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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.
This was a very satisfying salad with many layers of flavours and crunchy freshness.
I Enjoyed This Salad It Was Full Of Flavors And Textures. The Chickpeas, English Cucumbers, Spinach, Carrots And Seeds All Of This Helped To Make This Salad Filing. The Citrus Tahini Salad Dressing Is A Keeper. I Am Thinking Now What Other Salads Will This Dressing Pair With 🙂 I Will Make This Salad Again.
Very yummy, love the crunch!!
Good salad, crunchy
The Sweet and Crunchy Salad was my favorite so far. Loved the dressing. Husband loved it too.
Yummy! Added more spinach for the second serving.
I thought this salad was a winner. Enjoyed it very much. Definitely a keeper.
So simple, yet so delicious. The dressing was so unbelievably tasty and light. Yum!
This one was tasty, but I am still not a huge fan of chickpeas. Loved the dressing!
Really delicious salad! I love the nutty flavor of the Tahini in the dressing. Definitely making this again.
It sounds good but I reverted to a simple salad today. I look forward to trying it over the weekend.
After my first bite, I said, “Nope. Not for me.” But I decided that one bite isn’t enough to make a decision. I ended up enjoying it! It was very filling – I’d say this recipe easily made four servings, instead of two.
Definitely this salad brings a lot of crunch!!
Chickpeas are a new ingredient for me, hmmm?
This salad was amazing! I would say it probably makes closer to 4 servings because I used 1/2 the ingredients and was stuffed! Absolutely loved the dressing! Will def make again!
New dressing to add to my rotation. Filling and tasty salad 🙂
Absolutely amazing. A great combination of flavors and loved the dressing again!
The Sweet and Crunchy Salad is the least favorite so far. I didn’t have tahini so used almond butter. I couldn’t detect much sweetness. Too many “things “ in the salad. I also cut back on the oil. Maybe would have been better if used different type of lettuce or greens. I felt it was missing something.
Sometimes a little salt and pepper make all the difference! Great choice on the dressing sub!
The salad was divine! Our absolute favorite! Many of the best ingredients. We’ll have this again, for sure!
Another keeper! I’ve never made a tahini dressing before and this was delicious! I love all the different textures in the salad. I couldn’t stop eating it!
The crunch was really fun.