Herbed Quinoa & Chickpea Salad with Lemon-Tahini Dressing
This fresh, herbed quinoa and chickpea salad makes a satisfying lunch. It's also a great side dish for holidays and potlucks. Gluten free and easily vegan.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on September 5, 2024
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Last Thursday turned into a fiasco. I woke up and started powering through my to-do list, for once. Emails? Check. Laundry? Check. Groceries? Check. High five, self!
Then my landlord came over to work on some things. As I was talking to him and trying to clean off the counters, Cookie leapt up in a truly impressive feat and swiped a hunk of dark chocolate cake off the counter. She gobbled it down before I could stop her. I tried the hydrogen peroxide thing, but it wasn’t enough, so we zoomed over to the vet.
My Cookie girl spent the afternoon behind closed doors, and we went back the next afternoon, too. We’ve both been moving a little slow since then. She’s generally such an exuberant force, and she’s recovered about ninety percent now. It’s cute when she grabs cabbage from the counter, but chocolate, not so much (I’m careful, too).
I finalized these salad details while she was away, and it was a relief to come home to a healthy dinner after a stressful day. Quinoa salads can be both super nutritious and delicious, and this one is definitely both.
In addition to quinoa (which is cooked to fluffy perfection using my preferred method), I added chickpeas, which are rich in fiber, protein and nutrients like manganeses and folate (source). I added loads of fresh flavor to the quinoa-chickpea base with spinach, parsley, cilantro and green onion.
The salad wasn’t quite awesome enough until I added freshly toasted pepitas and some creamy, crumbled feta cheese (which could be replaced by sliced Kalamata olives, if you’d rather). Then I poured in a zippy, garlicky, lemony dressing made lightly creamy with some tahini. This salad would be a great packed lunch, and it would also be a lovely vegetarian (easily vegan) addition to your holiday table.
This is my last post created to celebrate the United Nation’s International Year of Pulses. “Pulse” is the more general name for beans, lentils and peas (a few of my favorite ingredients). For more information about the benefits of pulses, and to join me in committing to eat one serving of pulses every week, visit PulsePledge.com. To see my other recipes, check out my Greek lentil salad, fresh seven-layer dip and broccoli, chickpea and avocado chickpea pita sandwiches.
Watch How to Make Perfectly Fluffy Quinoa
Herbed Quinoa & Chickpea Salad with Lemon-Tahini Dressing
This fresh, herbed quinoa and chickpea salad makes a satisfying lunch. It’s also a great side dish for holidays and potlucks. Recipe yields 2 large, meal-sized portions or 4 side salads (you could easily double or triple this recipe).
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 cup quinoa, rinsed in a fine-mesh colander
- 2 cups water
- 1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed and drained, or 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas
- 1 ½ cups roughly chopped baby spinach
- ½ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro (or additional parsley)
- ⅓ cup chopped green onion (green parts only)
- ⅓ cup crumbled feta
- ⅓ cup toasted pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds)
Lemon-tahini dressing
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 3 to 4 tablespoons lemon juice, to taste
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 1 large clove garlic, pressed or minced
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- To cook the quinoa: Combine the rinsed quinoa and the water in a medium saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then decrease the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook until the quinoa has absorbed all of the water, about 15 minutes, reducing heat as time goes on to maintain a gentle simmer. Remove from heat, cover, and let the quinoa rest for 5 minutes, which gives it time to fluff up.
- Meanwhile, toast the pepitas in a small skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until fragrant and making little popping noises, about 5 minutes. Transfer them to a large serving bowl to cool for a few minutes (we’ll add more to the bowl in a minute).
- To make the dressing: In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, tahini, garlic, salt and several twists of freshly ground pepper. Taste, and add up to 1 more tablespoon of lemon juice and/or more pepper, if necessary (I like my dressing pretty zippy for this salad, so I used the full 4 tablespoons).
- Once the quinoa is ready to use, add it to the large bowl. Add the chickpeas, spinach, parsley, cilantro, green onion, feta and toasted pepitas. Drizzle all of the dressing over the salad, and toss to combine. Serve immediately, or let it cool and refrigerate for later. This salad keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 3 days.
Notes
Make it dairy free/vegan: Omit the feta. You might like to add some thinly sliced Kalamata olives to make up for it.
Change it up: You could add shredded carrots and/or top with diced avocado.
If you love this recipe: You’ll also love my Greek Lentil Salad and Sun-Dried Tomato, Spinach and Quinoa Salad.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
This post was created in partnership with USA Pulses and Pulses Canada. Opinions are my own, always. Thank you for supporting the sponsors who support C+K!
This is delicious! Since we cannot eat garlic I made with chicken
stock, no feta, romaine instead of spinach, no tahini, peanuts instead of petit as. Our neighbors all loved it! In short, this is a yummy and very flexible recipe. Thank you.
You’re welcome, Gail!
This is so delicious! One of my favorite recipes and it’s great fresh or leftover. Must try!
I’m glad you loved this salad, Kristen! Thank you for your review.
This is delicious and very satisfying. It says “serves 4”, but it easily serves 6-8 as a side dish. I will be making it again.
Wonderful to hear! Thank you for sharing, Barbara.
I love this recipe! Ever since I tried it at a potluck it is my go-to dish for all occasions. It’s even better with chopped avocado. I often make substitutions based on what I have on hand. Black beans for garbanzos. Bell peppers for green onions. Sunflower seeds. Cucumbers. It’s versatile.
Great, Sela! I appreciate your review.
Wow Kate,
I made it today and is super tasty. It will be in my rotation for healthy dinners at home! Thank you for sharing
You’re welcome, Andrea! Thanks for your review.
Hey Kate!
I have made this recipe many times (omitting the feta as I’m vegan) and I really love it. I was just wondering if it could be freezer friendly (without the dressing, of course). What do you think?
Hi Rita! I wouldn’t know without trying it, but I typically don’t find recipes like this freeze all that well.
If you have a Trader Joe’s, they sell a vegan feta substitute that’s not to bad.
My whole family enjoyed this recipe! There is a great balance of texture with the chickpeas and quinoa. I love the creamy dressing and the freshness of herbs. Added in the Kalamata olives too which added some saltiness. I did not have spinach so I used finely chopped kale. Yum!
I just finished eating this for lunch (prepped for the week yesterday) and it’s one meal I’m excited to eat multiple times this week! It was very easy to make. I followed your quinoa cooking instructions as well, and it turned out perfectly. My fiancé also enjoyed it. I may get olives to put in his servings since he is a fan and I’m not. Thanks!!
Thanks for sharing, Jen!
This salad is fabulous!! Probably my fave salad so far. I made it without feta as I have a dairy allergy and its still awesome!!
Absurdly delicious! Thank you, Kate!
Wow! This salad is delicious. I had everything except the parsley and still found it was perfect.
Loved it! Used pigeon peas instead of chick peas and skipped the feta. Added shredded carrot too – very tasty! Will definitely make it again!
This looks really good! If I used this as a main dish, how many serving would this make? Also how many cups of the salad per serving would that be? Thanks!
Recipe yields 2 large, meal-sized portions or 4 side salads (you could easily double or triple this recipe). Just double the nutritional information as that is for 4 side salads. Hope this helps!
Oh. My. God.
This was so so good!! I’m about to make for the second time in a week :)
This hits the spot! So healthy and yummy!
I made this last night for dinner and we had the leftovers for lunch today. I made it exactly as written using the feta and it was great. Today for lunch I added the greek olives and I actually liked both the feta and olives. This does keep very well and would be excellent for carrying to work for lunch. Another great recipe! Thank you.
Sounds delicious, Julie! Thanks for taking the time to review.
I’ve been a long time follower of your blog but incredibly, this is the first recipe of yours that I have made. It is fabulous! I had to use thinly sliced red onion instead of green and sunflower seeds instead of pepitas but it is still fabulous! What I love is that this salad has a great mix of vegetables and protein, plus the amazing textures including the crunch from the seeds. Oh, and that dressing! I will definitely be making this again.
Thank you for all your support and following along, Korey! I’m excite you love it.
A deliciously tasty and filling salad enjoyed exactly how the recipe was written- 4 tablespoons of pepper and all! Each week, I try a new recipe from your blog and each week my husband asks ‘which day are we having Cookie’s recipe?’ HA! Thank you for sharing all these fantastic and healthy recipes with us.
That’s amazing! Thank you for sharing, Vanessa.
The dressing was perfect! I couldn’t stop eating this! But will have the leftovers tomorrow!
I just made this and it is delicious! However, there was way too much cooked quinoa for the amount of other ingredients (including the divine dressing) so I didn’t add all of it in. I assume you mean a cup of uncooked quinoa, but maybe you meant cooked?? Anyway, no harm done. It is delicious. And now my husband is making your gazpacho to go with it. I used Myoko’s vegan mozzarella because I am vegan, and that worked great too. Thanks so much Kate! I love your recipes.
Hi Sita! I meant 1 cup dried and then cooked which would yield more once cooked. Did you follow the other measurements exactly? I’m happy you were able to make it work for you!
You mentioned this was a side salad. What did you pair it with?
Hi! A simple side salad with a vinaigrette would be nice.
would it be possible to use 1/4 cup water instead of 1/4 cup oil for the dressing? I’m used to thinning my tahini dressing with water so I was just wondering if that would work for this recipe as well. thank you :)
Hi! I like this one the best as it. I haven’t tried it, but if you have liked the results before it may be interesting to try.
Just wondering if the dressing could be done without oil?
Hi Nancy, I don’t have a good oil free option without changing the entire dressing. Sorry!
So good! It’s my favorite fresh when the quinoa is still warm, but the chilled leftovers are great too. Salads with grains in them are perfect for my husband who is a construction worker and can’t heat up food for lunch. It’s a little more hearty than your typical salad and something different and healthier than a sandwich. The only change I made was that I cooked the quinoa in chicken stock instead of water for more flavor. This recipe is definitely a keeper. Thank you!
I made this as written except i added a cucumber and green bell pepper for extra green veggies and it was delicious! I didn’t have peptias, but I may try adding some sunflower seeds instead since that’s what I have in the kitchen. I also used vegan feta since that’s what I prefer. I will add this to my rotation of cookie and kate quinoa salad recipes that I make on a regular basis as a meal prep for lunch. I also have made the favorite quinoa salad recipe and thai peanut quinoa salad recipe and love them all! I make the quinoa in the instant pot which seems to make things easier.
Excellent!!!
Made as is minus the cilantro (not a fan). Used plenty of fresh parsley like you suggested. Also used chicken broth (apologies).
Have gone a different route for lunches for the past year. No more sandwiches and definitely no more chips. Not a vegetarian, just looking for healthy options. Your soups (Classic Minestrone & Pasta e Fagioli) and Sun-Dried Tomato, Spinach and Quinoa Salad are delicious and staples now. This one here just got added to the list!
Newcomer to your blog and so glad I stumbled onto it.
Looking forward to trying so many more of your recipes.
Thanks!!!
I’m happy you were able to make this work for you, Rebecca!
I made this almost exactly as printed but made 2 changes. I could not find any flat parsley at my grocery stores (all sold out) so I ended up getting the tube of fresh parsley paste sold in the produce section and added this. I think it actually made the salad Amazing because it put the parsley flavor throughout the whole salad. And I used a whole 10 oz bag of spinach. We will definitively be making this again!! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Thank you for sharing, Cheryl! I’m delighted you enjoyed it.
This is delicious and very satisfying. It says “serves 4”, but it easily serves 6-8 as a side dish. I will be making it again.
That’s great, Barbara! I appreciate your review.
Just needed to share: my husband and I tried this over the summer, and really enjoyed it. He’s a commercial hiking guide who makes meals for his guests, and he’s since begun including this on all of his trips…and it’s a huge hit! Even the picky eaters love it, and it’s great for a group with mixed dietary needs. He makes it as stated, and adds dried cranberries for a little extra texture (and sometimes grilled chicken strips for meat eaters), and everyone always cleans their plates. Thanks for a great recipe!
I love that! Thank you for sharing, Adriana.
Yum! This salad was great, thank you so much
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Tara!
I’ve been making one of your recipes daily since the new year, maybe not realistic every day but I want to keep it up at least a couple of times a week.
This one is a 10!!! It is fresh, crunchy, zesty and most importantly delicious.
I only had about a fourth of a cup of pepitas so I used a handful of chops roasted walnuts in addition, so tasty!
My husband loved it but said if he had to choose he liked the quinoa sun dried tomato salad a bit better. Once I added A few Kalamata olives to mine this is by far my favorite!
Thanks Kate!
You’re welcome! Thank you for sharing, Kier.
What’s not to like with this salad? I love the flavour contrast between the parsley, the toasted pepitas, and that addicting dressing. A feel-good lunch for me!
Wonderful, Jordan! Thank you for sharing.
I’ve made this so many times and always loved it but until today I was always too lazy to include the toasted pepitas. Well, I will never leave them out again – so easy and so yummy!!!
This is so delicious! I’ve made this several times and am most impressed with the dressing. I also love how much green can be packed into it. I’ve added extra spinach to make it more like a green salad. i just ran out of quinoa and used lentils. Delish as well. Brava on such a versatile recipe!
I’m glad you loved it, Wendy!
This is my FAVORITE LUNCH. It tastes so fresh and is so easy.
Great recipe, it was a hit at a recent pool party. I doubled the dressing since the quinoa really soaks it up.
That’s great to hear, Lisa! I appreciate your review.
Hello,
I loved this salad as I love just about everything I make from your site. I added some red pepper and…I’m planning to add some mint to the leftovers. Just a hint, but I think it will be a good addition.
Thank you for all your recipes
Veronica
Thank you for sharing, Veronica! I appreciate your review.
Your herb quinoa salad is absolutely delicious!!! I made it last night and everyone loved it, even my 4 year old grand daughter who’s an extremely poor eater. She asked me to pack some for her lunch tomorrow for day care! I couldn’t believe it. So, I wanna thankyou for your recipes there amazing!!!!!!
I’m excited you loved it, Sandy!
This is delicious. I made it exactly per your recipe. Is this recipe in your cookbook ?
Hi Bonita! I’m glad you loved it. This recipe isn’t in my cookbook. I do have other delicious recipes in there!