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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
- ½ cup raw pepitas
- ½ cup raw 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 garlic clove 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).
- 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.
We had the tahini chickpea salad tonight as my daughter was here from Asheville and wanted gluten pizza with my salad dressing and salad. It was very good and tasty. They said that it would be better with the dressing that I make which they love and always want me to make when they are here. Overall it was very good.
A wonderful, filling, satisfying salad. I used a mixture of leafy greens. For my second helping, I added sardines which made it even better. Thanks to all the feedback by others, I now have a good list of swaps and add-ins to try in the future.
Although the recipe was easy to use, it took me two hours and fifteen minutes to make the salad and dressing from scratch. That’s a far cry from the fifteen minutes posted.
I appreciate the crunch and the interplay between tahini and orange juice, but this one was a bit of a yawner. I added some chili lime pistachios instead of pepitas. That helped!
This one scared me most as I don’t do well with creamy dressings. But again I was shocked at how much I enjoyed it. Took about 10 minutes to throw together (that includes all the times I was interrupted by my small child lol). The dressing was sweet thanks to the orange juice and the nuts added a wonderful crunch. Very filling and satisfying.
GREAT JOB trying it!! WHoo hoo!
Loved the flavors of this salad, especially the dressing. Not a fan of chickpeas though.
Black beans would work in place of chickpeas, if you like those!
Crunch-a-lisious! Dressing sooo good!!
Love the chickpeas. Nice to have another use for chickpeas.
4got the stars!!
Very delicious and filling and the dressing is so good. I’ve really enjoyed the 10 day salad challenge.
I’m so glad you’re enjoying the challenge, Natalie!
Excellent salad recipe!! I doubled the orange juice and it tasted fabulous!! It was a very filling salad and so so tasty!! I added grape tomatoes and olives as well as arugula and it was so refreshing! Excellent combo and amazing flavours!
Sounds like some fantastic additions!
Loved all the texture, crunch and the variety of flavours in this salad! Something for everyone. Enjoyed this after a day on the slopes with some grilled chicken and it filled our tummies! Delish!
Yum!
Made this without pepita’s (don’t like them) and air fried the chickpeas… So good!
Good salad. Love the crunch. I’ve never been a big fan of tahini dressing. It seems to dull the other flavors IMO. Will definitely make the salad again but probably with a citrus vinaigrette.
Glad you tried it, but the citrus vinaigrette sounds like it would be GREAT with this salad!
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.