Go Back

High-Protein Italian Pasta Salad

High protein Italian pasta salad with chickpea or lentil pasta, grilled chicken, mozzarella, and chickpeas tossed with Italian dressing. Chilled meal-prep style salad with crisp tomatoes and cucumber for a hearty, protein-packed bite.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
chilling 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Italian-American
Calories: 540
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

protein pasta (chickpea or lentil pasta)
  • 1 lb protein pasta (chickpea or lentil pasta)
grilled chicken breast
  • 2 cup grilled chicken breast, diced
mozzarella cheese
  • 8 oz mozzarella cheese, cubed
chickpeas
  • 1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
cherry tomatoes
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
cucumber
  • 1 cup cucumber, diced
Italian dressing
  • 0.5 cup Italian dressing
Parmesan cheese
  • 0.25 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Italian seasoning
  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning
salt and pepper
  • 1 salt and pepper to taste

Method
 

Cook and cool the pasta
  1. Cook the protein pasta according to package directions, then drain. Rinse under cold water to stop cooking and cool it down quickly.
Build the pasta salad
  1. Combine the pasta, diced chicken, cubed mozzarella, drained chickpeas, halved cherry tomatoes, and diced cucumber in a large bowl. Mix gently so the ingredients distribute evenly.
  2. Add the Italian dressing, grated Parmesan, and Italian seasoning to the bowl. Toss until everything is well coated.
  3. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss again to evenly disperse the seasoning.
Chill and serve
  1. Refrigerate the pasta salad for at least 1 hour before serving. The pasta should feel firm-tender and the flavors should meld.
  2. Adjust the dressing if needed after chilling. Serve chilled.

Notes

For best meal-prep results, cool the pasta completely before mixing so the mozzarella stays cube-shaped and the salad doesn’t get watery. Refrigerate in a sealed container up to 4 days (freezing not recommended). For a lighter option, use reduced-fat mozzarella and a low-calorie Italian dressing to cut saturated fat while keeping it high-protein.