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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.
The citrus tahini dressing is nice. I like the veggie emphasis with a bit fewer greens; it’s a nice balance.
I love the taste of the seeds and crunch this salad gives!
Since I love chickpeas I loved this salad. The only substitution I made was for almond slices in place of the sunflower seeds. This salad would be great to make for the summer. Full of fiber and protein. Yum!
Loved this one…surprisingly it was one of my favorites! Again I avoided the cucumbers… Not a fan. I would’ve never put all of these ingredients into a salad but it tasted great.
The CRUNCH in this salad is amazing I love all the seeds and chickpeas! It’s such a beautiful arrangement of colors and the dressing has just the right amount of sweet definitely adding this to my salad repertoire!
Tasty salad…love all the ingredients. I made the dressing on a Monday and ate it on a Friday and it had lost some zing. Next time I’ll save making it for later or maybe add a splash of OJ or vinegar to perk it back up.
One of my new favorites. What a beautiful flavor combination.
Delcious salad. Very filling, had it for a late lunch and wasn’t hungry for the rest of the day. Great salad to put together and then just add the dressing prior to eating.
Loved the crunch factor in this. I have always been hesitant to try chick peas in a salad and loved them. I will have this salad again tomorrow to use the extra dressing!
The crunch and the dressing were the highlights for me. I am not a fan of chickpeas but I gave it a go anyway. It ate most of it but left some chickpeas behind.
Great job trying it!
I love this salad with chickpeas.
I substituted kale instead of spinach.
I made the dressing without oil and it was wonderful.
Kale is a fantastic sub! I bet it was delicious!
So much flavor and crunch! Another winner
Imagine being on a Mediterranean coastal shore and enjoying this sumptuous salad at an outdoor cafe. â›±As suggested, I was liberal with the Citrus Tahini Dressing. Sooooo delicious and quite filling.
I love the scene you created for us!
I thought this was going to be a boring side salad, but this gets five stars from me for the dressing, which is good all by itself, and the addition of the pepitas and sunflower seeds. Absolutely delicious!
Great salad, very fulfilling and delicious!
Very tasty salad. The dressing is great. I really liked the pairing of the chick peas, sunflower seeds and the tahini based dressing. Good source of protein from several sources.