Whip up this refreshing chickpea salad for a quick lunch or satisfying side. Crisp veggies, hearty chickpeas, and a rich tahini dressing bring bold flavor and plant-based power.
Why this recipe works
- Creamy but light: It’s dressed with a creamy, but lightened-up tahini dressing. One of my favorite ways to dress up veggies.
- Side or entrée: Serve it as a hearty side salad (4 servings) or a light lunch or dinner (2 servings).
- Easy to switch up: Switch up the chickpeas for your favorite beans or lentils, and use whatever salad veggies you have on hand.
Ingredients and substitutions
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- Chickpeas: Drain and rinse the chickpeas before using. Good substitutes are lentils and cannellini beans.
- Lettuce: I like romaine lettuce for crunch in this recipe. Bibb lettuce (aka Boston or butter lettuce) can be swapped in. Even though they’re not as crispy, spinach or kale work in this recipe, too.
- Veggies: Tomatoes, bell pepper, English cucumber and avocado. Feel free to substitute with veggies you have on hand.
- Herbs: Fresh dill adds so much flavor to this salad! If I have them on hand, I often add parsley, mint and/or basil, too.
- Dressing: Use 3 to 4 tablespoons of homemade tahini dressing. If often keep a batch of this in the fridge to dress salads all week long. Or try my creamy hummus dressing or Greek salad dressing.
Make-ahead and storage
Most leafy salads are best served right after being dressing and this chickpea salad is no exception. However, it can be made ahead of time with a couple of adjustments.
- Dress it later: Store the salad and the dressing in separate containers, then dressing right before serving. When portioning out this salad, I use these individual dressing to-go cups and glass storage containers. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Avocado: Since avocado start to brown after cutting, I suggest cutting it right before mixing it into the salad.
Other salads you’ll love
Printable Recipe
Creamy Chickpea Salad
Whip up this refreshing chickpea salad for a quick lunch or satisfying side. Crisp veggies, hearty chickpeas, and a rich tahini dressing bring bold flavor and plant-based power.
Servings: 4 Servings
Calories: 132kcal
Ingredients
- 1 (14 ounce) can chickpeas drained & rinsed
- 4 cups romaine lettuce cut or torn into bite-sized pieces
- 1 cup grape tomatoes cut in half
- 1 cup chopped cucumber use English cucumber
- 1 orange bell pepper seeded & chopped
- ½ small avocado chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill
The dressing:
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 2 ½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 ½ teaspoons agave nectar
- 1 garlic clove grated on a zester/microplane
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2-3 tablespoons water
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Instructions
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In a large bowl, combine the chickpeas, all of the vegetables and fresh dill.
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Toss with the dressing. Serve.
The dressing:
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In a bowl, whisk together the tahini, lemon juice, agave nectar, garlic and salt. Add 2 tablespoons of water and whisk again.
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The dressing thickens as it rests or when it’s refrigerated. If storing separately, add a little more water to loosen up the dressing before using.
Notes
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I provide nutritional information for my recipes as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using the built-in recipe card calculator. While I attempt to provide information that is as accurate as possible, you should calculate the nutritional information independently before relying on it.
Nutrition
Serving: 1.75cups | Calories: 132kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 158mg | Potassium: 474mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 5417IU | Vitamin C: 51mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 1mg
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