If you’re looking for a healthy meal that’s big on flavor, give this Chicken and Chickpea Salad a try.
This protein-packed salad includes a trio of pulled chicken, chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans), and farro. The farro and chickpeas are also packed with nutritious fiber. But enough talk about healthy, let’s talk flavor. Hello, spiced chickpeas! Your tastebuds will delight in the combination of chili powder, garlic, cumin, and paprika. Then they’re baked or air fried to a crispy texture. Chickpeas never had it so good.
The other headline for this recipe is the Coconut Milk Ranch Dressing. Nummy! Light coconut milk serves as the base for a much lighter ranch-style dressing. Mayo adds a little body, but the dressing still retains a thinner drizzle-like texture. Cilantro and garlic powder add their magic, along with a dash of seasoned rice vinegar for tang.
Here’s the link to the original Hy-Vee recipe for Vegan Garbanzo Bean Salad. I departed from this recipe in a few ways.
Chicken and Chickpea Salad Tips & Tweaks
- Vegan Variation – Not being a vegan myself, I added chicken to amp up the protein. But if that’s your jam, follow the original recipe.
- Pickled Onion and Jalapeno – I omitted the step for making these quick pickled vegetables. Then I used seasoned rice vinegar vs, the brine from the pickled vegetables, for the Coconut Milk Ranch Dressing.
- Mixed greens – I am a big fan of arugula, but used mixed greens because I prefer a little more variety.
- Air Frying vs. Baking Chickpeas – Because I don’t own an air fryer, I baked my chickpeas using this recipe as a guide. I seasoned mine before baking because that’s what the air fryer recipe did. My chickpeas had various stages of crunchiness after 30 minutes, but I loved the flavor they added to the salad. If you have an air fryer, by all means, give that a try.
- If you’re not a cilantro fan, give parsley or basil a whirl. For that matter, add other veggies or tweak to your heart’s content. It’s a salad, not rocket science.
Additional Healthy Options
If you’re looking to pump up the healthiness factor in the new year, try some of these additional recipes.
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Chicken and Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
Spiced Chickpeas
- 1 can Chickpeas (Garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained 15.5 oz
- 1 1/2 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 tsp. garlic powder
- 2 tsp. paprika
- 2 tsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
Coconut Milk Ranch Dressing
- 1/3 cup light coconut milk
- 1 tbsp. mayo
- 1 tbsp. seasoned rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp. finely chopped cilantro
- 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
- crushed red pepper and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Salad
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
- 4 cups mixed greens
- 1 cup cooked farro
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips
- 1 large or 2 small cucumbers, thinly sliced
Instructions
Spiced Chickpeas
- Spread rinsed, drained chickpeas on paper towels to air dry for 30 minutes. Then use fresh paper towels to pat off any remaining moisture. Getting them as dry as possible helps them crisp when fried or baked.
- Toss chickpeas in a bowl with olive oil, garlic powder, paprika, chili powder, cumin, and salt. If Baking: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Bake on parchment-lined baking sheet for 25-30 minutes. or until brown and crispy.If Air Frying: Preheat air fry to 400 degrees. Air fry in small batches for 8 to 10 minutes or until brown and crispy.
Coconut Milk Ranch Dressing
- Whisk together all ingredients for Coconut Milk Ranch except red and back pepper. Pour dressing into a small serving bowl and sprinkle with red and black pepper.
Salad
- Arrange rows of mixed greens, shredded chicken, farro, cucumbers, red peppers, and chickpeas on a serving platter or individual plates. Drizzle with Coconut Milk Ranch Dressing.
Sounds delicious and healthy. The chickpea seasoning sound really interesting, I have a bag in my pantry and I am going to give it a try.
Just a heads up that I used canned chickpeas, but I am assuming you could cook them from scratch as well.