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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.
Like this salade, and the fact that I have most of the ingredients on a regular basis in the house. Easy to make. The orange gives an edge to the vinaigrette, and add a bit of sweet that helps satiate a sweet tooth when comes to low sugar challenges.
I love everything in today’s salad. I’ve never eaten chickpeas in a salad before but what a great addition to an already crunchy salad! And the tahini dressing!!! Need I say more? I’d give this one 10 stars if that were possible!!
Awww! I agree though. This one is def a fave for me!
savoury + sumptuous + scrumptious salad for spring
Very good and crunchy. Dressing was amazing. Loved it!
YUM!!!
This is a great salad. I make this on a regular basis. I like the crunchiness and the sweetness I just put lemon juice on mine has my dressing
LOVE this salad!
What a fun salad. I love chickpeas and red peppers. The additional crunch added another layer. The dressing added one more great level of flavor.
Very good!!
Another delicious salad and dressing! The chickpeas, sunflower seeds and petites made it very filling.
I wish I could show you a photo of this colorful, fabulous salad! I’m glad this recipe prompted me to buy tahini, which I have been interested in for a few years now but just never purchased. Crazy thing, I didn’t have orange juice in the house so I used pineapple! OMG. Thank you for all the wonderful work you have done to put together these recipes.
Way to use what you have on hand – and I bet it was an amazing substitute!
I signed up for the Salad challenge which started on Monday but we’ve been traveling and we came home late on Tuesday, but I had to work 7a-7p on Wednesday and didn’t have time to shop. Well, I looked in my refrigerator yesterday and I had everything for Day five’s salad-(Sweet and Crunchy Salad)and that’s what I made. I loved it even without the Tamari(didn’t have that) and my husband hasn’t stopped talking about it. Now he wants salad every day-which of course I try to get him to have salads all the time.
Thank you for all the great recipes and I look forward to a lot more from you.
I like it! I will be using the dressing again.
Love chickpeas as they’re so full of healthy protein! The tahini dressing was superb as well and the orange made it so refreshing!
I was waiting to try this one…LOVE it! And perfect timing too, I have been trying to up my protein intake. Thanks for creating such delicious recipes:)
It was meant to be!
I am usually not much of a chic pea fan, until I met this salad. I loves it the ingredients the dressing all of it.
Thank You