This spinach and chickpea salad is not just tasty and healthy, it's also very satisfying. Fresh baby spinach, tangy red onions, and refreshing cucumber are mixed with crispy roast chickpeas, crunchy pita croutons, and tossed in a creamy tahini dressing. This is a salad that can stand its own as a main dish as well as a side and is sure to keep hunger at bay.
You'll be happy to know that the spinach and chickpea salad comes together fairly quickly. It's true that roasting the chickpeas can take up to 30 minutes, but all the other preparation can be done in the meantime and your wholesome and flavorful salad will be ready before you know it.
🛒 What do I need to make this recipe?
Ingredients:
Possible substitutions:
- Chickpeas - this recipe has been tested with canned chickpeas. You can also use dried chickpeas, but first, you will need to soak them overnight and then boil them for at least 40 minutes.
- Pecans - you can swap these for walnuts or hazelnuts.
- Red onion - this has a more gentle flavor than white onion, but you can swap it for white onion if you need to.
- Pita bread - can be made into crispy croutons quickly when tossed in a frying pan on a high heat. Any type of flatbread will work well for this.
Tools & equipment:
- Roasting dish - choose one that is large enough to hold the chickpeas in a single layer.
- Medium frying pan- for toasting the pecan nuts and pita croutons
- Small jug or bowl - for mixing the dressing ingredients
- Salad bowl - for tossing all of the ingredients together
🧑🍳 How to make the Spinach and Chickpea Salad
1. Roast the chickpeas
Heat your oven to 200C or 400F. Wash the chickpeas, dry them thoroughly with a clean tea towel and season them with olive oil, salt, smoked paprika, and cayenne pepper. Then place them into a roasting dish in a single layer, put them on a high shelf in the oven and bake for 20-30 mins until the shells start to crisp up.
2. Make the dressing
Mix the tahini, olive oil, mustard, water, lemon juice, maple syrup/honey, garlic powder, and salt in a small jug or bowl and set aside.
3. Toast the pecans
Place a small frying pan on a medium to high heat and toast the pecans for a few minutes. When they begin to brown, remove them from the heat and set them aside.
4. Make the pita croutons
Place the pita breads in your toaster until they are lightly toasted and the cut them into 2cm or ¾ inch pieces. Place a frying pan on a high heat, add a touch of olive oil and then add the croutons and cook them in pan, for a few minutes turning regularly until they are brown and crispy.
5. Assemble the salad
Place the red onion, baby spinach, cucumber, roasted chickpeas, pita croutons into a salad bowl, pour on the dressing and toss everything together. Serve on plates or in bowls and top with the toasted pecans.
👍 Top tips for perfect Spinach and Chickpea Salad
- Dry the chickpeas - if you want crispy roast chickpeas you need to make sure you remove as much moisture from them as possible before you add the seasoning and bake. Make sure you dry them thoroughly with a clean tea towel after you wash them.
- Don't turn your back on the pecans - it only takes a few minutes to toast the pecans and they can go from done to burnt very quickly, so make sure you keep an eye on them.
- Toast the pita bread first - making the pita croutons is much quicker if you toast the pita bread in the toaster before tossing them in a hot frying pan.
🙋 FAQs
This salad is best eaten fresh. The salad will keep for 2-3 days if you store the key ingredients separately. For maximum freshness store the cucumber, onion and spinach in the fridge separately from the dressing. The chickpeas and toasted pecans are best stored in the pantry in airtight containers. I recommend making the pita croutons fresh because they are so quick and easy to make. If you have some leftovers that you need to save they should be stored in the pantry in an airtight container.
There are two possible reasons. Firstly, the chickpeas may have been moist when you roasted them. You should make sure you dry them thoroughly before baking them in the oven. It could also be because you haven't baked them for long enough. It takes 20-30 minutes to roast the chickpeas. Make sure their shells have hardened before you remove them from the oven.
It's recommended because it removes the sodium. Rinsing chickpeas can wash away up to 50% of the sodium.
Other easy salad recipes
- Giant Couscous & Halloumi Salad
- Carrot, Cucumber & Mooli Salad
- Blue cheese, apple, grape and walnut salad
- Canned corn, black bean and avocado salad (with quinoa)
Crispy Roasted Spinach and Chickpea Salad
Equipment
- Chopping board
Ingredients
Salad Ingredients:
- ½ tbsp olive oil
- 2 wholemeal pita breads
- ½ cucumber seeds removed and cut into 1cm cubes
- 4 cups (4 cups) washed baby spinach
- 14 oz (400 g) can of chickpeas drained and washed
- 4 tbsp pecan nuts
- ½ red onion finely chopped
Chickpea seasoning:
- ½ tbsp olive oil
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper optional
Dressing:
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) tahini
- ½ tsp mustard
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2-3 tbsp water
- 3 tbsp lemon juice approx 1.5 lemons
- 1 tbsp maple syrup or honey
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- Pinch salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat your oven to 400F (200C).
- Wash the chickpeas and gently dry them with a clean tea towel. Make sure they are as dry as possible before you roast them. (note 1)
- Place the chickpeas into a baking dish that is large enough to hold them in a single layer, add the olive oil, salt, smoked paprika, and cayenne pepper and mix with your hands until the seasoning is incorporated.
- Roast the seasoned chickpeas on the top shelf of the oven for 20-30mins until their shells start to crisp up, turning them halfway.
- Meanwhile, mix the dressing ingredients in the small jug or bowl and set aside. The dressing should be thick but pourable. Add the water 1 tbsp at a time until it reaches the right consistency.
- Place a frying pan on a high heat and toast the pecans for a few minutes. Remove them from the heat when they start to brown and set them aside.
- Place the pita breads into the toaster until they are lightly toasted. Then cut them into 2cm squares and place them in a frying pan on a high heat and add the olive oil. Add the pita breads and cook them for a few minutes until they are brown and crispy, making sure you toss them to ensure both sides are done.
- Place the cucumber, baby spinach and red onion in a salad bowl. Add the roasted chickpeas, pita croutons and roughly chopped pecans then pour on the dressing, toss everything together and serve immediately.
Notes
- Damp chickpeas will not crisp up so make sure you dry them thoroughly before adding the olive oil and seasoning.
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