Recipe for Basic Chickpea and Spinach Salad with Variations

It’s always a good idea to have another salad recipe up your sleeve when you’re eating healthy. Salads can be nutrient-rich, low in calories, and filling. Just mix your greens, other vegetables, and add-ins, and pour on a dressing. But it can get way more exciting than that.

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This recipe is for a basic garbanzo bean and spinach salad. Then there are several suggestions for how to customize it according to your tastes and mood, and which ingredients you have on hand. 

Recipe for Basic Chickpea and Spinach Salad

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

Salad

• 1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 4 cups baby spinach
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• ½ cup cucumber, diced
• ¼ cup red onion, thinly sliced
• ¼ cup Kalamata olives, pitted and halved

Dressing:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Salt and pepper to taste

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Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, combine the chickpeas, baby spinach, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, and olives.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, garlic, salt, and pepper.
3. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat.

Variations on Basic Chickpea and Spinach Salad

• Add ¼ cup or more of freshly chopped mint, parsley, and/or dill to taste
• Swap zucchini for cucumber and add dried oregano and ½ cup of crumbled feta cheese
• Top each serving of salad with 3 ounces of cooked salmon or skinless chicken
• Make it sweet and crunchy with 1 large chopped apple
• Give it a southwestern flair with back olives instead of Kalamata olives, lime juice instead of red wine vinegar, chopped cilantro, and black beans instead of chickpeas
• Swap raw tomatoes and cucumber for roasted eggplant or bell peppers

Nutrition information per serving: calories: 200 kcal; total fat: 12 g; total carbohydrates: 20 g; sugar: 5 g; fiber: 6 g; protein: 7 g; sodium: 280 mg; cholesterol: 0 mg

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Reviewed by Natalie Stein, MS, MPH, CDCES