This Cabbage Pasta Salad is loaded with fresh cucumber, chickpeas, dill, green onion, feta, pasta and of course, green cabbage. It has a wonderful herbaceous dressing and makes a wonderful side dish for potlucks and bbqs and makes an easy lunch.
This Cabbage Pasta Salad is loaded with herbs and vegetables! And, this recipe can be super versatile based on your taste. It's perfect for all year long and is something that everyone can enjoy. This pasta salad is loaded with different flavors and textures, making it a delicious and beautiful lunch and side dish.
If you're a fellow pasta salad lover check out my Chicken Club Pasta Salad and Tortellini Caprese Salad.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Loaded with flavors and textures
- Perfect for all year round
- A delicious make-a-head light lunch
- An easy side dish for potlucks, bbqs, picnics
- Super versatile
Ingredient Notes
Green Cabbage - The star of the show with this pasta salad. It’s crunchy, vibrant and almost peppery.
Cucumbers - Hot House Cucumber, also called English cucumbers, seedless or burpless cucumbers. They are typically wrapped in plastic to protect the skin and keep moisture in, so no need to peel them and they have a general sweeter flavor compared to a common cucumber.
Chickpeas -Just one can of drained and rinsed chickpeas. You can use any other kind of bean, I think a small white bean such as cannellini would also work.
Pasta - Use your favorite small or medium pasta shell - shells, elbow, spirals, bowties/farfelle, penne, etc. Just make sure to cook it al dente.
Green Onion - divide into greens and whites. The whites go in the dressing and greens go in the salad base.
Feta - adds salt and tanginess to the pasta salad.
Dill - use fresh dill, chopped
Dressing
Olive Oil - Use high-quality oil like an extra virgin olive oil.
Green Onion - we use the leftover white parts of the onion to add a mild bite.
Garlic - Just a touch of garlic. In sauces and dressings, garlic often grows in intensity as it rests.
Chives + Basil - Adds an herbaceous note to the dressing and gives the dressing a beautiful green color.
Mayo - You can use any plain mayo of your choice, full fat, low fat, with egg, or eggless.
Lemon - Lemon zest and lemon juice give it a nice tangy taste.
Salt, Pepper and Chili Flakes - Season to taste
Walnuts - Adds a nuttiness to the dressing.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Cook the pasta: Bring a pot of water to a boil. Salt heavily. Follow package directions to cook pasta al dente. Drain: pasta and rinse in cold water. Set aside until cool.
- While the pasta is cooking/cooling, wash and rinse vegetables, chickpeas and herbs. Finely chop cabbage, slice and salt cucumbers, chop green onions (dividing the white and green parts), and chop the dill.
- Add all the dressing ingredients to a small food processor or blender. Blend until smooth.
- Toss all ingredients together in a large serving bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Toss again before serving. Taste and season as needed and serve.
Expert Tips
Season the pasta water well. The water should be salty to impart flavor on the pasta plus keep it from sticking together.
Don’t overcook the pasta. Use the package directions of the pasta you choose as a guide and cook al dente. When done, drain the pasta and move onto our next tip.
Rinse the cooked pasta under cold water before tossing with the salad dressing. If you’ve ever made pasta salad that turned sticky, not rinsing the pasta before tossing with the dressing could be the reason. The cooked pasta is coated in starches. By removing the starches, the salad won’t turn sticky or clump as much. Rinsing the pasta will also keep the pasta from continuing to cook.
Check the seasoning!: The flavor of pasta salad changes when cold. Make sure to toss the pasta salad after refrigerating to evenly redistribute, taste and re-season as needed before serving.
Recipe FAQ
Rinsing the hot pasta in cold water until it's cooled, stops the cooking process. No one wants mushy overcooked pasta salad. It'll also remove any extra starches on the pasta.
Yes, you can! I actually recommend making it a full day ahead of serving so the ingredients have plenty of time to blend their flavors! I would just recommend putting the avocado and green onion/chives on before serving.
Keep any leftovers in the fridge for 2-3 days in a sealed container.
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Cabbage Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 10-12 ounces pasta
- 3 cups green cabbage chopped
- 1 english cucumber
- 1 bunch green onion
- 1 15 ounce can of chickpeas
- 8 ounces feta
- salt & pepper to taste
- .5 ounce fresh dill
Dressing
- whites of green onion
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- handful chives
- handful basil
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- ⅓ cup mayo
- 1 lemon juice and zest
- ⅓ cup walnuts
- salt, pepper and chili flakes to taste
Instructions
- Cook the pasta: Bring a pot of water to a boil. Salt heavily. Follow package directions to cook pasta al dente. Drain: pasta and rinse in cold water. Set aside until cool.
- While the pasta is cooking/cooling, wash and rinse vegetables, chickpeas and herbs. Finely chop cabbage, slice and salt cucumbers, chop green onions (dividing the white and green parts), and chop the dill.
- Add all the dressing ingredients to a small food processor or blender. Blend until smooth.
- Toss all ingredients together in a large serving bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Toss again before serving. Taste and season as needed and serve.
Megs says
Made this for 4th of July grill out and it was pretty tasty and got compliments. I didn't have a few of the ingredients but it was still really good and family ate almost all of it. Made the dressing with lime juice instead of lemon. Very yummy!