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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
- ¼ cup raw pepitas
- ¼ cup raw sunflower seeds
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.
Loved the different textures in this salad. The citrus tahini dressing was a great addition. Very filling as an entree.
I love the different textures of this salad. The lemony dressing is a perfect pairing.
I really liked the chickpeas in the salad. Fast and easy to make.
Excellent taste and crunchy. Your salad dressings are the best, easy to make. No more store bought salad dressing anymore.
Oh my goodness!! This was so delicious!
This salad was very delicious! I appreciate the different textures from all of the ingredients. Quick, easy and delicious… definitely going to repeat this salad
Really nice and easy salad. Toasted the seeds added a little bit more orange juice to taste a little more orange taste.
It is very filling.
Interesting combination and enjoyable but had to make some substitutions in the dressing as my small town grocery didn’t carry tahini or tamari. Love the nuts and chickpeas!
Very good. My husband loved the dressing. I air fried the chick peas which gave it an extra crunch
Love the dressing! The salad is a great mix of taste and crunch.
What a flavor explosion; added some organic unsweetened coconut chips as a garnish. This salad is so filling; the dressing is a keeper. In the past I have not had a love-love relationship with tahini, but this proved to be magic. I will be making this many times moving forward. I think the dressing would also be good as a vegetable dip!
Pleasantly surprised! I wasn’t sure about the tahini dressing but once mixed with the greens it was delicious. No chickpeas for me so added avocado, red peppers and grape tomatoes for extra veggies.
The dressing tasted bitter when I tried it straight but oh my god it worked so well on the salad. This is a complete meal
I really enjoyed the dressing for this salad. It was really good!
I didn’t like the dressing on it’s own and I’m not a fan of tahini but mixed in with the rest of the ingredients it turned out well. I really enjoyed this.
Well, way to go for giving it a shot!
I remember this salad from doing Fresh start many years ago. It’s very good but next time I would use a little less carrots and seeds. I love them but it was a lot of crunch! The dressing is amazing and I’ll be making it again.
You can absolutely make adjustments to the ingredients if it helps you to enjoy it more!
Really enjoyed this salad! The dressing was delicious! So quick to put together, too! Pretty much made this one as is, except I toasted the pepitas. Fresh and filling!! Yum!
Great idea! Yum!
This salad was so tasty and filling. I did make a few changes. I left the garlic out of the dressing. Cukes don’t agree with me, so I added celery,black olives, and cherry tomatoes.
I really loved the dressing and will keep it in my rotation. All in all, a great salad!