Chickpea & Romain Salad with Balsalmic Dressing

WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT HERE

EASY & DELICIOUS Vegan Chickpea Salad Recipe

I'll be honest - salads used to be among the last things on a menu I'd order. I suppose that's because my general experience had been that they are not very filling and often times are bland! UGH! But, I'm happy to say that I've finally discovered my love for salad much like many other foods (ahem, veggies) I've come to enjoy - through seasoning! Good grief why don't people season veggies?!? Yes, even salad leaves should be seasoned and this recipe is packed full of flavor AND is quite filling with the added chickpeas and Balsamic Vinegar dressing I love drizzling over the top.

I highly recommend using both the Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar from my favorite local olive oil company, Nuvo. They have such high-quality vinegar and oils for a really great price point. I discovered them a couple of months back at a local farmers market and have been obsessed over since and could not recommend them more - using high-quality ingredients like these add that "elevated touch" to all of your recipes.

I hope you love this salad as much as I do and as always - get creative, have fun, and ENJOY eating your plants!

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Chickpea Salad

Serves: 4-6 | Prep: 5 mins | Cook: 5 Mins | Ready: 10 Mins

Download Your RECIPE CARD PDF Here

Ingredients:

Salad

Romaine Lettuce (1-2 heads)

Red Onion (1/2 - thinly sliced)

Carrots (1/3 cup - shredded)

Fresh Cilantro (1/4 cup)

Fresh Dill (1/4 cup)

Salt & Pepper (1-2 pinches or to taste)

Chickpeas

Canned Chickpeas (1 can)

Dijon Mustard (1 tbsp)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (1 tbsp)

Lemon Juice (1/2 lemon - squeezed)

Garlic Powder (1/2 tbsp)

Silvered Almonds (1 cup)

Salt & Pepper (1-2 healthy pinches)

Creamy Balsalmic Vinegar

Balsamic Vinegar (3 tbsp)

Water (3 tbsp)

Tahini (2 tbsp)

Dijon Mustard (1 tsp)

Garlic Powder (1 tsp)

Directions:

Prep Work:

Wash and chop romaine into 1 inch pieces. Half a red onion and slice into very thin pieces. Shave the dill leaves off the stalks and chop into smaller pieces - set aside. Shave the cilantro leaves from the stalks and roll leaves into a bunch and chop - set aside. Shred or chop carrots into thin slices if you didn't buy pre-shredded carrots.

1. Place your washed, chopped romaine lettuce into a large bowl. Add in a couple pinches of salt and pepper and toss. Then, add in the sliced red onion, shredded carrots, chopped dill and cilantro and toss all together - set aside.

2. Pre-heat a skillet to a medium-high heat and add in olive oil. Add the chickpeas (strained and rinsed) into the skillet with the silvered almonds and toss to coat with the olive oil. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the silvered almonds begin to brown.

3. Add in the dijon mustard, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt and pepper and mix together. Add another light drizzle of olive oil if you feel the chickpeas have gotten dry.

4. Plate the lettuce and veggies onto a plate and top with several spoonfuls of the chickpeas. Drizzle over you favorite dressing or see below for my homemade Balsamic Dressing.

Homemade Creamy Balsamic Dressing

In a small bowl, whisk together balsamic vinegar, tahini and water. Once combined, whisk in garlic powder and dijon mustard. Double the recipe and store in a jar to enjoy throughout the week!

Pro Tip: This dressing is best when made with a high quality balsamic vinegar that is thick and creamy. Otherwise, I'd recommend reducing your balsamic down until it thickens.

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Nuvo Olive Oils

I'm completely obsessed with this brand right now - not only is the Balsamic Vinegar absolutely perfect for this recipe - but it's perfect for drizzling over pasta as well. I'm also loving the extra virgin olive oil and the truffle oil - if you've never tried truffle oil it is out of this world. I believe that using really good ingredients is what elevates a dish - so these are definitely worth a try and are very affordable compared to what you grab from the store shelf - at a WAY higher quality.

Here is their website to shop for yourself.

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Plant-Based Replacements

If you're after more dairy replacement ideas, or even what to do to replace meat in all your favorite recipes, I've put together this Plant-Based Replacement Guide with all my favorite brands and so you can see what I use to keep plant-based food tasting good.

Have any questions? What recipes do you want to see?

Let me know in the comments below!