This crunchy chickpea salad is a real party in your mouth! High in plant-based protein with chickpeas, quinoa, and all the crunchy nuts and seeds, this salad feels more like an Indian chaat than a healthy salad. Don’t you love it when something turns out flavorful and delicious but is also super nutritious and actually good for you? While this is certainly a standalone salad, it can also be a part of a summer cookout or even a more traditional Indian meal. A hearty salad that is sure to fill you up without weighing you down. The best part? Since the lime juice and spices serve to flavor the salad, there is no need for any empty calories from a more traditional salad dressing. Perfect.
Ingredients
- 2 cans of no salt added chickpeas (Whole Foods has them – also online)
- 1 cup of cherry tomatoes, halved
- 6 green onions, chopped
- 1/2 cup cooked quinoa
- 1/2 english cucumber, diced
- generous handful of chopped cilantro
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- dash of chili powder
- 1/2 tsp of garlic powder
- Juice from 2 limes
- 1/4 cup of roasted peanuts (I used the salted ones but if you have the unsalted peanuts, even better!)
- 2 tbsp roasted unsalted sunflower seeds
- 2 tbsp shelled and unsalted pumpkin seeds
Method
- Mix the vegetables, the chickpeas and the quinoa in a large bowl.
- Add in all the spices.
- Pour the lime juice all over the salad and add the cilantro.
- Mix well and set aside.
- To serve, add the desired amount of salad to each bowl. Top with a little bit of the peanuts, the sunflower seeds and the pumpkin seeds. Feel free to salt each bowl individually since we did not add any salt to the salad.
This crunchy chickpea salad hits the spot with the herbs and spices and the tang from the lime juice. You can make this salad ahead of time too. Remember to add the nuts and seeds just before serving otherwise you may lose some of the crunch. I would recommend this if you are starting to wilt in the middle of the day and need to wake up! Enjoy!