Chickpea Quinoa Salad

The fresh melody of southwest flavors in southwest chickpea quinoa salad will bring you back for more. This chickpea quinoa salad recipe is the perfect entree or side dish for your next family gathering. Ready in 15 minutes!

Although I try to eat salads often, I must remind myself to eat more greens. Since becoming plant-based, I must also bring variety to my meal plan, including nutrient-dense greens. This chickpea quinoa salad recipe takes the boring out of salad! Today, I decided to make a southwest chickpea quinoa salad for dinner. And it was a hit!

Jump to:

• Chickpea Quinoa Salad Ingredients
• Chickpea Quinoa Salad Ingredient Substitutions
• Southwest Cumin Dressing Ingredients
• Southwest Cumin Dressing Substitutions
• Recipe FAQs
• Tips
• Other Vegan Salad Recipes to Try!
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Reviews

Not only is this salad full of superfoods, but it also does not contain any oil. First, the chickpeas and quinoa work wonderfully with the fresh, diced vegetables. Make this salad ahead of time, and it won't get soggy.

Chickpea Quinoa Salad Ingredients

• Canned Chickpeas (garbanzo beans): Chickpeas have a mostly neutral taste with a mild nutty flavor. They are full of fiber, protein, and minerals. They are my favorite!
• English Cucumber: I leave the skin on cucumbers for the beautiful dark green color and nutrients in the skin.
• Red Bell Pepper: the sweetest of all bell peppers, red bell peppers bring another color of the rainbow into this colorful salad
• Red Onion: red onion brings sweetness to the dish without an overpowering onion presence.
• Grape Tomatoes: I use grape tomatoes often because of their thick skin and they are less watery, keeping the salad from getting soggy.
• Parsley: Fresh parsley always brings a freshness to a salad and enhances the other ingredients in the salad.
• Mint: When combined with parsley, mint adds a fresh component to the dish.
• Jalapeño Pepper: Jalapenos, when deseeded, provide a mildly spicy flavor to the dish. Be sure to wear gloves when handling, deseeding, and cutting jalapenos.
• Purple Cabbage: Actually called red cabbage, this type of cabbage has an earthy, nutty taste
• Cooked Red Quinoa: I used red quinoa (cooled before adding it to the salad), which is beautiful in a salad, but any quinoa works well.

Garnish (optional)

• Sliced Avocado: Avocados are creamy, earthy, and delicious in this southwest salad.
• Microgreens: I love microgreens! I add them to salad for their vast amount of nutrients, and they add color and pizazz to any dish.

Chickpea Quinoa Salad Ingredient Substitutions

Although I chose various vegetables for the southwest chickpea quinoa salad, you can add or delete the ones you don't prefer. I love the texture of the chickpeas with the crunchy cucumbers, red peppers, and tomatoes.

• Instead of chickpeas, try white beans instead.
• Persian cucumbers are similar to English ones, as they both contain fewer seeds than regular ones. Remove the seeds to prevent a soggy salad if you only have regular cucumbers.
• Baby bell peppers are different colors and taste similar to red bell peppers.
• Try white or yellow onion instead of red onion. Or, for a lighter onion flavor, use green onions.
• Cherry tomatoes are similar in taste and size to grape tomatoes.
• If you don't care for parsley, try basil instead.
• Serrano peppers are similar to jalapenos in taste. If you don't like spicy, skip this ingredient.
• Use Napa cabbage or white cabbage instead of red cabbage.
• Any color of quinoa works well. Or try farro, barley, or bulgar.

Southwest Cumin Dressing Ingredients

Making oil-free dressing, for instance, is very simple. Despite the myth that oil is essential to the diet, oil is simply fat, which isn't necessary. Instead, combining healthy, fresh ingredients makes an easy, new dressing. 

• Apple Cider Vinegar provides a sweet yet tangy component to the dressing.
• Garlic: garlic tames the bite of the vinegar and gives a deep flavor to the salad dressing.
• Lemon: I love fresh lemon juice. It peps up greens, makes roasted veggies more exciting, adds life to grain bowls, and more.
• Pure Maple Syrup or date syrup: Maple syrup adds sweetness and cuts the taste of the vinegar. It acts as a balancing agent in the dressing.
• Dijon Mustard: Dijon is my favorite type of mustard to cook with. It's tangy and sharp and adds depth to a dressing.
• Garlic powder: A dried version of fresh garlic, garlic powder is milder and offers texture as well as additional flavor to the dressing.
• Cumin: Rich and hearty, earthy and warm, with an edge of citrus. Cumin adds instant depth to any dish. Use ground Cumin rather than whole Cumin seed in recipes where you want the flavor to disperse evenly throughout.
• Salt: I always add a little salt for flavor, but add to your desired taste.
• Pepper: Pepper adds an additional depth of flavor. Again, add to taste preference.

Southwest Cumin Dressing Substitutions

• Substitute white wine or champagne vinegar for apple cider vinegar in the dressing.
• Coriander or Garam masala are great substitutes for cumin in recipes. But note both spices are a little stronger in taste, so half the suggested amount.
• Stone ground mustard is the best substitute for dijon mustard in a pinch.
• Agave is another sweetener if you don't have maple or date syrup.

Once all the ingredients are tossed together in a large bowl,  dress the southwest chickpea quinoa salad ahead of time. The earlier the salad is dressed, the more flavor the parsley and quinoa absorb. And it's just as fresh and flavorful throughout the week for leftovers. 

If you have not noticed, I always make an extra salad, so we have lunches the next day. Or I meal prep a lot of quinoa for another recipe during the week.

Not only does it help with food prep, but it forces me to use all my leftovers.

Another Southwest Chickpea Quinoa Salad bonus is how cool and fresh it is. Although I am serving it for dinner tonight, it travels well for lunch.

Recipe FAQs

Tips

• When working with jalapenos, always wear gloves to prevent transferring burns from your hands to your eyes and other areas of your body. I recommend using gloves when handling, cutting, and removing the seeds from jalapenos.
• Cooking quinoa is so easy. If you struggle, follow these steps to make cooking easier and less stressful.
• I used red quinoa because of its beautiful color, but any quinoa works well with this recipe.
• Using a vegetable chopper cuts meal prep time in half. Consider getting one to save yourself some time in the kitchen.

I challenge you to eat a different salad daily for your overall health and wellness. And this chickpea quinoa salad is a great place to start! Let's get healthy for better living. 

Other Vegan Salad Recipes to Try!

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