This simple chickpea salad has a good mix of protein, healthy fats, nourishing and cooling ingredients that is perfect for the warm season. Dressed with a simple lemony-oil vinaigrette, this chickpea salad is easily a summertime crowd favorite!
In the past few years I have made a decent effort to add more chickpeas into our diet for all the good reasons. Chickpeas are an amazing source of protein and fiber, and keeps you fuller longer.
Chickpeas are also inexpensive, they have a long shelf life (dried or canned) and they are super versatile, meaning you can make so many recipes using chickpeas from hummus, to soups and my favorite roasted chickpeas as a snack or as a substitute for croutons on salads and a delicious crunchy topping for soups.
And of course, salads 🙂
While this recipe works perfectly with either canned or fresh chickpeas, I think it's important to know that cooking dried chickpeas is very easy and has some benefits that's worth mentioning.
Cooking dried beans instead of purchasing them canned gives you less sodium per serving, more flavor and better control over the texture of the finished beans.
How long do you cook chickpeas?
Transfer the soaked and rinsed chickpeas to a large pot. Cover the chickpeas with water by 2 inches. Add bay leaves and salt. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat slightly and simmer 40 to 50 minutes, less time if you want firmer beans.
Can you cook chickpeas without soaking?
Chickpeas are soaked before cooking for two reasons; they need to be softened before they boil, and pre-soaking helps to make the beans more digestible.
This simple chickpea salad recipe is easily customizable to your taste, to the season or based on what you have in hand. Here is a list of add-ons that you might want to consider:
- watermelon, feta and mint
- falafel, olives and feta
- steamed broccoli, peas and green beans
Looking for the perfect accompaniment for this chickpea salad? Here are a few I like...
Simple Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups canned or home cooked chickpeas
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 cups fresh spinach, or greens of choice
- 1 cup Cucumbers, quartered
- 4 hard boiled eggs, halved and quartered
- 1 avocado, chopped or sliced
- 1 cup microgreens
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 3 tablespoon avocado oil or olive oil
- 1 pinch salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Add chickpeas, spinach, tomatoes, cucumber and microgreens to a big bowl. Toss to combine
- Add the eggs and avocado on top.
- Stir the juice from one lemon with oil of choice, salt and pepper and pour over the salad. Serve
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