Chickpea and fennel pasta salad
3
Points®
Total time: 30 min • Prep: 20 min • Cook: 10 min • Serves: 8 • Difficulty: Easy
This Mediterranean-influenced pasta salad gets its crunch and slight sweetness from raw diced fennel while feta cheese gives it a flavorful punch. Both ingredients marry well with herbaceous, lemon-Dijon homemade dressing. Don’t discard the fennel’s fronds so you can use them to garnish the finished dish. Because this recipe makes such a large yield try it with garlic-grilled chicken skewers at your next outdoor gathering. Or since it’s also delicious chilled, plan to reserve the leftovers for a quick lunch or super later in the week. We’ve used orzo but you could use any other short shaped pasta like small sea-shell or macaroni if you have either of them already stored in your pantry.


Ingredients
Uncooked orzo
¾ cup(s)
Table salt
¼ tsp, for cooking orzo
Fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp
Olive oil
1 Tbsp, extra virgin
Fresh oregano
1 Tbsp, minced
Dijon mustard
2 tsp, grainy variety
Kosher salt
1½ tsp
Jarred minced garlic
½ tsp
Black pepper
¼ tsp
Canned chickpeas
1 can(s), (15 oz), rinsed and drained
Plum tomato
4 medium, seeded, chopped
Uncooked fennel bulb
1 medium, trimmed, diced (reserve 1/2 cup fennel fronds)
Roasted red peppers (packed in water)
12 oz, rinsed, drained, chopped (about 1 cup)
Crumbled feta cheese
¼ cup(s)
Shallot
3 Tbsp, chopped, minced
Instructions
1
Cook orzo in salted boiling water until al dente, about 9 minutes; drain and let cool.
2
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, oil, oregano, mustard, kosher salt, garlic and pepper.
3
In a large bowl, combine orzo with chickpeas, tomatoes, fennel, roasted peppers, feta and shallot; drizzle with dressing and toss to coat. Garnish with chopped fennel fronds, if desired. Yields about 1 cup per serving.
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