Summer Chickpea and Greens Salad

Summer is a great time for salads: refreshing, cooling, and adaptable to whatever your heart desires. As salads go though, they’re not usually a favorite in our family (I love them, but the rest of the family is on the fence).

This one took their hearts by storm! Roasted chickpeas give you some delicious protein, the olives and capers some delicious salty flavor, and the bread croutons just the right amount of crunch. Marry it all in a creamy garlic dressing, and your guests will be coming back for seconds!

Tips and Tricks

As with all salads, you can add, take out, or change any way you like. Want some cherry tomatoes? Go for it! Want a little less bread? Make a little less of it.

You can also change up the dressing if creamy garlic isn’t your thing. An Italian or lemon vinaigrette would go just as nicely.

I opted to roast chickpeas for a few reasons. The first reason is that roasted chickpeas are simply delicious! There’s nothing like crunching on a freshly roasted and salted chickpea.

Roasting them also helps the chickpeas get rid of that ‘canned’ flavor that they can still have even after rinsing.

If you’d rather have room-temperature cooked chickpeas, that’s just fine.

You can go with any lettuce combo you like. To make this simple, I call for a salad mixture (mine included iceberg lettuce, carrots, and purple cabbage), but spinach, romaine, or arugula are all terrific options.

Ingredients:

Dressing:

  • 1/4 cup vegan mayonnaise

  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard

  • 1 clove garlic, minced

  • 1 tbsp white wine vinegar

  • 1 tsp kosher salt

  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salad:

  • 2 14oz. cans chickpeas, rinsed (save the canning liquid for another recipe)

  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided

  • kosher salt

  • ground pepper

  • 5 cups’ worth of old bread, sliced into 1 inch cubes

  • 6 cups of your favorite salad mixture

  • 1/2 of a cucumber, sliced thinly into coin-like shapes

  • 1 tbsp capers

  • 1/2 cup green olives, sliced

Directions:

Turn the oven on to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Place the rinsed chickpeas in a bowl. Add 1.5 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, 1 tsp of kosher salt, and some fresh ground pepper. Mix thoroughly and place on a baking sheet. Place in the oven for 15 minutes.

After the 15 minutes, take out of the oven and toss with a spatula. Add the bread cubes on top or on the other side of the baking sheet. Dollop with the rest of the olive oil, and sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Mix briefly so it’s all coated, and return to the pan to the oven for another 10 minutes, or until the bread and chickpeas are completely crispy.

Take out and let cool.

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While the chickpeas are roasting, make your dressing. Mix the mayonnaise, mustard, white wine vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper. Using a whisk, gradually add the olive oil while stirring. Taste test to see if it’s missing anything. Set aside.

In a large bowl, place your salad mix, the cucumbers, capers, and olives. Add the roasted chickpeas and bread croutons. Finally, add the salad dressing and mix thoroughly.

Serve as a meal or as a nice side salad!