Low-Fat Black Bean-Pasta Salad (Vegan)

Submitted by Prose

"This colorful creation has a lot more flavor and a lot less fat than traditional pasta salad. It's easy to throw together, and with lots of vegetables and vegetarian protein it can be served as a light entree or a hearty side dish, perfect for potlucks, picnics or packed lunches. It can easily be made gluten-free by subbing gluten-free pasta."

 

• Ready In: 30mins
• Ingredients: 11
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• 6 ounces whole wheat rotini
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 ounces sliced black olives, drained and rinsed
• 1⁄2 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 carrots, grated
• 1⁄2 cup green onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 fresh jalapeno, minced (or other hot pepper) (optional)
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro or 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
• 15 ounces chunky salsa (I like Pace)
• 1⁄2 teaspoon lemon pepper

directions

1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water.
2. In a large bowl, mix the pasta, beans, and veggies.
3. Toss with salsa and lemon pepper. This can be served immediately, but the flavor is better if it is refrigerated for a few hours or overnight.

Reviews

[rxchapman]

I love this! It's easy to make and has great taste. I suppose the taste does largely depend on the type of salsa you use.

 

[The Veganista]

It sounded appetizing but it wasn't. Sorry! The salsa was very, very overpowering in flavor and I didn't even use the entire amount listed. This has a lot of potential but it needs a lot of tweaking.

 

[Zielle]

This is simply delicious! I would probably cut the carrots back to maybe one or one and a half next time, since they were overwhelming the taste of everything else.. but even still, this was very yummy and I'll be making it again and again!