You will fall in love with the beautifully layered flavors and textures of my easy quinoa chickpea salad. It is fresh and vibrant with summery herbs, beans, grains, kale, bell peppers, cucumber, celery, tomatoes, raisins and pumpkin seeds, all tied together by a boldly spiced vinaigrette dressing.
You'll be out of the kitchen in record time because the salad comes together in under 30 minutes. It makes a delicious and nourishing dinner or side dish and if you bring it to a potluck you'll have everyone eating out of your hand!
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My best quinoa chickpea salad
I've been making versions of a quinoa chickpea salad recipe for many years now but its only recently that I landed on this version which is, by far, my hands-down favorite. I couldn't wait to share it with you!
It has the perfect combination of veggies, chickpeas and grains, and the layers of flavor and texture they bring to the party are so good, you might think you don't even need to dress them up. But please do, because the vinaigrette dressing, spiced with garam masala and ground cumin, takes this salad to the next, sublime level.
This recipe makes a lot of salad - enough for six very hearty, dinner-sized servings - and the flavors get even better as it stands, so it's perfect for meal prep. I eat it all week long, sometimes as a side with a serving of tofu curry or tofu steaks, and sometimes on its own for a light, satisfying meal.
The chickpea quinoa salad comes together very quickly, especially if you have cooked quinoa and cooked chickpeas on hand (canned chickpeas are just fine too). It takes just minutes to whisk up the garam masala spiced vinaigrette and you can get the chopping done in about 15 minutes.
You can change up the veggies and even the grain in this salad- see my suggestions in the FAQs below. But for the best results make it exactly as I do.
I saw a similar salad at Costco and a single box retailed for more than $14. You certainly won't spend anywhere near that much money to make this recipe, and you get much, much more salad. The Costco salad also contained soy sauce, bulgur and almonds, but my version is soy-free, gluten-free and nut-free, which is always a good thing if you plan on bringing this to a picnic or potluck.
Here's the recipe.
You might also love this chickpea avocado salad and vegan Caesar salad with chickpea croutons.
Recipe card
Quinoa Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked quinoa (from 1 cup dried quinoa)
- 3 cups cooked chickpeas (from two 14.5 oz cans or cooked from 1 cup dried chickpeas. Be sure to drain out any liquid or brine.)
- 1 bell pepper (any color, finely chopped)
- 1 red onion (finely chopped)
- 1 medium cucumber (finely chopped)
- 1 medium carrot (grated)
- 2 sticks celery (finely chopped)
- 4 leaves kale (finely chopped)
- ¼ cup fresh herbs (I used a combination of mint and parsley)
- ¼ cup pumpkin seeds
- 2 tablespoons raisins
For vinaigrette
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (you can use more vinegar if you like a tart dressing. I don't like mine too acidic)
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup (can use stevia or any other sweetener)
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1½ teaspoons ground cumin
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
Make the vinaigrette
- Place the apple cider vinegar and olive oil in a bowl. Whisk until a smooth emulsion forms.
- Add in the remaining vinaigrette ingredients- maple syrup, garam masala, ground cumin, ground black pepper and salt - and whisk again.
Make quinoa chickpea salad
- Place the quinoa, chickpeas, all the vegetables, pumpkin seeds and raisins in a large bowl.
- Pour the vinaigrette over the quinoa, chickpeas and vegetables in the bowl and toss together.
Nutrition Information
To print recipe card without images, uncheck "instruction images" after clicking the "print recipe" button.
How to make quinoa chickpea salad
Make the vinaigrette dressing
- Place the olive oil and vinegar in a bowl and use a whisk to beat them together until the mixture emulsifies, like in the picture below.
- Add the remaining dressing ingredients to the bowl - maple syrup, garam masala, ground cumin, ground black pepper and salt, and whisk to mix them together. Set aside.
Make the salad
- Place the quinoa, chickpeas, bell peppers, onions, cucumbers, carrots, celery, kale, herbs, pumpkin seeds and raisins in a large bowl.
- Drizzle the vinaigrette over the top, then toss the salad together. Let the salad stand 10 minutes before serving to let the flavors blend together.
Recipe FAQs
You can substitute the quinoa with bulgur, farro or brown rice.
Substitute the cucumber with zucchini or yellow squash. You can replace some of the veggies I used with roasted corn kernels, finely diced mushrooms and shredded cabbage.
Kale is better in this recipe because it doesn't become soft and soggy, as spinach would, upon standing. But if spinach is your only option, go for it!
Use white beans instead of chickpeas.
Yes, use roasted sunflower seeds, chopped walnuts or pecans, or sliced almonds.
Store it in the fridge for up to four days. Don't freeze the assembled salad. Instead freeze the cooked quinoa, chickpeas and dressing separately, then thaw and assemble the salad, adding fresh veggies and herbs.
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