If you’ve fallen in love with the humble chickpeas and are seeking more recipes for these delicious legumes, then you may want to add today’s vegan chickpea salad to your cookbook.
This effortless salad is a mix-match of canned chickpeas, red kidney beans, crunchy cucumber, and tomato with a delicious homemade sesame tahini sauce. Plus, vegan chickpea salad can last for quite some time in the fridge, so feel free to make a big batch and enjoy it throughout the week.
Is Vegan Chickpea Salad Healthy?
Without any doubt, the answer is yes.
In this salad, all the vegetables are served as they are—no heat involved, which helps retain most of the nutrients of the ingredients.
Chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, are an impressive source of plant-based protein, essential minerals, vitamins, and dietary fiber. We use canned, pre-cooked chickpeas to save the time spent on soaking. And since most of the added salt is in the liquid, rinse the beans carefully beforehand then they’re good to use.
We also include a mix of low-calorie and water-rich veggies like cucumber, tomato, and red kidney beans in this salad, making it a powerful energy booster.
Nutritionally, each serving of this cholesterol-free salad contains 181 calories, 1.6 g of saturated fat, and around 189 mg of sodium.
Ingredients You'll Need
No complicated ingredients are needed, this salad is super versatile and customizable. Here’s what goes into the dish:
1. For the Toppings
- Canned chickpeas: We opt for canned chickpeas to keep this salad as easy to make as possible while still delivering great flavors and nutrients. Compared to unprocessed chickpeas, precooked ones have a softer texture and milder taste. However, once mixed with other veggies and tossed in the dressing, those minor differences are undetectable.
- Red kidney beans: When cooked properly, these protein-dense beans become more tender, hence, absorb flavor more easily.
- Cucumbers, tomatoes, and red onions: This colorful trio is high in water, making oursalad all the more refreshing.
2. For the Dressing
Keeping up with the overall nutty taste of this vegan goodness, our chefs quickly whisk together a homemade sesame tahini sauce, including sesame oil, olive oil, toasted sesame seeds, tahini paste, vinegar, sugar, salt, and black pepper. The result is a creamy dressing with sweet and tangy notes and a subtle peppery hint.
How to Serve This Salad
If you only serve this goody as a side for other main courses, you may have missed out on all the fun. The simplicity of vegan chickpea salad allows you to improvise and get creative.
With a big batch of vegan chickpea salad in stock, here is what you can do:
- Top with corn tortillas/air-fried vegetable chips: Instead of getting those party-sized chip packs coated in salt, you can top this vegan chickpea salad with some crispy tortillas/vegetable chips for a delicious crunch. .
- Pile on toasted bread: Running late in the morning but don’t want to skip breakfast? Pop your make-ahead vegan chickpea salad out of the fridge and use it as filling for your toast or sandwich—a super quick and easy fallback.
- Make wraps: If you’re after something light and refreshing, give lettuce wraps a try. Nutty chickpeas and hydrating vegetables tightly wrapped in fresh iceberg lettuce promise you one of the best vegan wraps in the repertoire.
How to Store
As mentioned previously, this vegan chickpea salad can keep well in the fridge longer than most mixed leafy green salads—an excellent meal-prep choice. Double the recipe, portion the salad into airtight lunch boxes, and refrigerate them for 3-5 days.
If you end up with some leftovers, you can either store them in the fridge or freeze them to expand the storage time up to 2 months.
Vegan Chickpea Salad Recipe
Today’s vegan chickpea recipe yields incredibly tasty results with tender chickpeas and crunchy bite-sized vegetables, all tossed in a luscious homemade tahini sauce.
- prep TIME 12 mins
- total TIME 12 mins
- COURSE Side Dish
- CUISINE Global
- SERVINGS servings
- CALORIES 175 kcal
INGREDIENTS
- 6 oz canned chickpeas
- 4 oz unsalted dark red kidney beans
- 4 oz cucumber (cut into small chunks)
- 3 oz tomato (cut into small cubes)
- 1 oz red onion (diced)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tbsp unsalted roasted sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp tahini sauce
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 tbsp garlic (minced)
- 2 tbsp parsley (chopped)
INSTRUCTIONS
Prep:
Drain the canned chickpeas in a colander over the sink. Rinse them under running water and pat them dry.
Halve the cucumber crosswise, then quarter each half. Slice away the seeds and cut each quartered cucumber crosswise into small chunks.
Halve the tomato lengthwise, slice to remove the stem, and scoop the seeds out. Cut each half into 1/4-inch strips, then each strip into small cubes.
Halve the red onion lengthwise and peel away the skin. Trim one end and lay the halved onion face down. Make vertical slices, 1/8 inch apart, such that you cut towards the root; leave about 1/8 inch at the end so the root stays intact. Turn the half 90 degrees and grip the root. Slice the red onion horizontally, again leaving 1/8 inch at the end to keep the root intact. Slice the red onion into small, even cubes. Discard the root.
Finely mince the peeled garlic.
Finely chop the fresh parsley.
Cook:
Make the sauce: In a small mixing bowl, add 1 tbsp tahini paste, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp vinegar, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp ground black pepper, 2 tsp sugar and 1/2 tbsp unsalted roasted sesame seeds. Mix well.
Assemble the salad: Arrange 6 oz canned chickpeas, 4 oz unsalted dark red kidney beans, 4 oz cucumber chunks, 3 oz cubed tomato, 1 oz diced red onion, 1/2 tbsp minced garlic, and 2 tbsp chopped parsley on a large platter.
Add the dressing: Drizzle the sesame tahini dressing over the salad before serving.
Toss well and serve!
NUTRITION
Tuyet Pham
Head Chef, Culinary Consultant
Luna Regina
Writer, Author
- Ainslie KnoxNutritious vegan chickpea salad recipe.