I love having salad sandwiches, especially as the weather is starting to turn warm, don’t you? Chickpeas make such a wonderful base for these kinds of salads because they are filling, cheap and taste delicious. This salad reminds me of summer.
This salad is very easy to make and it is full of fresh ingredients as you can see. You might be wondering about the apples, but they pair wonderfully with this salad and give it a delightful crunch and sweetness.
For this salad you could leave the chickpeas whole, but I personally enjoyed the textured of it mostly smashed. I would stay away from pureeing them though as the texture isn’t pleasant in this salad.
Next you chop all the fresh veggies and fruit up. When you chop the kale, don’t forget to slightly crush the leaves in your hands as it makes it much more palatable in your mouth. Add them to the smashed chickpeas and toss. The pecans are important to the flavor profile, so I recommend keeping them in. As an alternative nut, you could use walnuts.
For the dressing, I decided to use tahini as a base. It goes well in hummus, so I knew that it would be great as a dressing. The addition of poppyseeds and lemon juice gives the dressing the balance it needs. I also added Vegan Ranch Dressing, if you can’t find any, check out my recipe HERE to make your own. I did use water to thin mine out, but you could use plant based milk if you like your dressings more on the creamy side. I served mine on pumpernickel bread, as the nuttiness of the bread goes so well with the salad.
Chickpea Salad
A tasty & filling lunch
Ingredients
- 1-540ml Can of Chickpeas
- 1/2 Cucumber
- 1 Tomato
- 1 Cup Kale
- 1 Apple
- 1/2 Avocado
- 2 Celery Stalks
- 1/4 Cup Pecans (chopped)
Dressing
- 1/2 Cup Tahini
- 2 Tblsp Lemon Juice
- 1 Tblsp Poppyseeds
- 1/2 Cup Vegan Ranch Dressing
- 2+ Tblsp Water
Instructions
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Rinse and drain the chickpeas. Smash them up until most of them are broken, but don't puree them.
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Chop the cucumber, tomato, avocado, celery, apple, kale and pecans. Add them to the smashed chickpeas.
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Mix the dressing ingredients together and pour over the salad. Serve on bread.
This is so good and tasty. It’s just like chicken salad, but without the chicken.