This superfood vegan chickpea salad with avocado and quinoa is high in protein, low in fat, and flavored with a simple lime dressing. Perfect for any time of year when you need to fuel up on nutrient-dense foods. Serve it as a side dish or a light lunch or dinner!
I’m always on the lookout for healthy, protein-rich vegan salads. When I go to a restaurant, I find that almost every salad has chicken, which drives me crazy! Of course, there are ways to create plant-based high-protein salads; they are just a few and far between when you go out to eat.
One of the best ways to inject more protein into your salads is with legumes and quinoa! You can do this with lentils, chickpeas, black beans, edamame, or any bean you prefer, and toss it with some cooked quinoa. Quinoa is not a grain but a seed. It is one of the only complete plant-based proteins available and contains all the amino acids you need for your health.
This vegan chickpea salad has legumes and quinoa for an extra protein punch. It’s super filling! You can enjoy a big bowl as a light lunch or dinner, but it also works as a delicious salad to bring to a picnic or potluck. Crunchy cucumbers and red peppers are added with creamy avocado and sweet fresh tomatoes.
But the homemade dressing is what makes this salad pop! Fresh lime juice, lime zest, a bit of olive oil, and some chili powder creates a tangy and spicy dressing.
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Why You’ll Love This Vegan Chickpea Salad
- Rich in Protein
- Tangy Dressing
- Hint of Spice
- Great for Big Gatherings
- Good source of healthy fats!
Ingredients and Notes
Chickpeas: Use canned chickpeas for a quick option. Or cook your chickpeas from dried. This will take longer, but the chickpeas will have a better flavor.
Quinoa: Use any quinoa you prefer. Quinoa comes in different colors. I used tricolor or rainbow quinoa. But you can use white, red, or black.
Vegetables: You’ll need one English cucumber. Use an English cucumber rather than a regular cucumber because it has fewer seeds, and the skin is not as tough. You’ll also need a red pepper, a large tomato (seeds removed), and a red onion. Dice all of the vegetables so that they are relatively the same size.
Avocado: Make sure that your avocado is ripe. It should have a bit of give when you squeeze it. If you love avocados, use two!
Cilantro: Wash your cilantro and roughly chop. If you don’t like cilantro, use parsley instead.
Lime Dressing: For the lime dressing, juice, and zest one lime. The lime zest enhances the flavor, so don’t skip this part! Then, whisk it with olive oil, chili powder, salt, and garlic powder, and that’s it!
How to Make Vegan Chickpea Salad
Step 1: Rinse the quinoa over running water until the water runs clear. Add the quinoa to a medium saucepan with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat, but keep it covered for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and allow to cool.
Step 2: While the quinoa is cooking, dice the red onion, tomato, red pepper, avocado, and English cucumber. Roughly chop the cilantro. Drain and rinse the can of chickpeas.
Step 3: Add the quinoa to a large bowl when it is cooked and cooled. Add the chickpeas, cucumber, tomatoes, red pepper, and red onion. Toss to combine.
Step 4: Add the cilantro and diced avocado. Gently toss.
Step 5: Juice and zest one lime in a medium bowl. Add olive oil, chili powder, garlic powder, and salt. Whisk together until combined.
Step 6: Pour the dressing over the salad. Toss together and serve!
Expert Tips
- Allow the quinoa to cool to room temperature before adding the rest of the ingredients.
- Chop all of the veggies relatively the same size for uniform bites.
- Add more veggies or sub for different vegetables. Consider adding zucchini instead of cucumber or yellow squash instead of red bell peppers.
- Use what you have in your fridge or what is currently in season. Add some celery for a crunchy texture, or substitute the lime juice for lemon juice.
- If you don’t have a large tomato, substitute for cherry tomatoes.
FAQS
This chickpea quinoa salad will last for about three days in the fridge. Be sure to transfer any leftovers to an airtight container. The avocado may brown within a day. However, the added lime juice from the dressing helps preserve the avocado’s color. If you are concerned about your avocado browning, leave it out of your salad.
Yes, you can make this chickpea tomato cucumber salad in advance. I recommend making it no more than one day in advance and leaving out the avocado until you are ready to serve the salad. This way, the avocado will be fresh and bright green. This salad tastes fantastic the day after it’s made because the dressing has had a chance to get soaked up by all of the ingredients.
Enjoy this salad on its own, or serve it on top of chopped lettuce or spinach. This beautiful salad is delicious with grilled tofu kebabs or served alongside lentil tacos or cauliflower tacos. Or make it a salad night and serve it alongside some of my other favorite salads, like this vegan, gluten-free pasta salad or potato salad.
More Healthy Vegan Salad Recipes!
Recipe
Vegan Chickpea Salad with Avocado and Quinoa
Equipment
Ingredients
For Quinoa
- 1 cup quinoa rinsed
- 1 ½ cups water
For the Salad
- 1 medium beefsteak tomato deseeded
- 1 red pepper diced
- 1 English Cucumber diced
- ½ cup red onion diced
- 15 ounce can of chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 1 avocado diced
- ½ cup cilantro roughly chopped
Lime Dressing
- 1 lime juiced and zested
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Rinse the quinoa over running water until the water runs clear. Add the quinoa to a medium saucepan with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat, but keep it covered for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and allow to cool.
- While the quinoa is cooking, dice the red onion, tomato, red pepper, avocado, and English cucumber. Roughly chop the cilantro. Drain and rinse the can of chickpeas.
- Add the quinoa to a large bowl when it is cooked and cooled. Add the chickpeas, cucumber, tomatoes, red pepper, and red onion. Toss to combine.
- Add the cilantro and diced avocado. Gently toss.
- Juice and zest one lime in a medium bowl. Add olive oil, chili powder, garlic powder, and salt. Whisk together until combined.
- Pour the dressing over the salad. Toss together and serve!
Video
Notes
- Allow the quinoa to cool to room temperature before adding the rest of the ingredients.
- Chop all the veggies relatively the same size for uniform bites.
- Add more veggies or sub for different vegetables. Consider adding zucchini instead of cucumber or yellow squash instead of red pepper. Use what you have in your fridge or what is currently in season.
- Keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Make it up to one day in advance.
imsen
healthy and delicious salad! thanks for the recipe!
Ned
Healthy delicious salad! Was awesome to make!!! Thank you!
Sharon
This chickpea salad is so hearty and delicious. I love the bright flavors throughout, the perfect side dish or lunch.
Vicky
This looks like a great lunch to make on busy days when I don’t have a lot of time. I love how it is good for you but also super filling and something that will keep you satisfied all afternoon.
Andrea
Love the flavors and textures in this marvelous salad. Looking forward to trying it.
rebecca
love all the flavors in this salad, it’s so crunchy and refreshing.