High Protein Pasta Salad Meal Prep: Chickpeas, Feta, 22g Protein

Ingredients

• 12 oz rotini or farfalle pasta
• 2 cans chickpeas (15oz each), drained and rinsed
• 1 cup crumbled feta cheese (about 5oz)
• 1 English cucumber, diced small
• 1.5 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 0.5 red onion, finely diced
• 0.5 cup kalamata olives, halved
• 0.25 cup sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
• 3 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped (or 1 tsp dried)
• 5 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 8 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced fine
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 0.5 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 0.5 tsp black pepper
• 0.25 tsp red chili flakes (optional)

Instructions

1. Make the dressing first so it has time to meld: whisk together red wine vinegar, olive oil, minced garlic, dried oregano, Dijon mustard, ½ tsp salt, black pepper, and chili flakes in a small bowl or jar. Taste it — it should be assertively tangy. If it's flat, add another ½ tsp red wine vinegar. Set aside. You'll use half now, half at serving time. This 2-stage dressing method is what prevents the dry pasta problem on day 3.
2. Cook pasta using the undercook method: bring a large pot of well-salted water to a rolling boil. Add pasta and cook exactly 1 minute less than the package directions say. For most rotini, that means about 7 minutes instead of 8. It should be slightly firm at the center — you'll feel a tiny resistance when you bite through it. This is intentional. It will soften to perfect al dente texture by Tuesday.
3. Drain and rinse immediately with cold water for 60 seconds. This stops cooking cold and removes surface starch. Shake the colander well, then spread pasta in a single layer on a large sheet pan or baking sheet. Let cool 15 minutes at room temperature. Do not skip the cooling step — warm pasta in a sealed container creates condensation that makes everything soggy.
4. While pasta cools, prep all vegetables: dice cucumber into ½-inch pieces, halve cherry tomatoes, finely dice red onion (rinse briefly under cold water and pat dry to reduce sharpness), halve olives, and roughly chop sun-dried tomatoes. Drain and rinse chickpeas thoroughly — rinse well enough that the water runs clear.
5. Combine cooled pasta, chickpeas, cucumber, tomatoes, red onion, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and parsley in a very large bowl. Pour in half the dressing and toss thoroughly — every piece of pasta should have a light coating. Add feta and toss gently one more time, trying not to break the feta crumbles into dust.
6. Portion into 5 airtight containers (ideally glass). Divide the remaining dressing equally into 5 small sauce cups or a separate small jar. Label containers Monday through Friday. Refrigerate all immediately. Each morning, drizzle the reserved dressing portion over the salad and toss before eating. If you don't have separate sauce cups, just add 1 tablespoon of olive oil before eating — it revives the texture effectively.
7. To serve: let the container sit at room temperature for 5 minutes if you prefer it not ice-cold. Add reserved dressing, toss, and eat. The salad is genuinely better by Tuesday once the chickpeas and sun-dried tomatoes have absorbed the vinaigrette. If anything looks dry by day 4, a quick drizzle of olive oil and squeeze of lemon brings it right back.