Give Pasta Salad 10 Grams Of Extra Protein With A Sprinkle Of These

Pasta salad is a carb-heavy dish that gets the majority of its flavor and nutrients from the add-ins you use. Giving it a protein boost can balance out the effects of the carbohydrates, helping you avoid an energy crash after eating. Adding protein can also slow your digestion and turn a simple side into a complete meal.

There are a lot of delicious ways to add protein to pasta salad, but one of the most underrated ones is hemp seeds. Three tablespoons of hemp seeds can add 10 grams of protein to the dish, and incorporating them into your pasta salad couldn't be easier. Simply sprinkle them over a chilled pasta salad right before you serve it.

Adding hemp seeds to your diet can lower your risk of disease, aid in digestion, and improve heart health. They also improve the flavor and texture of pasta salads. Hemp seeds have a mild flavor that is slightly buttery, nutty, and grassy, which complements fresh herbs and high-acid ingredients like citrus, and works well in pasta salads that contain basil, parsley, cilantro, lemon, or lime. They can also bring out more savory, umami notes in ingredients like garlic, shallots, mushrooms, and miso paste, mimicking the richness of a heavy cream or cheese. Unhulled seeds, which include a fiber-rich shell, also add a pleasant crunch that balances out the tenderness of the pasta and the other soft ingredients in your salad.

If you don't love the crunchiness of the hemp seed shell, you can use hemp hearts instead. The difference between hemp seeds and hearts is that the hearts are the softer interior, and taste more like sunflower seeds or pine nuts. They work better with sweet, spicy ingredients and rich, creamy fats like avocado and goat cheese. They can be sprinkled raw on top of the salad, sautéed with other vegetables, toasted like pumpkin seeds, or blended with the salad dressing to give it a creamy, nutty taste. You can also use hemp hearts as a substitute for pine nuts and oil in pesto sauce, blending them with fresh basil, garlic, and lemon juice for a lemon herb pasta salad recipe.

To further upgrade the texture, flavor, and protein level of your dish, you can start with protein pasta. While traditional pasta contains around 7 or 8 grams of protein and whole wheat pasta around 7 grams, high-protein pasta is made from chickpeas, lentils, peas, or a blend of legume and wheat flour and can offer up to 22 grams per serving. Protein pasta is typically firmer with a grainier texture, and can be enhanced by the addition of hemp hearts. The soft creaminess of the seeds can counteract the chewiness of the pasta. Instead of using an olive oil-based dressing, swap the oil for a rich, hemp heart dressing to help your other ingredients better adhere to the pasta. This will keep the consistency more uniform and avoid giving protein pasta a mushy, crumbly, or chalky texture.