chicken, and diced red onion and tossed with a light homemade basil dressing
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 359kcal
Author: Liv

Ingredients

For the Vinaigrette

  • 1 lemon, juiced (about 1/3 cup)
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, packed
  • 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. black pepper

For the Pasta

  • 12 oz. whole-grain pasta like rotini, penne, or farfalle
  • 2 cooked chicken breasts, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
  • 1 (15 oz.) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1 1/2 cups halved cherry tomatoes or chopped regular tomatoes (about 3/4 lb)
  • 1/4 cup finely diced red onion
  • 1/2 cup feta cheese crumbles
  • 1 small avocado, diced (*add just before serving)

Instructions

  • First, prepare the dressing. If you have a mini blender or food processor, blend vinaigrette ingredients together. Otherwise, finely dice basil and garlic and then whisk vinaigrette ingredients together in a medium measuring cup. Set aside.
  • Cook pasta according to package directions to al dente and drain. While pasta cooks, prep other ingredients by chopping chicken, draining and rinsing chickpeas, and dicing tomatoes and red onion. 
  • Pour pasta into a large bowl and add chicken, chickpeas, tomatoes, red onion, and feta cheese. Toss with dressing. Add avocado just before serving.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 359kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 14g | Sugar: 4g
Other favorite easy, healthy lunch ideas

• Mexican quinoa
• Deli turkey roll-ups with avocado
• Soup in a mason jar (like this lentil soup or sweet potato chickpea stew)
• Leftovers
• Big salads with leftover grilled chicken or chickpeas for protein

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Avocado Chickpea Feta Pasta Salad with Basil Vinaigrette for a school or work lunch

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Comments

  1. Misty says

    August 13, 2018 at 12:40 pm

    5 stars
    Delicious recipe! Hope you have a good first week of law school!

    Reply
    • Liv says

      August 31, 2018 at 10:33 pm

      So glad you enjoyed this recipe!

      Reply
  2. Carol Eiseman says

    August 13, 2018 at 1:46 pm

    I never thought about lockers in a law school, but they would be handy to store your lunch. Your lunch recipes are good.

    Reply
    • Liv says

      August 31, 2018 at 10:33 pm

      The lockers are really helpful since we have so many heavy books!

      Reply
  3. Thomas Paul says

    August 19, 2018 at 8:40 pm

    What a great idea!
    It’s really good for on-the.go meals. Easy to make.
    I love adding chickpeas to my salads

    Reply
    • Liv says

      August 31, 2018 at 9:49 pm

      Yes! Chickpeas are such an easy way to add protein to salad or pasta salad!

      Reply
  4. Sarah @ Bucket List Tummy says

    August 20, 2018 at 12:23 pm

    I love those containers – so perfect for packing a lunch! Adding avocado to pasta salad is a great idea.

    Reply
    • Liv says

      August 31, 2018 at 10:34 pm

      These containers are my favorite! I have them in SO many colors, shapes, and sizes now!

      Reply
  5. Kat says

    August 20, 2018 at 5:36 pm

    OMG this salad sounds AMAZING. I love pasta salads. So delicious!

    Reply
    • Liv says

      August 31, 2018 at 10:34 pm

      You and me both! They’re such a great make-ahead lunch for the week!

      Reply
  6. Sheila says

    August 27, 2018 at 9:52 am

    I just started my MBA too and I also make sure to pack my own lunch everyday. I prefer homecooked meals than cafeteria food. Love this idea of using reusable containers. Will definitely do this.

    Reply
    • Liv says

      August 31, 2018 at 10:29 pm

      I’m with you on homemade lunches over cafeteria food. Hope your MBA is going well, Sheila!

      Reply
  7. EDVALDO says

    August 27, 2018 at 12:31 pm

    5 stars
    I looked so hard for a recipe like this. Finally I found it and it’s amazing!

    Reply
    • Liv says

      August 31, 2018 at 10:29 pm

      So glad you enjoyed this recipe!

      Reply
  8. Bec says

    September 1, 2018 at 8:23 pm

    This salad will definitely be in my lunches, but also the vinagarette will be amazing in so many other dishes too!

    Reply
    • Liv says

      September 2, 2018 at 7:12 pm

      Yes!! It’d be an amazing salad dressing!

      Reply
  9. raju says

    September 15, 2021 at 12:58 am

    5 stars
    Thanks For Sharing this amazing recipe. My family loved it. I will be sharing this recipe with my friends. Hope the will like it.

    Reply

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Hi, I’m Liv! I originally started blogging to share easy meals I made in my college dorm kitchen. Years later, as an attorney now, my goal is still to share delicious, approachable recipes with simple ingredients. You can most often find me running, eating ice cream, and making a mess in my kitchen. More...

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