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Make-Ahead Vegan Chickpea Salad in a large glass bowl.

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Make-Ahead Vegan Chickpea Salad

Recipe by Danielle

Add a plant-based option to your weekly meal prep with this Make-Ahead Vegan Chickpea Salad. This gluten-free dairy-free salad is loaded with veggies, herbs and chickpeas, covered in a simple lemon and cumin dressing you’ll love!

  • Total Time20 minutes
  • Yield3 servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale

For the salad:

  • 1- (15.5 ounce) can chickpeas
  • 1/2 small red onion
  • 1 1/2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes
  • 1 small bunch radishes (5-7 radishes)
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 1 yellow bell pepper
  • 1/2 cup curly parsley leaves
  • 1/2 cup cilantro leaves

For the dressing:

  • zest of 1 medium lemon
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to taste
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons Aleppo pepper or 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, plus extra to taste
  • fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. Prepare the chickpeas: Drain the chickpeas and rinse well. Strain excess water off, then spread the chickpeas out on a paper towel. Use another paper towel to pat the chickpeas on top and remove as much water as possible. 
  2. Prepare the onions: Peel the onion before slicing into very thin half moons. Leave the slices to soak in a bowl of cold water to remove their bite as you prepare the rest of the veggies. 
  3. Prepare the veggies: Chop the tomatoes and radishes. Core and de-seed the bell pepper before chopping them into a small dice similar in size to the radish and tomato pieces. Chop the herbs as well. 
  4. Make the dressing: In a small bowl or jar with lid, combine all the dressing ingredients together and whisk or shake until combined.
  5. Assemble the salad: Transfer the dried chickpeas to a large bowl. Drain the onion slices and remove as much moisture as possible using a paper towel before adding them to the bowl, along with the rest of the chopped herbs and vegetables. Stir in the dressing until everything is well coated.
  6. Serve & store: Add more salt if the salad is missing a savory note, more lemon juice if lacking brightness, and more extra virgin olive oil if it needs a little more richness, which will depend on the quality of the chickpeas you started with. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge and enjoy within 3 days.

Equipment

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Notes

Cucumber: 2 cups of diced cucumber (approx. 1 English cucumber) is a delicious addition if you’re serving this salad right away. But if you’re prepping this ahead, leave the cucumber out, as it will make the chickpea salad too watery and wet once it has sat in the fridge for a while.

Tomatoes: You can use larger tomatoes in this recipe, but remove the seeds before chopping to reduce excess moisture from the salad.

Nutrition information estimated with My Fitness Pal.

  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Category: Sides
  • Method: No Heat
  • Cuisine: Middle Eastern-inspired

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: ~2 cups
  • Calories: 296
  • Fat: 14g
  • Carbohydrates: 39g
  • Fiber: 12g
  • Protein: 11g

Find it online: https://staging.projectmealplan.com/make-ahead-vegan-chickpea-salad/