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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).Â
- 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.
Loved the salad. It’s filling with the chickpeas and seeds. It’s my first time using tahini. Loved the dressing.
Delicious and filling! The orange juice in the dressing is a tasty change. I will keep this in rotation!
My favorite so far. Even my husband who is not a salad perso raved about it. I made on swap. I subbed aqua faba for the oil in the dressing to reduce fat.
Gonna leave out the ACV next time
Lotsa crunch plus creamy dressing. Yum!
I love the dressing and the crunchiness of the chickpeas.
My kind of salad. Packed with protein,.fiber, and taste. Will make this salad often.
So good! The only thing I might change is roasting the chickpeas for some more crunch (we had to leave out the seeds due to an allergy).
I substituted romaine for the spinach. Tasty and filling.
I don’t think it posted, so I’ll try again. Sorry if it comes up twice. I didn’t think I was going to enjoy this salad, but I did! It’s really different than salads I usually make.
This is a delicious and filling salad! The dressing is a keeper. I make a double batch to use throughout the week.
This salad is easy and quick to put together. I love the orange juice in the dressing. It brightens the flavors and is a fun twist.
I used a lemon dressing instead but this is really good and pretty filling. One of my favorites so far!
Not a fan of the dressing. I made up the rest and couldn’t bring myself to put the dressing on after tasting it. Just not my flavor. I roasted the chickpeas because I don’t like them raw. Just used a standard balsamic. Might try with a different nut butter later.
Citrus tahini dressing for the win! I usually have a jar of lemon tahini dressing made up in my fridge but I never thought to use orange instead of lemon juice.
I could eat chickpeas for every meal so this recipe made me very happy. I love the different textures in this salad and because it’s so quick to whip up, I see myself making this often.
Made this for dinner and swapped in almond butter since I couldn’t find tahini. Delicious! Served it with grilled chicken and it was super filling.
Love the almond butter swap, such a great idea in a pinch!