This colorful chickpea salad is full of Mediterranean-inspired flavor. I love loading up my salads with vibrant ingredients and this crunchy salad is both visually appealing and filling.
I originally created this recipe for my Autumn Cleanse guide. It is one that always surprises people, so if you’re on the fence about this salad give it a try!
Table of Contents
Tips for a Delicious Chickpea Salad
Chickpeas are also called garbanzo beans, so look for either name on the label. Drain and rinse well before using.
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.
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.
Plant-Based Protein Options
To support my plant-forward lifestyle, I’m always looking for protein-powered plants to keep me energized. Chickpeas contain protein, healthy fat, fiber and tons of nutrients. This salad actually has 20 grams of protein per serving!
If you’re looking for ways to keep up your protein intake while eating more plants then check out this helpful Guide to Plant-Based Protein.
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.
More Great Salad Recipes
While you can add meat to many of the salads below, they can certainly stand on their own plant legs just fine. It’s much easier to find meat-filled recipes than meatless recipes, so I’ve set out to create incredibly tasty and plant-filled recipes just like these:
- Kale Caesar Salad
- Lemon Arugula Salad
- Cold Noodle Salad
- Greek Salad
- Strawberry Arugula Salad
- Bright Berry Salad
- Crunchy Carrot Salad
- Avocado Caprese Salad
- Plant-Based Taco Salad
Don’t forget to rate and review this sumptuous Chickpea Salad. I love hearing your feedback and how you like these salads!
Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup spinach fresh
- 1 cup canned chickpeas drained and rinsed
- ½ carrot diced
- ½ cup cucumber diced
- ¼ cup red bell pepper diced
- ½ cup pepitas
- ½ cup sunflower seeds
Citrus Tahini Dressing
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 2 tbsp orange juiced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp tamari
- ½ tsp garlic cloves minced
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).Â
- Use coconut aminos instead of tamari to make this soy-free.
Yum! Great dressing and inspiration on what to plant in my spring garden!
This salad was so good. I love how every bight was crunchy and the dressing was amazing. After tasting the dressing, I did add about 2 TBS more of the orange juice. It was fine as is but I wanted just a little more citrus. I will definitely be making it again.
I was not sure about this salad dressing but I reallly liked it!!!
This was very filling – I think the chickpeas did it. I added roasted crispy chickpeas too and that was a satisfying crunch. I didn’t have tahini so I subbed almond butter and it worked just fine! I loved the combo of the vegetables and the pepitas. Perfect for my lunch at work.
Great choice for a sub! And the roasted chickpeas are a great touch! Glad you enjoyed!
Sweet and Crunchy perfectly describes this salad. It’s a great combination of flavors.
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.