Tangy, spicy and packed with protein, this Indian chickpea salad is sure to become your next favorite salad.
It comes together with just a few pantry staples, and is super healthy and filling- perfect as a light meal too!
Best of all, it is vegan and gluten free too!
When it comes to salads, I’m all about using fresh ingredients and keeping it super simple.
My Mediterranean tomato cucumber salad, Korean green onion salad and cucumber and Tajin salad are all big hits in my household.
Chickpea salads, in particular, tend to be more filling (and healthy), since they’re more protein rich. When I’m planning to have a salad for lunch, I almost always turn to my chickpea egg salad, but recently, I really wanted to try something different, flavor wise.
And that’s when I thought of this recipe.
Jump to:
- What's So Great About the Recipe?
- Ingredients For the Indian Chickpea Salad Recipe
- How to Make Indian Chickpea Salad
- Substitutions & Variations
- 💭Top Tip
- Equipment
- How to Store the Leftover Chickpea Salad
- Tips & Tricks to Nail the Recipe
- How to Serve Healthy Chickpea Salad
- FAQs
- Related Recipes
- Indian Chickpea Salad
What's So Great About the Recipe?
My favorite part about this recipe has to be its simplicity. This delicious salad literally comes together in 5 minutes, and is a super easy, flavorful no-cook recipe that is perfect for meal prep too!
What’s more, you can customize it to your preference too- just add or adjust the ingredients you want!
Ingredients For the Indian Chickpea Salad Recipe
To make this Indian spiced chickpea salad, here’s all you’ll need.
Chickpeas: You’ll need cooked or canned chickpeas for this recipe. I like to start off with dried chickpeas, which I usually soak overnight and then boil the next day.
Garlic: Fresh garlic lends a beautiful flavor to this Indian chickpea salad. If you don’t have fresh garlic, just use a dash of garlic powder.
Seasonings: In addition to salt, I used a mix of chili powder, chili flakes and some mixed herbs to season the chickpea salad.
Olive oil: Olive oil forms the base for the simple dressing. I would recommend using extra virgin olive oil.
Vinegar: Vinegar brings the much needed tanginess into the salad. I used apple cider vinegar, but you could use any other kind of vinegar too.
Parsley: And of course, you can’t forget the fresh parsley to brighten up the salad. You could use cilantro too!
Green onions: I also added some chopped green onions for freshness. You can skip these if you don’t have them at hand.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Indian Chickpea Salad
Ready to make this salad? Follow these step by step instructions.
Step 1: Start by chopping the scallions finely.
Step 2: Mince or grate the fresh garlic.
Step 3: In a large bowl, add the chickpeas along with the other ingredients and give it all a good mix.
Step 4: Serve it right away or refrigerate it for later.
Top with some extra chopped cilantro right before you serve.
Substitutions & Variations
- Lemon or lime juice can be a good swap for the vinegar in this recipe. In fact, you can also make the tangy lime dressing in advance in a glass jar, refrigerate it, and then use it to put this healthy salad together in minutes.
- If you want the salad to be less spicy, reduce the amount of red chili powder or chili flakes you’re adding in.
- You could also experiment with other seasonings and spices. Chaat masala is a great addition- you can find it at any Indian grocery store.
💭Top Tip
You can also replicate the exact recipe using kidney beans or white beans, and make a nice Indian style bean salad if you want to.
Equipment
How to Store the Leftover Chickpea Salad
Your leftovers can stay fresh for up to 2 days when refrigerated.
Simply transfer them to an airtight container and pop them in the fridge.
The best part? You don’t even need to reheat it- the salad tastes great even when it is cold.
You can also use the leftover salad and transform it into a nice chana chaat - a classic Indian street food. Whip up a simple yogurt dressing using Greek yogurt, subtly flavored with Indian spices and drizzle it over the chickpeas, right before you serve.
Tips & Tricks to Nail the Recipe
- Chickpeas are an excellent source of plant-based protein, but if you want a bit of extra protein, you can also add some other legumes or beans of your choice.
- If you’re choosing to boil the chickpeas, make sure you add enough water. You’ll ideally need to use a pressure cooker or your Instant Pot to do it.
- Remember not to overcook them. Make sure you cook chickpeas until they’re firm, but soft.
- Make sure you don’t overcook the chickpeas otherwise they’ll end up turning your salad mushy.
- To cut down the cooking time for this recipe, you can also choose to use canned chickpeas.
- If you’re using canned chickpeas, remember to rinse them before adding them to the salad dressing.
How to Serve Healthy Chickpea Salad
This easy Indian chickpea salad is a great side dish to team up with any of your Indian mains.
You can also add in some other fresh vegetables of your choice to bump up the nutritional value of the salad. I love adding some of my leftover Indian roasted sweet potatoes into the mix. Chopped or roasted bell peppers can also be great.
This easy salad can also be enjoyed as a meal that you can carry on the go too! Just transfer it to a clean mason jar, and you’re done.
I love pairing it with some spicy Asian cucumber salad and a nice Indian curry and a rice dish like garlic turmeric rice or naans like my favorite bullet naan.
FAQs
You can add lots of fresh veggies of your choice to the salad. Chopped red onion, Persian or English cucumber, green chili, boiled potato, lettuce, avocado and mango are great additions.
The easiest way to check if the chickpeas are fully cooked is to try and press one of them between your fingers. If they’re easily pressed between two fingers, they’re done.
If you’re planning to cook the chickpeas from scratch, you might want to soak them overnight to soften them up and slash the cooking time.
Related Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Indian Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cup chickpeas cooked
- 2 green onions chopped
- 3-4 garlic
- 2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon chili flakes
- 1 teaspoon mixed herbs
- 1 teaspoon parsley chopped
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Start by chopping the scallions finely.
- Mince or grate the fresh garlic.
- In a large bowl, add the chickpeas along with the other ingredients and give it all a good mix.
- Serve it right away or refrigerate it for later.
- Top with some extra chopped cilantro right before you serve.
