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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 21-Day 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.
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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
Jen HansardIngredients
- 2 cups spinach fresh
- 1 cup chickpeas canned (drained and rinsed)
- ½ carrot diced
- ½ cucumber diced
- ¼ cup red bell pepper diced
- 2 tablespoon raw pepitas
- 2 tablespoon raw sunflower seeds
Citrus Tahini Dressing
- 2 tablespoon tahini
- 2 tablespoon orange juiced
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoon raw apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon tamari
- ½ garlic clove minced
Instructions
- Whisk together the tahini, orange juice, olive oil, vinegar, tamari and garlic. Add a little more olive oil or water if the dressing is too thick.
- Arrange the spinach, chickpeas, carrot, cucumber and bell pepper on a plate. Pour the dressing over the top and sprinkle with the pepitas and sunflower seeds.
Recipe Notes
- Greens Swap: Swap the spinach for any leafy green, and add as many extra vegetables as you like.
- Ingredient Swaps: Any nut or seed butter can replace the tahini, though the dressing’s thickness will vary; thin it with water as needed. Black beans work in place of the chickpeas.
- Soy-Free: Use coconut aminos instead of tamari to make the dressing soy-free.
- Storing: Store the salad and dressing separately in airtight containers in the fridge, the salad for up to 2 days and the dressing for up to 5 days. The dressing thickens when chilled, so thin it with a little water before using.
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.
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Lots going on in this salad. So many pretty colours! There’s was some little thing I didn’t like, but I couldn’t put my finger on it – perhaps in the dressing (maybe my tahini is too old?). Otherwise another great salad. Might try it with a different dressing next time.
I really enjoyed this salad, spinach is my all time favorite! I roasted the chickpeas – so good! – and added leftover black beans, too.
Unfortunately…I mis-read the dressing ingredients and instead of 2 tsp of apple cider vinegar, I added 2 TBSP!! Glad I taste tested before adding 🙂 Fortunately, I had some leftover from last night that tasted really good on this really good salad.
Looking forward to days 6-10!
Black beans sound like a great addition! Good idea!
Loved the salad ingredients, sans carrots due to allergy. However, where is the sweet in the Sweet and Crunchy Salad? I made tahini using sunflower seeds due to sesame allergy. Substituted coconut aminos for the tamari (soy allergy). The end result for the dressing underwhelmed me with a strong sunflower flavor and aroma. I added more orange juice, but it did not help. I ended up adding raisins to get the sweet in this salad. A few tweaks to the dressing might improve it as I was looking forward to an orange flavor rather than sunflower seed flavor. Maybe there is a better substitute for making tahini? The salad was plenty crunchy, added more greens for a better balance, and it was quite filling.
You can try using almond butter or cashew butter in place of the tahini, if you’re able to. Sounds like you really made some great sub choices! Hopefully, if there’s a next time, you’ll get a little more of that orange flavor!
This one is not something we enjoyed. Neither of us care for chickpeas except me as hummus Hubby said to try just the spinach with dressing and then could taste the orange. Can’t expect to love them all
Everyone is different and glad we tried it. Looking forward to tomorrow.
Sorry this one wasn’t a win for you, but way to go for trying it!
This is excellent with the different seeds and all of the veggie crunch. Great flavor and great texture!