Chickpea Spinach Salad (high protein & fibre in 7mins)
- Updated on Oct 02, 2022
This chickpea spinach salad is like the PR person of the salad world. Eating it once is enough to turn salad-haters into fans and to open up a whole new world of flavourful, filling salad possibilities.
Download our free app Easy Vegetarian!
(4.7★, 100K+ Downloads in Google Play)
🥗 300+ High-Protein Recipes
📅 Grocery Lists & Meal Plans
🚫Totally Ad-free
Jump to
Is it packed full of fibre, protein and loads of vitamins? Check. Does it look appealing and take less than ten minutes to prepare? Check. Finally, does it taste delicious? Check. This really is one of my favourite lunch recipes.
Ingredients
Chickpeas
Chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans) are key in this salad for their buttery, nutty flavour, and fibrous nature that’s great for gut health.
Spinach
Spinach brings a pop of colour and numerous health benefits to this salad; fresh baby spinach is preferable to frozen here as the texture works much better. However, if you only have frozen spinach it will still do in a pinch. You’ll need to leave the salad an hour or two before eating.
Feta cheese
I recommend using low fat feta cheese but regular is also fine and tastes great too.
Raisins
Raisins add sweetness and texture to this salad but you can leave them out if you’re not a fan. Cranberries also work really well.
Lemon juice
Lemon juice gives the salad dressing an acidic kick but you can use vinegar if that’s what you have to hand.
Honey
If you’re vegan, agave or maple syrup would work as a sweet substitute.
Olive oil
I prefer to use olive oil for the taste, extra virgin olive oil is tastiest.
Cumin
Cumin carries the flavours of this salad and complements the nutty chickpeas perfectly.
Salt
Only a pinch!
Chili flakes
These are optional depending on your affinity for spice but do add a nice kick.
How many calories are in this chickpea spinach salad?
This spinach chickpea salad contains 579 calories per serving, and it contains 23g protein per serving.
This salad is also egg free and gluten free.
Health benefits
Salads are usually associated with ‘health’, but often in a dangerously low calorie, limp lettuce kind of way.
This chickpea spinach salad is an easy salad that will leave you feeling full, satisfied and energised.
Chickpeas are not a pea at all but in fact a legume that is high in both protein and dietary fiber. Chickpeas are particularly high in a type of soluble fiber called raffinose.
Raffinose is broken down slowly by gut bacteria, ultimately helping to maintain good gut health and regular bowel movements.
Chickpeas have also been shown to lower cholesterol and possibly even cancer risk.
This brilliant meal also contains spinach, which in itself is high in dietary fibre, protein, niacin, vitamins A, C and E amongst others. It really is the king of salads.
How to make the best chickpea spinach salad
This great salad is ready in a grand total of seven minutes and the brevity of my instructions betrays its simplicity!
- Chop the feta and add to a large bowl along with the chickpeas and fresh spinach
- Mix olive oil, honey, lemon juice and raisins for the easiest of homemade salad dressings in a small bowl
- Add the cumin, salt and pepper to the dressing bowl and mix well
- Drizzle the dressing over the salad and serve!
Subscribe to get our FREE 7-Day Vegetarian High Protein Meal Plan for Weight Loss
Chickpea spinach salad FAQs
Can I make them ahead?
This chickpea spinach salad can certainly be made ahead, just keep the dressing in a separate bowl or jug, and drizzle over the salad just before serving.
How to store and re-heat?
Store this spinach and chickpea salad in an airtight container in the fridge for several days. Keep the salad itself and the dressing separate until you’re ready to serve as this helps to prevent the spinach leaves from wilting. Serve the salad at room temperature.
What to serve with chickpea spinach salad?
Chickpea spinach salad makes a great side dish to a larger meal, perhaps to accompany a chili sin carne. Alternatively, it is filling enough as a light lunch by itself, or as a main dish with some wholegrain bread or brown rice.
What can I do with a can of chickpeas?
The healthy meals that you can make with a can of chickpeas are endless: start with this chickpea spinach salad, then try fried courgette, chickpeas and yoghurt, or this vegan chickpea curry.
Are chickpeas high in protein?
Chickpeas are very high in protein, since one cup provides 14.5 grams of protein. Chickpeas are a tasty and cheap source of protein for vegetarians, vegans and other people who don’t want to rely on animal products for their protein quotas (high protein meal plans here by the way!).
Can you freeze chickpeas salad?
Chickpeas freeze well and keep for months, but the fresh spinach in this chickpea salad won’t be able to be served fresh when thawed, which is why we recommend keeping this salad in the fridge and eating it within a few days.
Chickpea spinach salad variations and alternatives
Once you’ve enjoyed this delicious spinach and chickpea salad once, you may be inspired to try it over and over again with a variety of toppings. Sunflower seeds or red bell peppers are great options.
You can also adjust the homemade dressing recipe to your tastes. Consider the recipe I’ve provided as a base and consider adding balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, garlic powder or fresh herbs as you fancy.
If you have more time, and want to make this a warm spinach salad, try this salad with roasted chickpeas with olive oil, salt and paprika.
This salad can be made vegan is you omit the feta cheese or replace with a vegan version, and if you use maple syrup or agave instead of honey (or if you want more vegan specific salads, try these vegan protein salads!). Simple!
More salad recipes
Looking for more legume protein? Try this easy red kidney bean salad!
If you fancy something hearty and warm for dinner that is still, technically, a salad, try this sweet potato and broccoli salad bake.
More chickpeas? Yes please, with this roasted sweet potato and beetroot salad.
Finally, try this meal prep friendly chickpea salad sandwich or this bean and chickpea lunch bowl for work tomorrow.
Fun chickpea fact
Did you know that chickpeas were first cultivated by humans over 11,000 years ago?
The wild chickpea (thought to be the ancestor of the domesticated chickpea that we eat today), still grows in southeastern Turkey and bordering Syria. Thinking about that kind of blows my mind. Chew on that while you’re enjoying this salad!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 can chickpeas (drained and rinsed)(1 can = 435g)
- 1 handful spinach
- 3.5 oz low fat feta cheese (3.5oz = 100g)
- 1 small handful raisins
- 1 tbsp lemon juice (white or malt vinegar is also good)
- 3 tsp honey
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- ½ – 1 tsp cumin, ground
- 1 pinch salt
- ½ tsp chili flakes (or dried cayenne pepper will do the trick nicely)
Instructions
- Chop the cheese and add with the spinach and chickpeas to a large bowl.1 handful spinach, 3.5 oz low fat feta cheese, 1 can chickpeas
- Mix the honey, oil, lemon juice and raisins in a small bowl.1 tbsp lemon juice, 3 tsp honey, 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 small handful raisins
- Add the cumin, salt and pepper to the dressing bowl and mix well.½ – 1 tsp cumin, ground, 1 pinch salt, ½ tsp chili flakes
- Drizzle devilishly delicious dressing over the salad.
NOTES
Nutrition
I hope this chickpea spinach salad recipe has reminded you of the joys of a tasty salad or completely converted you to salads’ potential if you were previously a sceptic. Let me know in the comments!
Comments
Leave a comment below
105 comments
Used dried cranberries instead of raisins, vegan fetta, and Maple Syrup instead of Honey. No cumin, no chilli flakes. Was DELICIOUS, definitely going to be a staple for lunch.
I added roasted sunflower seeds and cooked quinoa – jackpot! The next time, I added roasted sunflower seeds, cooked quinoa, and roasted honeynut squash – double jackpot! The dressing is a must make. Thanks – I love this salad.
Nice! They sound like great additions. You’re welcome, glad you enjoyed it as much as we did!
I can’t figure out how to post a comment- apologies! THANK YOU for this amazing salad!
You’ve done it just right 🙂 and thank you too! We appreciate you taking the time to write!
Used this as a base idea for what I did and I have now had this salad 3 times in 2 days lol I roasted the chickpeas in the oven so they’re nice and crispy (drained, rinsed, dried, add some olive/avocado oil, salt, pepper and cayenne, back at 350 for 40 minutes to an hour, stirring every 10, then turned heat down to 200 and let toast another 30 minutes or so so they crisp all the way through but don’t burn!). I put the spinach in my bowl, then added a generous amount of lightly seasoned quinoa from dinner the night before. I then put the roasted chickpeas, pumpkin seeds and then dried cranberries instead of raisins! SO GOOD! Also, if you want a bit of spice, I recommend using cayenne pepper powder instead of the flakes as they float to the bottom of the dressing container and don’t come out when you pour it. Or put the chilli flakes right into your salad.. either way… this is so stinkin’ delicious I had to share my version!!
Wow, this sounds, I have to admit, like some serious level up to the original recipe. But it takes longer to make though 😀
Glad you liked it. Great idea regarding the cayenne pepper too!
Oh it definitely takes some time. I tend to be the opposite of a ‘20 minute chef’. I know people who can whip out amazing food very quickly but I always need at least an hour if not more.. it’s a curse lol. But yes this recipe of yours set me up very well,
I am really glad to have found it! I only added the quinoa for a bit of protein and heft since I can’t have feta, it just turned out to be a good mix. Thanks again for this. I really love it! Gonna make it again tomorrow 🙂
I made this recipe for dinner tonight because I had bought bagged spinach for this recipe, and I knew it wouldn’t stay fresh forever. It may be the “old” spinach, but I feel it needed a little bit of Fresh diced Red onion Or cilantro in it to lend it a bit of freshness.
Indeed, ‘old’ spinach isn’t the best! Cilantro sounds like a great idea for a burst of extra freshness 🙂
This is an amazing salad! Added cashews instead of raisins and it was absolutely loved it.
Really glad to hear that, Kes!! 😀
Yum! We’re just about to head into a New Zealand summer and this is the perfect salad to serve up at the summer beach BBQs
I fully agree on that one! 😀
Btw, I’m quite jealous – we’re heading straight into winter *shiver*
A friend gave me two HUGE bags of chickpeas. I’ve been a vegetarian for 40 years but have only barely used dried chickpeas once and it didn’t go well! (I love store-bought hummus as mine didn’t taste good!)
So, I cooked some chickpeas and went on the ‘hunt’ for the recipes and ended up at your site. Your videos are awesome: Clear directions and simple to follow. That spinach salad with garbanzos looks fantastic. Question: Have you tried both cow and goat feta for this salad? Which do you like better?
Tonight I’m going to make the curry and rice dish. Another friend gave me a HUGE bag of short grained brown rice that she got at one of our HUGE American superstores. So, I”m going to make the curry dish with this and my dried basil and see how it turns out! THANKS for giving me an idea of something EDIBLE and TASTY that I can make with all these chickpeas!
You picked two of my favourite recipes. I’m super happy you have this massive bag of chickpeas at home 😀
I had this salad with both, cow and goat feta. I prefer the goat version. But goat cheese is a little more expensive.
Yesterday I downloaded the high protein meal plan and I am on day 1! Oh goodness! This was super easy to make and Absolutely Delicious. Thank you thank you
Yay, that’s awesome, Nicole! We’re happy to share this recipe (and meal plan) with as many people as possible!!