This easy meal prep pasta salad is so good. It’s highly customisable, studded with healthy veggies, and so easy to make!
Pasta salad is a great recipe for meal prep, since it lasts a while, and can be easily made in big batches. This recipe is no exception, and I love having a stash for the week ahead. Lunch is so much simpler when you have something planned ahead of time.
Aside from meal prep, this would also be a great vegan side to bring to a barbecue. After all, who doesn’t love pasta?
Convinced yet? Good. This vegan pasta salad is:
- Super simple
- Satisfying, thanks to the chickpeas
- Easily adjustable
- A quick big-batch meal
How to Make This Pasta Salad for Meal Prep
Making this recipe for meal prep is so easy! While the pasta is boiling, you chop the tomatoes and drain the chickpeas and olives. When the pasta is cooked, you simply combine everything in a big bowl and divide it into containers.
This recipe makes enough to prep five days, which is ideal if you want to change things up on the weekends. The pasta salad will stay well in the fridge, and can be eaten cold, room-temp, or even reheated if that’s your jam.
There are endless ways to customise this recipe, so do whatever your heart desires. A few ideas:
- Add hot sauce or other condiments before eating
- Swap out the veggies
- Swap out the beans
- Use a pre-made salad dressing instead of oil and lemon juice
- Use a different leafy green
What Meal Prep Containers Should I Use?
I used 900mL microwaveable containers, made by the brand Decor. Of course, I wish they weren’t made of plastic, but sometimes we have to work with what we’ve got, right? Fingers crossed I’ll find some nice glass (and affordable) ones soon!
The 900mL size was perfect for this recipe, but you can use bigger containers if you want to add more veggies or leafy greens. I wouldn’t go any smaller, though, or the pasta may get too squished and soggy.
What You Need to Make This Pasta Salad
- Pasta: Any shape you like, but I think spirals are best
- Cherry tomatoes: Or tomatoes of your choice
- Rocket: Or any other leafy green
- Olives: Any kind you like best, but make sure they're pitted
- Chickpeas: Or any beans you prefer
- Olive oil: A high-quality one tastes amazing in this, my choice is Red Island’s cold-pressed olive oil
- Lemon juice: Adds the perfect zest to the dressing
- Basil: I used dried basil since it’s cheaper, but fresh would also work
FAQ
Yes! Try these: Meal Prep Overnight Oats and Meal Prep Vegan Chili.
📖 Recipe
Easy Meal Prep Pasta Salad (Vegan)
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 5 1x
Description
This easy vegan pasta salad is so quick to make and tastes delicious. It's perfect for meal prep because you can make a big batch and enjoy it all week long.
Ingredients
- 500 g spiral pasta
- 250 g cherry tomatoes
- 120 g rocket
- 220 g pitted olives
- 1 420g can chickpeas
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lemon (juiced)
- 1-2 teaspoon dried basil
- salt and pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of very salted water to a boil.
- Add pasta and cook according to package directions, leaving it al dente.
- Meanwhile, slice cherry tomatoes in half and add them to a large bowl with the rocket.
- Drain the olives and chickpeas, and add them to the large bowl as well.
- In a seperate bowl, make a dressing by mixing the olive oil, lemon juice, dried basil, salt and pepper. Set aside.
- When pasta is cooked, drain it. Pour pasta into the bowl with the other salad ingredients.
- Top everything with dressing and toss well.
- Divide pasta salad into 5 containers. Refrigerate, and eat throughout the week. Pasta can be eaten cold, room-temp, or heated.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dinner, Main Course, Salad
- Cuisine: Australian
Nutrition
- Calories: 508
- Fat: 12.4
- Carbohydrates: 82.6
- Protein: 15
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