Chopped Salad with Spiced Chickpeas

Chopped Salad with Spiced Chickpeas made with a lemon tahini dressing. Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com!

I am soooooooo close to finishing  It Was Me All Along by Andie Mitchell.  It’s a fantastic read; I’ve been savoring the last few pages. I read a great deal on our trip to Vancouver. If you’re curious, here’s a quick synopsis from Amazon:

“A heartbreakingly honest, endearing memoir of incredible weight loss by a young food blogger who battles body image issues and overcomes food addiction to find self-acceptance.”

YES.

Chopped Salad with Spiced Chickpeas made with a lemon tahini dressing. Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com!

And while I’ve been reading her book, Andie’s cookbook Eating in the Middle  landed on my doorstep!  I feel like her way of eating is super similar to mine. She’s all about balance when it comes to food and you know how it goes here on Shutterbean…

healthy food + indulgent food = happy Tracy

Chopped Salad with Spiced Chickpeas made with a lemon tahini dressing. Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com!

So, here I am starting off with one of her healthier recipes– Chopped Salad with Spiced Chickpeas!  Fret not, I am soooooo going to make her Peanut Butter Mousse Pie with Marshmallow Whipped Cream (!!!) next.

Casey and I really enjoyed this salad. The spiced chickpeas makes it a very substantial, hearty salad. I swear, it kinda tastes like a shawarma. I think it’s something about the spice in the chickpeas, the tahini dressing and of course the parsley, feta & tomatoes.  Definitely going to add this to one of my future meal preps!

Let’s gather our ingredients:

Chopped Salad with Spiced Chickpeas made with a lemon tahini dressing. Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com!

We start with the dressing. It’s tahini, lemon juice, garlic & water.

Her recipe called for a bit of fresh chopped tarragon but my store was out. Womp womp.

If I didn’t kill my oregano plant, I would have chopped some fresh herbs in the dressing.

Next time! And there will be a next time fo sho.

Chopped Salad with Spiced Chickpeas made with a lemon tahini dressing. Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com!

Chickpeas + spice mix + oil

Chopped Salad with Spiced Chickpeas made with a lemon tahini dressing. Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com!

I like the way you work it.  I gotta bag it up.

Chopped Salad with Spiced Chickpeas made with a lemon tahini dressing. Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com!

Bean bag
Chopped Salad with Spiced Chickpeas made with a lemon tahini dressing. Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com!

Beans in a skillet!

Chopped Salad with Spiced Chickpeas made with a lemon tahini dressing. Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com!

Cook them until they get crispy.

Chopped Salad with Spiced Chickpeas made with a lemon tahini dressing. Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com!

Assemble the salad.

Chopped Salad with Spiced Chickpeas made with a lemon tahini dressing. Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com!

Chopping is my therapy.

Chopped Salad with Spiced Chickpeas made with a lemon tahini dressing. Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com!

Salad gets dressed.

Chopped Salad with Spiced Chickpeas made with a lemon tahini dressing. Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com!

Chickpeas go on top.

Chopped Salad with Spiced Chickpeas made with a lemon tahini dressing. Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com!

If you want to bring some to work, portion out some salad without the dressing.

Chopped Salad with Spiced Chickpeas made with a lemon tahini dressing. Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com!

You’re going to love those chickpeas.

Chopped Salad with Spiced Chickpeas

serves 4

recipe slightly adapted from Eating in the Middle 

for the dressing:

  • 3 tablespoons tahini
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • pinch salt

for the salad:

  • 2 romaine lettuce hearts, chopped (about 6 cups)
  • 1 medium cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded & chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
  • 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
  • 1/3 cup chopped pitted kalamata olives
  • 1/2 cup packed chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • 3 oz. feta cheese, crumbled (about 3/4 cup)
  • spiced chickpeas (see below)

For the dressing, in a small bowl, whisk together the tahini, lemon, juice and 2 tablespoons of water. Whisk in the garlic and salt.

For the salad, in a large bowl, toss together the romaine, cucumber, tomatoes, olives, onion and parsley.

To serve, divid the salad among four serving bowls. Top each with a quarter of the feta, a quarter of the chickpeas and 2 tablespoons of the dressing.

Spiced Chickpeas 

(makes 3 1/4 cups)

  • 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons allspice
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • generous pinch cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 – 15 oz. cans chickpeas, rinsed & drained
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil

In a small bowl, combine the cardamom, cinnamon, allspice, cumin, cayenne and salt.

Pat the chickpeas dry with paper towels. Put them in a gallon sized resealable plastic bag with 1 teaspoon olive oil. Add the spice mixture, reseal the bag and shake to coat the chickpeas with the spices.

In a 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat the remaining 1 teaspoon of oil over medium-high heat. Add the chickpeas and sauté, shaking the pan occasionally, until they are browned and crispy, about 5-8 minutes. Let chickpeas cool and serve them with salad.

  • Patri

    I am sooooooooooooooooooooooo making this salad! 🙂
    I watched a video of this girl that you posted on one of your “I love lists” blog posts. Loved it too 🙂
    Have a great day, Tracy!!!

  • Meg

    I love this book, and this was one of recipes I’d marked to try. Thanks for being the guinea pig! 🙂

  • Ellen @ My Uncommon Everyday

    “Chopping is my therapy.” <– So much yes. I've seen so many fabulous recipes from this cookbook and heard such great things about Andie's memoir that I think I need to get them both. This salad looks delicious!

  • krystal

    Eating roasted, spiced chickpeas was the first time I EVER understood why people love chickpeas. SO TASTY! I’m definitely making something similar to this for dinner tonight. 😉

  • Cheryl

    Hi Tracy! Do the chickpeas keep after you fry them? Thanks! Cheryl

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  • Kari

    I could eat those spiced chickpeas like popcorn!
    Kari
    http://www.sweetteasweetie.com

  • Jamie

    I roasted chickpeas once and was very disappointed, but these skillet ones look yum. Yay!

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  • Gaby Dalkin

    All the colors in this salad are amazing! I can’t wait until you make the Peanut Butter Mousse Pie

  • By the pounds

    Love the No Diggity reference! I can’t wait to make this for a light weeknight dinner 🙂

  • Amy

    I just made this for dinner – so good! I want to read that book, too —

  • Libby

    This is absolutely right up my alley.
    I live in the Midwest and we’re a very meat-and-potatoes people but I WANT to move over to a more plant-based lifestyle. So I’m starting with more meat-free meals and trying to find a good balance. This is DEFINITELY going on my meat-free pinboard! I’m going to make this next week for sure.

  • Jess

    Made this last night and it was delicious, but my chickpeas never got crispy! I had the skillet on medium-high heat and kept them on the stove for at least 12 minutes hoping they’d crisp up. They took on some color, but lacked that nice crunch I was expecting. Any suggestions…?

  • Liz @ Floating Kitchen

    Those chickpeas tho…!!! I’d have to make double because I don’t know if they would make it into the salad. To tempting to just pop them straight into my mouth! I can’t wait to check out Andie’s cookbook. Everything I’m seeing from it looks so fabulous!

  • Heather @HeatherChristo

    I’m in love with this perfect spring time salad!

  • Emily

    I just made this for dinner and it was fantastic! I only made half the chickpeas and that was enough for us. Tomorrow is an ungodly day with me working on a Sunday (silly college students need extra library time before finals) and at least I have a nice lunch to look forward to. Thanks, Tracy!

  • low carb recipes

    Nice salad! I’ve been looking to use up my chickpeas in something. Pinned

  • Lauren

    Thanks so much for posting this salad! Making it for lunch this week and (almost) can’t wait for the week to start! Just so you know, you forgot to include the red onion on the ingredient list.

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