Vegan Chickpea Salad Recipe | How to make Chickpea Salad with Lemon and Herbs Dressing

Here I bring you another filling and delicious PROTEIN RICH Salad recipe with chickpeas with sweet tangy and spicy flavours.

A perfect no cook dish with refreshing flavours from simple lemon and herb dressing which give it a Greek touch. Enjoy it on a hot summer day with pita crackers, nachos or papadums.

Salads are the best ways to show vibrant colors from seasonal produce on your meal table. A complete meal healthy meal in itself, salads are fun to put together with so many variations in dressings.

There are salads that we have as side with our main meals and there are salads which are a mini meal in itself.

On hot summer day when one wants to stay away from kitchen, wholesome cold salads are the perfect solution to stay away from the kitchen and an excellent excuse not to turn on the stove or oven.

Tagging this Gluten-free Vegan Chickpea Salad to my facebook group, Foodie Monday Blog hop for the theme Salads. Poonam who blogs at Annapurna suggested the theme and asked all the fellow bloggers to make delicious filling and nutritious salads.

Poonam is a wonderful bloggers with so many health friendly recipes and bakes in her treasure. She made this interesting Vermicelli Salad for the theme.

This chickpea salad is another wonderful way to include Chickpeas in your diet. If you want to start with salads do try this lip smacking Chickpea Salad.

Chickpeas are an excellent source of protein for non meat eaters both vegetarians and vegan. These are also gluten-free and rich source of fibres, minerals and vitamins. These are budget friendly and can be stored in pantry for a long time. Also, known as garbanzo beans these are widely used in Mediterranean , Indian and Middle Eastern Cuisine.

Chickpeas are used in making various dishes- salads, dips like Hummus, Popular Indian Chole Masala, Palak aur Kabuli Chane ka Pulao(Spinach and Chickpeas Pulao).

Ingredients for Chickpea Salad

The recipe is quite customizable and adapted as per your dietary preferences. It is a no fuss recipe with main flavours from herbs like fresh Coriander/Cilantro, Mint and Parsley. You can also adjust the quantity of ingredients if making for a big crowd or making just for you.

Boiled Chickpeas- Canned chickpeas peas come very handy to make such salads. Drain the liquid from chickpeas completely. I usually boil extra chickpeas whenever I make any Chickpea or Chole dish. Boiled Chickpeas stay good for 2-3 days in refrigerator.

To boil chickpeas from scratch, soak chickpeas in water,overnight or 5-6 hrs. Drain the water and pressure cook chickpeas. To see how to boil chickpeas in Instant Pot or Indian Style Pressure Cooker, checkout my post Chole/Chana Masala.

Other chickpeas related dish that you will love to try-- Dhaniya Chole, Pindi Chole, Falafels

Fruits and Vegetables- I love to use different salad veggies and fruits in salads. For this salad, there are no specific veggies and fruits that we need to add. I love to add Cucumber, Tomatoes(can add cherry tomatoes also), Bell Peppers. I also like to add pineapple and pomegranate arils as these fruits add fruity tangy taste which I love in salads. Red Onions add a sweet crunch. You can skip if you do not like raw onions.

Other veggies and fruits that you can add here-avancado, olives, jalapenos for a spicy kick, cabbage, steamed broccoli, whichever veggie or fruit you love in your salads.

Herbs- Fresh Cilantro/Coriander leaves, Mint and Parsley. You can use all or any of your choice. I also, add dried mint leaves which add a refreshing taste to chickpeas. Add fresh herbs before serving the salad with dressing. Lemon juice adds a tangy taste, use as the base to make the dressing.

Spices- Red Chilli Flakes, Black Pepper, Oregano/Dried Basil or Italian Seasoning, Raw Sugar or Maple Syrup. Non- Vegans can add honey also.

 

Variations and Other Ingredients that we can add in Chickpea Salad

Add any cheese of your choice like crumbled feta, goat, blue or fresh mozzarella.Vegans can add Vegan Cheese or Nutritional yeast for the Umami flavour. As cheese already has salty, add salt carefully.

Add more protein like tofu or other beans like black chickpeas or black eyed beans.

Nuts like almonds, walnuts or pine nuts go well with chickpeas, for the extra crunch and nutrition.

Leafy greens like Spinach, Arugula.

Add Chaat Masala for the tangy fingerlicking Indian taste.

Try out the Basil Lemon Dressing or this fruity Strawberry Vinaigrette.

How to make Vegan Chickpea Salad

I did not add Olive oil for the salad dressing, but you can always add a good quality extra virgin olive oil(EVVO).

Chop all the veggies and fruits in your preferred bite size. Finely chop the herbs.

In a mixing bowl or a mason jar, add lemon juice with all the spices, oil(if adding). Mix well.

In another mixing bowl, add chickpeas and all the diced veggies along with pineapple pieces and pomegranate arils.

Add dressing along with fresh herbs and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 30 mins to 1 hr before serving as juices will overflow and make salad more flavorful.

Serving Suggestions for Vegan Chickpea Salad

Enjoy it just like that or for the crunch add a few nachos or have it with pita chips. You can also make Canapes chaat and serve at your parties. Checkout how to make Baked Papdi Katoris in my post Dahi Bhalle or Vada to make canapes for serving the salad.

Do try this Easy Vegan Chickpea Salad. It makes a delicious light meal for days when you don't want to step in the kitchen or want something light and refreshing and at the same time filling.

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