Curried Chickpea Salad
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Last updated on Aug 02, 2023
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This curried chickpea salad is loaded with crunchy veggies and seasoned with yellow curry. It makes for a filling lunch served over greens and it’s great to meal prep!
I’m sure most of you have caught on to the fact that I LOVE anything curry flavored. Traditional Indian and Thai curries, of course. But I’m also obsessed with curried flavored things like this Cracklin’ Cauliflower. Needless to say I’m a curry addict and I’ll add curry powder to just about anything.
Curried protein salads like curried egg salad and curried chicken salad are my favorite and recently I decided to make a plant-based version with chickpeas!
I’m obsessed with it and so is Isaac. We’ve literally made it 4 times in the last few weeks.
Ingredients Needed for Curried Chickpea Salad
- chickpeas – the perfect ingredient to add bulk protein. I used canned chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans), but you can cook your own if you have the time.
- bell pepper, celery, red onion – veggies that help to give this salad a great crunch.
- medjool dates – for some added sweetness.
- spinach or spring mix – the perfect base to serve this salad on.
- cilantro – to add flavor.
- cashews – an optional topping for some added crunch.
- dressing – a super simple dressing made with olive oil, lime, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, curry powder, turmeric, garam masala, and sea salt
The thing to know about curry powder is that you don’t have to add much. A little goes a long way because it’s so flavorful. Start small and add up to your taste preference!
Notes & Substitutions
Chickpeas – Like I mentioned, I used canned chickpeas because they’re super easy to use! If you don’t like chickpeas you can substitute for another white bean like cannellini beans or Northern beans. If you use canned chickpeas there’s no cooking involved in this salad — just a bit of chopping.
Dates – If you’re not a raisin fan of dates you could swap in raisins, dried cherries, prunes or another dried fruit.
Red onion – Don’t love red onion? No worries, substitute yellow onion in it’s place.
Avocado – Want to add a little creaminess and healthy fats to your salad? Add in some chopped avocado!
How to Serve Curried Chickpea Salad
I love meal prepping protein salads because there are so many different ways you can eat them.
I love this curried chickpea salad over greens, in a wrap, as a chickpea salad sandwich and eaten right out of the container with tortilla chips. Make it a meal or just an afternoon snack… I’ve been known to do both!
To store leftovers: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5.
More Protein Salad Recipes to Try:
- Curried Avocado Egg Salad
- Almond Butter Chicken Salad
- Vegan Tofu “Chicken” Salad
- Lentil Tuna Salad
- Rotisserie Chicken Salad
More Chickpea Recipes to Try:
- Chickpea Quinoa Salad
- Sriracha Cauliflower and Chickpea Sheet Pan Meal
- Greek Chickpea Salad
- Curried Chickpea Bowls with Garlicky Spinach
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Curried Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- juice from 1/2 a lime
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon garam masala
- 2 15 oz cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup chopped red bell pepper
- 2 celery hearts, chopped
- 4 Medjool dates, pitted and chopped (or 1/2 cup raisins)
- 2 Tablespoons finely chopped red onion
- 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- chopped cashews, optional
- spinach or spring mix for serving
Instructions
- Make dressing: Combine all the dressing ingredients (oil, lime juice, apple cider vinegar, curry powder, maple syrup, salt, turmeric and garam masala) in a large bowl.
- Mix remaining ingredients: Add chickpeas, celery, red pepper, dates, red onion and cilantro to the bowl and stir to combine.
- Serve: Serve chickpea salad on a bed of spinach or spring mix and top with cashews, if using.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I loved how easily this recipe came together for my lunch meal prep. The flavors were amazing and loved the sweetness from the dates. I definitely will be adding this to my rotation.
Yay! So glad you loved this recipe, Karen. Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it!
This was great! I made the dressing in a canning jar, screwed onto my blender. It fits perfectly and it’s so easy to make dressing that way (and no washing the bulky pitcher part of the blender). I loathe cilantro so that was easy to leave out. I layered this with Boston/butter lettuce and ate it with Quest tortilla-style protein chips. With one can of chick peas, this made enough for three work day salads for lunch.
Next time for kicks I might try it with edamame, left over brown rice, and sesame ginger dressing for more of an Asian crunch. Thanks for sharing this recipe! 🙂
This sounds amazing, Karen. I am so glad you found this recipe and it turned out great for you. Thanks so much for taking the time to share your review + star rating, I appreciate it!
This salad is so delicious! I love curry, and have been looking for ways to get more turmeric into my diet. I served it over greens for lunch, but I love the idea of making a sandwich with it as well. The only change I made was to use tahini in place of the olive oil, as I try not to eat oil too often. It totally worked! Great recipe!
Woo! Sounds absolutely delicious, I am so glad you made and loved this recipe. Great sub using tahini in place of oil, thank you for coming back and sharing your review & star rating. I appreciate it!
I’m looking for your leftover turkey salad recipe and cannot find Please advise
Absolutely! Here you go! Enjoy! Leftover Turkey Salad
Yummm! I make chickpea salad sandwiches all the time so I’m always on the hunt for variations. I haven’t thought to add dates to chickpea salad before and I really enjoyed it. Next time I’ll remember to add the cashews too.
Excellent, Rachel! I am so glad that you loved this recipe. Thank you for coming back and sharing your review + star rating, I really appreciate it!
I make this salad a lot. I double the dressing and use one can of chickpeas and 1 cup of cooked quinoa. I find rhe quinoa soaks up a lot of the dressing..so yummy!!
Hi Dianne, thanks for sharing your substitutions! I’m so glad you enjoy the recipe. Thank you for leaving a comment and review, I really appreciate it!
I loved it! I had this on-set from one of the caterers and I’ve been craving it since. So glad I found your website for a similar recipe ❤️ Thank you!
Woo!! I’m so glad this curried chickpea salad has been a hit, Tina! Thanks for the review 🙂
Made this AMAZING salad tonight – oh my gosh, sooooo tasty!! And so quick, and healthy, and crunchy, and did I mention delicious?!?! Will definitely be making it again soon – thank you so much for this fantastic recipe!!!
I’m so glad this recipe was a hit! Thanks for the review, Nancy. I really appreciate it!!
Delicious
Yay!! Thank you, Melissa!
This is so tasty and delicious. It was also very easy to throw together and will last all week. Thanks!!
This is so tasty and delicious. It was also very easy to throw together and will last all week. Thanks!!
So glad you enjoyed this chickpea salad, Jill! Thanks for the review. I really appreciate it 🙂
Chickpea salads are just the best meal. I make a chickpea salad with olive oil, tamarind pulp, cummin seeds, fresh ginger grated(can substitute with crystallized if need be), and crushed fresh garlic or roasted garlic granules, red chilli fresh or flakes and a smidge of grnd nutmeg or mace. It requires no sugar and is super tasty. I use cherry tomatoes halved, diced red capsicum a LOT of cilantro leaves, tender spinach leaves if on hand and fresh basil. To make it absolute perfection add in pomegranate jewels for color and flavour. I find it best to make the dressing and steep the cooked chickpeas in it for a couple of hours before adding the rest of the salad ingredients.
I’ve made this countless times. Perfection! Thank you!
Ahh yay!! So glad you’ve been loving this salad, Kalynn. Thanks for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it!
I just made this and it’s delicious. I subbed one can of cannellini beans since that’s what I had on hand. The combination of the two types of beans is fine, also used a few more dates & added sliced almonds. Love the curry &dates, will definitely make this again and again. Also made your blueberry muffin bites recently and they were a hit as well. I’m enjoying your site, thanks for the great recipes.
Woo-hoo! So glad you enjoyed this salad, Doris. Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I really appreciate it. 🙂
Amazing!
Nice easy recipe that is delicious on it’s own or over salad!
This is really good and easy. I expect I’ll eat this a lot in the summer.
Yay!! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Catherine. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment and star rating. It means the world to me. <3
Loved this recipe, great flavor, will make often. Thanks
Ahh that makes me so happy to hear, Nancy! Thanks for trying this recipe and for coming back to leave a comment and star rating. It means the world to me. <3
Made this recipe for supper this evening and really enjoyed it. Substituted the celery with fennel heart and included olive bread with hummus as a side order as my husband has quite an appetite. We both loved the dish – the spices added a lovely delicate flavoursome dimension to the meal and I will definitely be making this again. Big thumbs up from hubby too!
This was so yummy! I didn’t have curry powder on hand so I left it out and it was still super tasty! Pinned! Will be making it again!
I made this salad for dinner last night. For the dressing I added about 2 tbsp. of sesame tahini, adjusted the curry just a bit for a more subtle flavor, no masala cuz I didn’t have any in my pantry, left the vinegar out and added more lemon juice, sub the dates with dry cranberries, added baby spinach. Result was superb! Hubby loved it!
I made the curried chickpea salad and served it with brown rice and spinach last night. It was absolutely delicious and all three of my teenagers ate every bite. Can’t wait to try more recipies!
Hooray! Thank you so much for letting me know that you enjoyed the curried chickpea salad, Stacey. It’s a favorite in our house as well. 🙂
This is delicious and so easy to make! Thanks
I made this recently and absolutely loved it! As a runner, I’m always looking for healthy and delicious lunch options and this sure fits the bill.
Yay!!! I’m so glad that you loved it, Diana.
Being a fellow Indian food lover – this curried chickpea salad sure is a winner indeed!
Hi! This looks so yummy!! Perfect combination of textures and flavors. Love that you added dates for a sweet kick with the curry!
Oh my this looks fabulous, and really easy to make!!! Well done x
So true, a little curry powder goes a long way! Love, love, love curry flavors. This salad looks like perfection, thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the post! Hit the store, picked up my cilantro (huge fan of cilantro), picked up some romaine, and home i hurried to make your recipe. Delish! Thank you! More curry vegetarian recipes please:)
This looks totally amazing. I will definitely be making this very soon. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Hooray! Let me know what you think after trying it. 🙂
This looks delicious! I’ve been on a major chickpea kick lately!
I hope you had a great new year, Brittany!
Thanks Liz. I bet you’d love this! Happy New Year to you as well. <3
I am totally a curry lover too!! I think I may make this for Brian’s lunches next week 🙂
This salad looks amazing! Thanks!
Thanks Andrew. I have a feeling you will love it!
Looks SO good!