Toasted Chickpea Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing

Toasted Chickpea Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing

Chickpeas are a delicious superfood that add incredible flavor and texture to any dish. A robust salad with toasted chickpeas is the perfect summer meal, since its filling, requires no oven, and easy to put together. I toast chickpeas with thyme and butter until they are just crispy, making them the tastiest addition to a nice bed of greens. I am always looking for new ways to put a salad together since they are a great dish to get lots of vegetables into your diet without having to cook! One of the best parts of this salad is the creamy honey mustard dressing that is sweet and lemony, but adds so much flavor to your salad. What does a good salad need? Apart from the toasted chickpeas and creamy dressing, any good salad requires lots of toppings. This salad also includes crunchy apples and carrots, and notes of cilantro to finish off this great and healthy dish. I hope you add this bright and amazing salad to your dinner table rotation!

How to Roast and Toast Chickpeas:

• Chickpeas are a healthy vegetable that can add so much texture and flavor to any dish. To toast chickpeas, I drain 1 can and then spread them on a plate with a paper towel underneath. I use another paper towel to gently roll over the chickpeas until they are dry.

• On a skillet over medium heat, add the chickpeas with a healthy pinch of salt, a couple tablespoons of olive oil, and any herbs you wish to use. For this salad, I use thyme to season my chickpeas but basil, cilantro, or oregano are all wonderful.

• Continue to toast, stirring every few minutes until the chickpeas begin to brown and start to crisp. Allow them to get as crispy as you like! I usually leave my chickpeas on the skillet for as long as 20 minutes so they have a nice brown crust.

What Makes a Great Salad:

• A great salad starts with a great base. This salad has an arugula and green cabbage base that sets the tone with crispiness from the cabbage and a little bite from the arugula. Other good options for creating a good starting for a delicious salad is basically any combination of greens that you enjoy and pair well with the other ingredients you are using. For example, cut up spinach would be nice with green cabbage as it is delicate and when chopped, takes on a similar texture to chopped arugula.

• Also consider how your greens will pair with your dressing and the toppings. Green cabbage holds up nicely to hearty add-ins like apple and chickpeas. Consider other sturdy green options like kale, Lacinato kale, or red cabbage. The dressing is bright with acid coming from the apple cider vinegar and mustard, making it a great pairing for cabbage, kale, and arugula all of which can have an earthy, more bitter flavor.

What to Pair Chickpea Salad With:

• This simple chickpea salad pairs with so much! It is great with soup, rice, pasta, any protein you like or even just all on its own. Below are a few of my pairings that I love to put with this incredible chickpea salad.

• My Lemon Dill Chicken which is a creamy pan seared chicken with lots of lemon and dill. This salad would pair great with the lean protein and delicious flavors of lemon and dill.

• My Roasted Bell Pepper Pesto Pasta which is a creamy pesto pasta bowl that uses a roasted bell pepper and black olive pesto to season your favorite pasta noodles. A hearty salad like this would go great with it!

• My Homemade Chicken Nuggets which is one of my all time favorite ways to eat chicken! The nuggets are crispy and cozy. This salad would help brighten your dinner.

Recipe for Toasted Chickpea Salad

• (1) 15 oz can chickpeas drained and rinsed
• 1 cup chopped green kale You can use any type of kale too.
• 1 cup green cabbage You can use Nappa cabbage or red cabbage.
• 2 cups packed arugula
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped into bite size pieces.
• 1/2 apple chopped into bite size pieces
• 1/4 red onion finely chopped. You can use a shallot or green onion too.
• fresh cilantro optional for topping
• 3-4 Tbs honey mustard dressing See below for recipe.
• salt and pepper, to taste

Recipe for Honey Mustard Dressing

• 1/3 cup olive oil You can use any oil you prefer.
• 2 Tbs apple cider vinegar YOu can also use lemon juice or rice vinegar.
• 2 Tbs yellow mustard
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 1.5 to 2 Tbs honey You can use maple syrup too.
• 1 Tbs dried dill You can use fresh dill too.
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt to taste

 How to Make Toasted Chickpea Salad:

1. Toast your chickpeas over medium heat with thyme, olive oil, and salt. See notes above on preparing and toasting your chickpeas. Once toasted to desired crispiness, set aside to cool.

2. Chop your green cabbage and arugula and add to a large bowl.

3. Chop your carrots, apple, and red onion and add to the bowl with your greens.

4. De stem the cilantro and add to your bowl. I leave my cilantro leaves uncut but chop them lightly if you prefer.

5. Add your toasted chickpeas to the salad

6. Pour the desired amount of honey mustard dressing to the bowl, and toss.

How To Make Honey Mustard Dressing:

1. To a jar, or sealable container add the oil, vinegar, mustard, and honey. Shake well. If your honey has crystallized while in your pantry, measure out the amount needed into a microwave safe bowl. Heat in increments of 5 seconds until the honey is liquid again. You can also run your honey jar or container under hot water to re liquify it if needed. If that still does not work, feel free to substitute in agave or maple syrup!

2. Add the salt, pepper, and dill. Shake well until the dressing is combined.

3. Adjust for oil, salt, honey, or vinegar levels.

4. Enjoy! This dressing will keep in your fridge and will stay fresh if kept in a sealable jar or container.

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Toasted Chickpea Salad with Creamy Honey Mustard Dressing

Yield: 8

Author: Merritt Allen

Prep time: 15 MinAssembly Time: 5 MinTotal time: 20 Min

This incredible salad is the perfect addition to a weeknight dinner. It is filling, cozy, and so easy to put together. The best part is how versatile it is, with your choice of toppings to go with your roasted and seasoned chickpeas!

Ingredients

Chickpea Salad

• (1) 15 oz can chickpeas
• 1 cup chopped green cabbage
• 2 cups packed arugula
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 apple, chopped
• 1/4 red onion, finely chopped
• 3-4 Tbs honey mustard dressing
• salt and pepper, to taste

Honey Mustard Dressing

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 Tbs apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
• 2 Tbs yellow mustard
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 1.5 to 2 Tbs honey
• 1 Tbs dried dill
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt, to taste

Instructions

Chickpea Salad

1. Toast your chickpeas over medium heat with thyme, olive oil, and salt. See notes above on preparing and toasting your chickpeas. Once toasted to desired crispiness, set aside to cool.
2. Chop your green cabbage and arugula and add to a large bowl.
3. Chop your carrots, apple, and red onion and add to the bowl with your greens.
4. De stem the cilantro and add to your bowl. I leave my cilantro leaves uncut but chop them lightly if you prefer.
5. Add your toasted chickpeas to the salad
6. Pour the desired amount of honey mustard dressing to the bowl, and toss.

Honey Mustard Dressing

1. To a jar, or sealable container add the oil, vinegar, mustard, and honey. Shake well. If your honey has crystallized while in your pantry, measure out the amount needed into a microwave safe bowl. Heat in increments of 5 seconds until the honey is liquid again. You can also run your honey jar or container under hot water to re liquify it if needed. If that still does not work, feel free to substitute in agave or maple syrup!
2. Add the salt, pepper, and dill. Shake well until the dressing is combined.
3. Adjust for oil, salt, honey, or vinegar levels.
4. Enjoy! This dressing will keep in your fridge and will stay fresh if kept in a sealable jar or container.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

172

Protein

3 g

Carbs

17 g

Fat

10 g

Fiber

3 g

https://itsbetterwithbutter.com/appetizers-and-sides/toasted-chickpea-and-vegetable-salad

chickpeas, salad, healthy, honey mustard, homemade dressing, easy salad, whole food diet

dinner

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