Prep Work vs Meal Prep Pay Off
I posted a story poll on my Instagram this week with a look at all the ingredients for this pasta salad and a question about whether or not it was too much prep.
There was a 60/40 split between “no problem” and “that’s too much work” responses.
But I’m here to clarify, I don’t think it’s as daunting as it seems at first glance. The peppers are already sliced, the artichokes are from a can that just need a rough chop, and the same goes for the pitted olives.
The only real dicing and slicing required will be for the bell pepper, cucumbers, shallot or red onion, and herbs.
And other than the veggie prep, the rest is as simple as throwing some sauce ingredients in a blender and cooking pasta.
While the ingredient list is longer than my usual recipe, I think the prep work is worth the pay off. The recipe makes six BIG servings that are designed to work for leftovers served chilled.
Having read that, if you take a look at the ingredient list and decide it’s more knife work than you’d like to do, I get it! I would recommend checking out other high protein pasta salad recipes like my deli style or roasted broccoli pasta salads.
Let me know in the comments if you have a question about ingredient swaps, preparation, or anything else. Hope to see you around these parts again soon. – Mason
Creamy Feta Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 12 oz (dry) Protein Pasta
- 3 Mini Persian Cucumbers, diced
- 1 Red Bell Pepper, diced
- 1 Shallot, or ¼ a red onion, diced
- 1 can (15 oz) Artichoke Hearts, drained and chopped
- 12 Pitted Olives, I used ½ Castelvetrano and ½ Kalamata olives
- 2 oz Pepperoncini
- 2 oz Peppadew Peppers, or pickled Fresno peppers, bell peppers, etc.
- 2 handfuls Fresh Parsley, chopped
- 1 handful Fresh Dill, chopped
For the Feta Sauce
- 6 oz Reduced Fat Feta Crumbles
- 1 cup Low Fat Cottage Cheese
- 2 Lemons, zest of 1, juice of both
- 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
- ½ cup Water
- 1 Tablespoon Chili Crisp, optional
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta. Cook the pasta just shy of al dente. (About 8 minutes for the Brami radiatori I used.) Drain and rinse the cooked pasta under cold water and set aside.
- While the pasta cooks, add all the sauce ingredients except the chili crisp to a blender or food processor. Mix until completely smooth and set aside. Prepare all the veggies and herbs.
- Add the drained pasta to a large mixing bowl with the prepared vegetables and feta sauce. Gently fold everything together until evenly mixed. Salt and pepper to taste before serving or storing.
