Pepper & Lemon Pasta Salad

Impress your Summer party guests with this colorful pasta salad.

Better yet, prep it in advance to impress yourself.

Have a healthy lunch or dinner ready in under a minute.

The Summer months are fast approaching. As the temperature outside goes up, preferred food temps goes down. Warm soups from Winter get a chilled makeover. Coffee takes an icy plunge. (Not so much mine, as I’m an iced coffee drinker 365 days/year but maybe breakfast is more like this.) Hot pasta bowls, move over.  It’s chilled pasta salad time.

Lemon Pasta Salad Season

Loaded with fresh vegetables and plant based proteins, this Lemon Pepper Pasta recipe makes a refreshing meal too. Fruits and vegetables are mostly made of water. Consuming them helps keep your body hydrated. 

Amount of Water in Fruits & Vegetables

Here’s a look at how much water is in this recipe.

asparagus 94%

chickpeas 67%

kidney beans 69%

lemon juice 94%

onion 94%

peppers 92%

scallion 92%

tomatoes 95%

Healthy Pasta Salad Ingredients

Pasta Picks 

An essential ingredient to any pasta salad. To keep it interesting, play around with the shape and type of pasta you use—from whole grains to protein packed varieties. Depending on the ingredients, pasta can have different flavors at different temperatures. So be sure to use a variety that you enjoy the taste of cold.

Include Protein

In order to make this salad a well balanced (and satisfying) meal, be sure to add in a source of protein. You can keep it vegetarian—with a plant protein like tofu, edamame, beans, nuts  —or add in an animal source of protein. The pasta and vegetables you use will also have varying amounts of protein.

Load in the Vegetables

In addition to water and protein, packing vegetables into pasta salads also adds fiber and nutrients. Use a combination of raw or cooked (rainbow carrot recipe) vegetables, different shapes and colors.

Lemon Pasta Salad

Yield: 9 cups

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

A refreshing lemon pepper pasta salad that’s great to serve a Summer crowd or meal prep it in advance for a party of one.

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Ingredients

Pasta Salad

• 8 ounces pasta
• 12 ounces asparagus
• 1 teaspoon avocado oil
• ½ teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1 cup diced red peppers
• 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
• ½ cup chopped red onion
• 1 scallion sliced
• 15.5 ounce can chickpeas drained & rinsed
• 15.5 ounce can red kidney beans drained & rinsed

Lemon Pepper Dressing

• 3 cloves garlic
• ¼ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1½ teaspoons black pepper

Instructions

1. Cook pasta according to package instructions.
2. Snap off the tough woody ends of the asparagus. Cut into bite sized pieces. Place onto a baking sheet. Toss with the avocado oil and garlic powder. Broil (high) for 15-20 minutes, until tender.
3. In a large bowl, stir together the dressing ingredients. Add the pasta, peppers, tomatoes, onion, scallion, beans and asparagus. Toss gently to combine.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 9 Serving Size: 1 cup
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 264Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 328mgCarbohydrates: 37gFiber: 8gSugar: 7gProtein: 11g

Did you make this recipe?

Let us know how in the comments below or share on Instagram and tag @perspectiveportions, we'd love to see it.

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