Quinoa salad with crispy chickpeas

If you’re looking for a salad made with simple fresh ingredients with a little bit of a twist, combine ribbons of salad vegetables with nutritious quinoa and delicious, naughty tasting crispy chickpeas. Delicious!

I mentioned in my last post about feeling smug that I’d ‘discovered’ delicious crispy fried chickpeas – all crispy and naughty tasting, but actually quite healthy because… chickpeas!

So I suppose this is another smug post, for two reasons. One – you get yet another recipe with delicious things in it that are actually quite healthy (hello feta cheese, Greek yogurt dressing and yet more crispy chickpeas).

And two – you already got a sneaky peek at this salad in my last post. Did you see what I did there? (#sneaky2postsfromonerecipe)

I figured this would be a great recipe wherever you are in the world. If it’s Autumn where you are then it might still be nice enough weather for a delicious salad but with a touch of crispy, crunchy warmth aka crispy fried chickpeas.

If it’s spring, like here in Perth Australia, then it’s time to start breaking out the salads, obviously!

I also mentioned in my last post that this salad was inspired by one I opportunistically grabbed at a café recently while little Benjamin was asleep.

On the surface it’s very simple – just a handful of fresh, everyday ingredients. But dig a little deeper and it’s full of texture and pizzazz! Combine thin ribbons of carrot and cucumber with grainy quinoa, halved sweet cherry tomatoes, thin slices of onion, salty, tangy crumbled feta cheese and a few handfuls of fresh green leaves.

Drizzle with a Greek yogurt and mustard based dressing and top with those delicious crispy fried chickpeas and you’re done. Eat by itself or as a side. Delicious.

I recommend doing what I did and picking out all the chickpeas while they’re still hot and crispy. I won’t tell anyone. 🙂

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Quinoa salad with crispy chickpeas

A simple but very addictive salad with healthy quinoa and super delicious crispy chickpeas.

Course Salad

Prep Time 25 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 464 kcal

Author Helen

Ingredients

for the salad

• 2 carrots peeled and shred into thin ribbons with a vegetable peeler
• 1/2 cucumber also shred into thin ribbons
• 4 slices onion halved
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
• 3 handfuls salad leaves
• 1 1/3 cups cooked quinoa ready made package, prepared according to package instructions
• 2/3 cup feta cheese crumbled
• 14 ounces chickpeas fried, add at the last minute

for the yogurt dressing

• 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoons each salt and pepper
• 1/2 lemon juice of

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

1. Toss all of the salad ingredients (apart from the chickpeas) together in a large salad bowl or on a platter.
2. Whisk all the dressing ingredients together either by hand or in a food processor, and drizzle over the salad to taste.
3. Just before serving, sprinkle the crispy fried chickpeas over the top.

Recipe Notes

Inspired by a salad I ordered at Embers Restaurant, Perth Australia

*I used red quinoa, but any type is fine.

Nutrition Facts

Quinoa salad with crispy chickpeas

Amount Per Serving

Calories 464 Calories from Fat 198

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 22g 34%

Saturated Fat 6g 30%

Cholesterol 22mg 7%

Sodium 343mg 14%

Potassium 696mg 20%

Total Carbohydrates 49g 16%

Dietary Fiber 11g 44%

Sugars 10g

Protein 17g 34%

Vitamin A 108.7%

Vitamin C 25.4%

Calcium 22.2%

Iron 25.2%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.