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This colorful and crunchy chickpea salad is full of Mediterranean-inspired flavor. I love loading up my salads with vibrant ingredients that are visually appealing, nourishing and filling.
I originally created this recipe for my Plant-Based Cleanse. It is one salad that always surprises people, so if you’re on the fence about salads loaded with toppings, I’m ready to change your mind.
Ingredients in Chickpea Salad
I love using Mediterranean-inspired flavors and ingredients since the Mediterranean contains blue zones, places on Earth known for longevity. You can definitely add in the vegetables of your choice, or add even more cucumber, pepper or carrot to this chickpea salad. Chickpeas are also called garbanzo beans, so look for either name on the label. Drain and rinse well before using.
The Key to the Perfect Dressing
To brighten up the veggie-fest that is this crunchy salad I created a Citrus Tahini Dressing. The tamari and apple cider vinegar brings the zing while the orange sweetens. The tahini wraps it all up in a creamy package.
Depending on how thick your tahini is, you may need to add a bit of water to ensure this dressing is perfectly pourable. Use coconut aminos if you need a soy-free option in place of the tamari. The dressing tastes great yet also adds extra healthy fat to my chickpea salad.
Crunchy Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup spinach fresh
- 1 cup chickpeas canned (drained and rinsed)
- ½ carrot diced
- ½ cucumber diced
- ¼ cup red bell pepper diced
- ¼ cup raw pepitas
- ¼ cup raw sunflower seeds
Instructions
- Whisk together Citrus Tahini Dressing ingredients. Add extra olive oil or water if dressing is too thick.
- Place spinach, chickpeas and veggies on a plate. Pour dressing on top and sprinkle with seeds.
Notes
- Swap spinach with the leafy greens of your choice.
- Feel free to load this salad up with as many veggies as you want.
- Chickpeas add healthy protein, swap with black beans if you aren’t a fan of chickpeas.
- Swap seeds with chopped cashews and almonds.
- Swap tahini with the nut butter of your choice (though texture + thickness will change depending on the nut butter used).
- Use coconut aminos instead of tamari to make this soy-free.
Nutrition
Chickpea Salad FAQs
They can be! Chickpeas are a wonderful plant protein, healthy fat and high in fiber. They are loaded with nutrients, like manganese and folate, so they are filling as well as nutritious.
Nope! Chickpeas should be cooked before eating. Canned chickpeas are already cooked, just rinse well before using.
I paired chickpeas with spinach, carrot, red bell pepper, cucumber, pepitas and sunflower seeds and topped it all with a bright tahini dressing. It’s loaded with protein, healthy fat and 100% plants.
It was ok. I really liked the seeds used. The dressing was not my favorite.
We liked this one the least of the 5 salads we have done so far. I used lettuce instead of spinach for my husband and mixed spinach and lettuce for the rest of us. I added celery and an avocado to the salad. In the dressing I used cashew butter instead of tahini, pomegranate balsamic instead of the apple cider vinegar, and coconut aminos instead of tamaril
Great choices for substitutions and I love the avocado and celery additions to the salad, too!
My first time using tahini, but I love humus and knew it would be great! Love how colorful and crunchy this dish was. Very filling. Will make this one again.
I really enjoyed this salad. I will keep it on repeat in my kitchen! Might use mixed greens or butter lettuce next time.
Yay! I love when a recipe gets added into the regular rotation!
Chickpeas are on of my
favorites and this salad highlights them perfectly. Sooo good!
I liked the ingredients of the salad, but the dressing is not my favorite. The taste was good but it felt kind of fat, like a heavy mayo dressing. Maybe next time I’ll ad a little yoghurt.
pretty good, I added apple for additional sweet and crunch.
That sounds delicous!
I’ve made this salad three times now. I love everything about it. The dressing is amazing, but I add a little red wine vinegar for a little extra punch. The seeds and the chickpeas along with that dressing make me crave this salad so often that I need to keep the ingredients on hand all the time now.
This salad was so good. It was our favorite so far! We had friends in from out of town and all four of us thought it was one of the best salads and dressings we have had. The tahini citrus dressing was easy to make and will definitely be a staple in our house. I added mixed greens in with the spinach and it was perfect. Thanks so much!
I love that you’re sharing with your guests! So happy it was a win for all! 🙂
The dressing was delicious. The salad was filling. I added some mandarin segments to the salad to make it more exciting. I had some toasted garlic bread to eat with the salad.
This recipe had a good combination of a grain and greens. Perfect as a stand alone meal.
My boyfriend and I prepared this the night before and he said after eating it today for lunch how it had just the right amount of crunch.
Although this salad is delicious, the calorie count is pretty scary!
I would double or even triple the amount of spinach, and then reduce the seeds by half each. (I’d keep the dressing as is, though, . It is so good!).
Super yummy salad! Hit the spot, not too filling, and such lovely colors!
I served my salad in a wrap. So tasty! Lots of chewing but worth it when it tastes that good. Plus that dressing, oh, that dressing. Yum!
I’ve never used tahini and the dressing is so good! I used mandarin instead of orange, but it was great! I liked the rainbow of colors in the veggies and the sweet creaminess of the dressing. I’ve always liked chickpeas and the made the salad a full meal for us. I liked the crunch of the seeds and also topped with hulled hemp seeds and flaky sea salt. One of my favorites, so far!