Chickpea Chicken Salad Recipe

Bring some colors and extraordinary flavors to your meal with this chickpea chicken salad. With chickpeas, air-fried chicken, and various veggies, it’s a marvelous celebration of tastes and textures. Everything is tied together by a honey mustard dressing that’s freckled with lime juice to brighten the palate from the very first bite.

Why We Love

• It’s an easy throw-together: Requiring mostly pantry staples and done in a few simple steps, this salad can fit easily into a busy schedule. It makes a convenient side dish or a light meal to enjoy at any time.
• It’s customizable: You can switch out the veggies in this recipe for anything you prefer—sprinkle in some nuts for a little crunch, or leave out the chicken and substitute a few of the condiments for a vegan version.
• The flavors and textures are diverse: With a mixture of nutty chickpeas, mildly savory chicken, and colorful veggies, this dish is a party of flavors and textures. The versatile combination is complemented by the sweet, zesty, and tangy dressing that delights the taste buds with every bite.
• It’s quite healthy: With a balanced amount of protein and veggies, this salad is undoubtedly a healthy choice for your diet. Keep reading to learn more about its nutritional value.

Ingredients for This Recipe

Here’s everything we used to make this chickpea chicken salad:

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• Chickpeas: We're using canned chickpeas to skip the troublesome preparation of fresh chickpeas, but if you want, fresh chickpeas also work just fine.
• Chicken: We went with skinless boneless chicken breasts. This meat cut is protein-rich, low-fat, and barely requires any prepping.
• Vegetables: We kept things simple with only three veggies: baby carrots, beetroot, and lettuce. They give the salad a bright and natural sweetness that’s coupled with a delightfully fresh taste. Feel free to add anything else that you like.
• Dressing: We mixed together Dijon mustard, honey, lemon juice, olive oil, and pepper. The result is a sweet and tangy dressing with a zesty undertone that ties the whole salad together.
• Spices: We seasoned the chicken with paprika for a little bit of heat and garlic powder for extra flavor. Meanwhile, black pepper was used to give the dressing a subtle flavor kick.
• Garnishing: We sprinkled some chopped parsley and crumbled feta cheese over the salad to give it a few aromatic and tangy notes.

Is Chickpea Chicken Salad Recipe Healthy?

With nutritious ingredients that are carefully proportioned to meet our nutrition standards, this dish is a relatively healthy choice for your everyday meal. Each serving offers approximately 254 calories and 20.3 g protein. Meanwhile, the saturated fat and sodium amounts are limited to around 2.4 g and 287 mg, respectively.

Beyond its high protein content—thanks to the chicken and chickpea—this salad also comes with fiber, antioxidants (beta carotene, carotenoids, etc.), and minerals (potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, folate, etc.). This comes from the colorful array of vegetables, consisting of beetroot, baby carrot, and lettuce.

How to Serve

You can enjoy this salad either as a side dish to savory mains or on its own as a light meal. If you have some leftovers and want to switch things up a bit, consider wrapping it in naan bread to make a quick lunch or breakfast.

How to Store the Leftovers

This chickpea chicken salad should last for up to 3 days when kept in airtight containers in the fridge. If possible, keep the dressing separated to prevent the foods from getting soggy.

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Chicken Salads You Should Not Miss

Or, try making this Waldorf salad to satisfy your sweet tooth. The dressing is rich and tangy, but it coats chunks of grapes that add tons of sweetness and nutrients.

This chicken broccoli salad with pomegranate gems is why we don't understand how people can say chicken salads are boring. It has everything delicious: chicken, crispy blanched broccoli, juicy seeds, and savory feta cheese. The dressing? Honey mustard, simple but effective condiment.

Chickpea Chicken Salad Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Bring some bright colors and extraordinary flavors to your meal with this chickpea chicken salad. It consists of chickpeas, air-fried chicken, and various veggies, all brought together by a honey mustard dressing. The combination creates a delightfully sweet and bright dish that’s suitable for almost any meal.

- by Tuyet Pham, Luna Regina, 2023-02-09

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• cook TIME 30 mins
• prep TIME 7 mins
• total TIME 37 mins

• COURSE Side Dish
• CUISINE Global
• SERVINGS
  4

  servings
• CALORIES 255 kcal

INGREDIENTS

1x2x3x

• 10 oz skinless boneless chicken breast
• 6 oz canned chickpeas
• 4 oz baby carrot
• 6 oz beetroot
• 3 oz mixed lettuce (shredded into large pieces)
• 1 oz feta cheese
• 2 tbsp parsley (chopped)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp traditional Dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika

INSTRUCTIONS

Image instructions

Prep:

1

Prepare the Chickpeas: Drain the water then place the chickpeas onto a clean plate.

2

Prepare the Chicken: Gently pat dry with paper towels to remove any excess moisture.

3

Chop the Parsley: Gather the leaves and thinly slice them. Rock the knife over the sliced pile a few times until they are finely chopped.

Cook:

1

Make the Dressing: In a small bowl, mix 1/4 tsp ground black pepper, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp honey, 1 tbsp olive oil, and 1 tsp traditional Dijon mustard together.

2

Season the Chicken: Dry rub 1 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, and 1/2 tsp paprika all over 10 oz skinless boneless chicken breast then marinade for 5 minutes.

3

Cook the Beet & Carrots: In a pot, bring some water to a boil then drop 4 oz baby carrot and 6 oz beetroot in. After 10 minutes, scoop out the carrots but leave the beetroots to cook for another 20 minutes.

4

Air-fry the Chicken: In the meantime, air-fry the seasoned chicken at 370 °F for 15 minutes.

5

Cut the Foods: Slice the carrots in half lengthwise.

Use a peeler to remove the beetroots’ outer skin and slice them into medium-sized cubes.

Slice the chicken breasts into medium-sized cubes.

6

Assemble the Salad: Lay 3 oz mixed lettuce onto the serving places then lay the carrots, beetroots, chicken, and 6 oz canned chickpeas on top. Garnish with 1 oz feta cheese and 2 tbsp parsley.

7

Drizzle the Dressing: Drizzle the dressing all over the salad then serve.

NUTRITION

Nutrition Facts

Chickpea Chicken Salad Recipe

Amount Per Serving (1 serving)

Calories 255

% Daily Value*

Fat 11.4g

18%

Saturated Fat 2.4g

15%

Polyunsaturated Fat 1.2g

Monounsaturated Fat 5.8g

Cholesterol 58.1mg

19%

Sodium 245mg

11%

Potassium 610.3mg

17%

Carbohydrate 18.8g

6%

Fiber 3.8g

16%

Sugar 9.8g

11%

Protein 20.4g

41%

Vitamin A 6678.4IU

134%

Vitamin C 9.8mg

12%

Calcium 76.9mg

8%

Iron 1.6mg

9%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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