Chickpea Salad – Spend With Pennies

Chickpea Salad combines all of my favorite fresh vegetables in one delicious bite.

Chickpeas are combined with juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, and creamy avocados all tossed in an easy homemade lemon kissed dressing.

This easy salad recipe makes a perfect side dish for almost any meal or a great lunch. Add in some protein like grilled chicken breasts to make it a hearty dinner!

A Protein Packed Salad

• To create a salad that packs a protein punch without adding meat, add chickpeas!
• Use any combination of your favorite raw vegetables, this fresh version reminds us of Greek salad.
• Using canned chickpeas makes this extra quick.
• The dressing is fresh and healthy with just a few ingredients.
• Chickpea salad keeps fresh in the fridge for a few days (add the avocado to each serving if making ahead for lunches).

Ingredients in Chickpea Salad

I love fresh summery salads filled with a huge variety of produce.

Vegetables:

• Use English cucumbers or baby cucumbers as they have nice thin skins and don’t require peeling.
• You can use grape (or cherry tomatoes) or seeded and diced roma tomatoes.
• Bell peppers add crunch and flavor, use red or yellow bell pepper for a sweeter flavor.
• Avocado adds a great creamy buttery texture.

Chickpeas

Chickpeas are also known as garbanzo beans. This recipe calls for canned chickpeas to save time. Be sure to rinse them to remove excess salt.

You can use dried chickpeas (cook them before adding to the salad). If using dried chickpeas, you’ll likely want to add a little bit of extra salt to the recipe.

Fresh Herbs

This chickpea salad needs fresh parsley (dry parsley doesn’t have the same flavor for this salad). You can substitute cilantro or dill if you’d prefer.

How to Make a Chickpea Salad

1. Cut a ripe avocado and toss with fresh lemon juice per the recipe below.
2. Add remaining ingredients, including rinsed chickpeas.
3. Whisk dressing ingredients in a small bowl and drizzle over the salad. Gently toss.
4. Season with salt & pepper to taste.

This salad will last days in the fridge making for a great lunch dish! If you’re making this ahead of time, leave the avocado out and add it just before serving!

Chickpea Salad Dressing

This salad is full of fresh ingredients so I keep the dressing nice and light. A simple mixture of red wine vinegar and olive oil with a hint of seasoning is all that’s needed.

You can use as much or as little as you’d like and the leftovers will keep at least 1 week to drizzle over tossed salad or even grilled veggies!

Recipe Tips

• Cut an avocado by removing the seed and cutting the flesh into squares right in the skin. Use a spoon to easily scoop the cubes into a bowl.
• Lemon juice adds flavor to the salad and keeps the avocado from turning brown. If you’re making this ahead of time, leave the avocado out and add it just before serving
• Chickpeas can be substituted with other canned beans like black beans. Be sure to rinse and drain them before adding to the salad.
• A sprinkle of feta is a great addition to this salad.

Variations

This chickpea salad recipe is so versatile. Swap in your favorite vegetables; red pepper for green pepper, white or green onion for red onion.

Try adding olives or a bit of feta cheese. Feta is quite salty itself start with less salt when you add the seasonings.

Chickpea Salad is a complete meal that is low in fat, high in protein, and incredibly delicious!  A superpower salad that is so satisfying, and …fun!

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