Now that it’s officially April, it’s starting to feel more and more like summer here in Florida every single day. Nothing screams summer more than family barbeques with burgers, pasta salad, watermelon and all the fixin’s. Obviously barbeques are typically carbohydrate dense meals, and if you wanna indulge every now and again, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. We should always choose to enjoy moments in life. However, if you’re looking for a way to make some of those barbecue dishes a little healthier you’re in the right place.

Celebrate summer with this colorful and healthy spin on pasta salad. It’s hard to beat seasonal summer veggies and chickpea pasta tossed with a fresh lemon dijon dressing and crumbled feta. Light on prep & dense in flavor.

Servings: 5

Serving Size: 200g or approximately 1 1/2 cups

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Nutrition Facts: 233 calories/ 33g carbs/ 10.5g protein/ 8.5g Fat

Ingredients: 

For Pasta Salad: 

6 oz Uncooked “Barilla” chickpea rotini pasta

1 cup Fresh or Frozen corn kernels

1 cup sliced cucumber

1/2 cup diced red onion

For Dressing:

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons Dijion mustard

1/4 teaspoon salt

Fresh Ground Pepper for Taste

Instructions:

-Cook pasta according to the directions on the package. Lightly steam corn in about 1-2 inches of water on the stove top for about 5 mins, until just warmed through- don’t over cook!

-Whisk dressing ingredients together in a small bowl.

-In a large bowl, toss the cooked pasta, corn, cucumber, tomatoes, onion, and dressing. Sprinkle with Feta.

-Serve room temperature or chilled. You can serve this as a side, or add some chicken or your favorite protein to make it a whole meal.

Things to note:

-This recipe is very easy to multiply. Double everything to feed a crowd.

-If you wanted to make this more of a meal you can add 12oz of cooked chicken breast. The macros per 270g serving with the chicken are 33g carbs, 31g protein, 11g fat, and 341 calories.

-If you are looking for a vegan recipe, this recipe can easily be vegan by subtracting the feta cheese. The macros per 195g serving without the feta would be 32.5g carbs, 9g protein, 8g fat, and only 220 calories.