Recipe: Creamy Chickpea Salad

I just realized this recipe is not on our blog and I simply can’t believe it being that it is the recipe that I have literally prepared the most times for Nourish Northwest corporate cooking demos and given out to clients in meal plans. It is also the recipe that my clients cook the most often. Why??? Mostly because it is so delicious but it is also balanced, filling and easy to batch cook for a week’s worth of lunches. I’m not exaggerting when I say that everyone who has had this salad loves it!

While I am resposible for introducing this salad to thousands of people, I cannot take credit for creating it. It is adapted from The Perfect Protein Salad from the deli at Seattle’s PCC Markets. When I lived in Seattle during grad school, this was a very common meal of mine. We adapted it to make it vegan, gluten free and just a little simpler to prepare. Enjoy! I just KNOW you will love this one!

CREAMY CHICKPEA SALAD

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa

3-4 cups water to cook quinoa

2 15-oz cans garbanzo beans, drained

1 English cucumber, diced

1 red bell pepper, seeds removed and diced

3 stalks celery, diced

1 carrot, diced (about 1 cup)

1/2 bunch green onion, diagonally sliced

1/3 bunch parsley, chopped (preferably flat leaf or Italian)

DRESSING:

1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise

2 Tbs lemon juice

2 Tbs apple cider vinegar

1 tsp dried dill

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp minced garlic

Preparation

1. Bring quinoa to a boil in salted water.  Boil for about 15 minutes. Drain.
2. In a large salad bowl, mix together the dressing ingredients. 
3. On top of the dressing, mix together the cooked quinoa, garbanzo beans, diced cucumber, green pepper, celery, carrots, green onion and chopped parsley.
4. Stir to combine and serve!