Lunchtime Chickpea Tortellini Salad.

One of my favorite lunches is this chickpea tortellini salad. Packed with red peppers, artichokes and spinach, it’s drizzled in a lemon feta dressing and perfect to make ahead for a great lunch or side dish!

Prepping lunch is going to be so easy this week! 

This chickpea tortellini salad is going to become a fridge staple for you. It takes about 20 minutes or so to throw together, can last in the fridge for a few days and is a delicious side dish that works with so many meals.

I live for a versatile dish.

I’m all about easy filling lunches that can be prepped ahead of time. And I’m very passionate about lunches that taste amazing, because I have had so many times where I’ve made something the night before only to be totally disgusted by it come noon the next day.

This used to happen to me all the time when I worked in an office. I wanted to take a lunch that would keep me full but not put me in a food coma. One that I looked forward to eating! 

Way too often I’d end up with soggy lettuce in a salad or a depressing sandwich or something that just wasn’t doing it for me. NO MORE!

These days my home is my office but it still helps tremendously to have lunch prepared ahead of time. Especially when it’s something satisfying, delicious and a huge hit with the entire family. 

Two of my all time favorite dishes are my marinated chickpeas and our favorite tortellini salad. Both get even more delicious as they sit so they are great to prep ahead of time. Both are also very versatile. The tortellini can be a main dish or a side. The beans can be served on salad, toast, in pitas, etc. 

So I decided to make a combo of the two in the perfect lunchtime salad for optimal satiety! 

Here’s what I love about this dish:

• It’s super customizable. You can use any tortellini that you or enjoy. Cheese, spinach, chicken – whatever! There are no rules when it comes to the tortellini, aside from cooking it and throwing it in the salad.
• The add-ins are up to you too! If I’m making this for a few days worth of meals, I like to use things like jarred peppers and artichokes that will hold up well in the fridge. Things that work as they sit in dressing, you know? But if you’re just prepping it for one meal, you can add in all sorts of fresh vegetables, like cucumbers or tomatoes. 
• It’s the perfect clean-out-the-fridge or pantry meal!
• Instead of chickpeas, you could do cannellini beans or even black beans. If you use black beans, you could add some cumin or chili powder and do a spin on a taco or tex-mex tortellini salad with beans. 

Another thing I wanted to utilize with this salad: a dressing I’ve already shared. For this recipe, I use the feta lemon vinaigrette from the spring couscous bowls I shared a few weeks ago. This way, if you make those bowls for dinner one night, you can use leftover dressing for lunch the next day. 

Or, if you’re prepping a few things for the week, make a double batch of dressing, one for the spring couscous bowls and one for this lunch salad.

And as one more option, if you’re cooking for one or two, you can cut both recipes in half and use one can of chickpeas for both recipes. Those are just a few of the ways that the dressing can work double duty for you! So many of you have loved this dressing.

The lemon feta vinaigrette is also the perfect way to add a sprinkle of cheese in with our tortellini salad! It’s one of the reasons I love it so much. The feta is marinated in the vinaigrette and extra flavorful. It’s creamy and wonderful. 

Love it served with some toasted (or not toasted!) sourdough on the side or even some of your favorite crackers. You can also take this salad and put it OVER a greens salad! And of course, it can be made with dinner tonight. Lovely with grilled chicken or steak.

Basically obsessed with it.

Lunchtime Chickpea Tortellini Salad

Lunchtime Chickpea Tortellini Salad

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 30 minutes mins

One of my favorite lunches is this chickpea tortellini salad. Packed with red peppers, artichokes and spinach, it's drizzled in a lemon feta dressing and perfect to make ahead for a great lunch or side dish!

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5 from 21 votes

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Ingredients

• 1 pound tortellini pasta, any filling works (I like cheese or spinach tortellini)
• 5 ounces fresh baby spinach
• 1 (14 ounce) jar roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
• 1 (14 ounce) jar artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

lemon feta dressing

• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped herbs, like parsley and chives
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• kosher salt and pepper
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ⅓ cup crumbled feta cheese

Instructions 

• Place the baby spinach in a large bowl.
• Boil the tortellini in boiling salted water according to the package instructions. Once drained, dump it on top of the spinach in the bowl and let it sit for 2 to 3 minutes. This will help the spinach to wilt. Toss it with a few drizzles of the dressing so the tortellini doesn’t stick together.
• Add the roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts and chickpeas. Drizzle with more dressing and toss everything together well. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper if you find it necessary.
• Either serve now or stick it in the fridge to prepare meals! This lasts well in the fridge for 3 days if you’re prepping it ahead of time. The spinach will continue to wilt more as it sits.

lemon feta dressing

• Whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar, herbs, lemon zest, honey, garlic and a big pinch of salt and pepper. Whisk in the olive oil until emulsified. Stir in the feta cheese. This can be made a day ahead of time!

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Author: How Sweet Eats

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Super easy.