Moroccan Quinoa Salad with Crispy Chickpeas
By Linley Hanson
1/13/2020
This Moroccan quinoa salad with crispy chickpeas is protein packed and full of veggies! Make it today for a healthy meal prep lunch idea for the week! You guys seem to be obsessed with the lunch salads (especially this simple Asian salad ) we make on Instagram, so here are 36 health salad ideas that you can add to your list of must make meal prep lunch recipes! But first, this Moroccan quinoa salad recipe!
The Best Lunch Recipe
- It has so many different textures and flavors that you get excited to eat it for a few days in a row.
- You can have this salad as a main course or pair it with a different protein everyday to mix things up.
- You will make your co-workers jealous because of how gorgeous and delicious it is.
How to Make Perfect Crispy Chickpeas
- Make sure you strain and rinse your chickpeas and then remove as many of the outer shells of the chickpeas with a paper towel.
- Soak up any access moisture after rinsing the chickpeas with a paper towel. The drier they are, the more they’ll crisp up.
- Cover the chickpeas in seasoning! You need more seasoning than you think for a crispy and flavorful chickpea.
- When roasting the chickpeas, be sure they are spread out on the pan, not all clustered together in a pile!
How to Assemble this Salad
Prepare the Quinoa
Massage that Kale
Chop + Peel
Keep the Dressing Separate
The Easiest Way to Meal Prep this Recipe
More Vegetarian Lunch Ideas
- General Tsos Cauliflower
- Instant Pot Healthy Fried Rice
- 15 Healthy Buddha Bowl Recipes
Ingredients1x2x3x
Crispy Chickpeas
- ▢ 2 15-oz. cans garbanzo beans , drained, rinsed, and moisture removed
- ▢ 2 tablespoon olive oil
- ▢ 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- ▢ 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- ▢ 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ▢ 2 teaspoons chili powder
- ▢ 2 teaspoon garlic powder
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
Dressing
- ▢ 2 tablespoons tahini
- ▢ 1/4 cup olive oil
- ▢ 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ▢ 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ▢ 1 teaspoon honey , or maple syrup
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- ▢ 1/8 teaspoon salt
- ▢ pinch cayenne pepper
Quinoa Salad
- ▢ 1 cup quinoa , uncooked
- ▢ 2 cups water
- ▢ 3/4 cup chopped almonds
- ▢ 4 cups kale , deboned
- ▢ 2 teaspoons olive oil
- ▢ pinch of salt
- ▢ 2 large carrots , ribboned
- ▢ 15 medium asparagus spears , ribboned
- ▢ 1/4 medium red onion , minced
- ▢ 1/3 cup chopped fresh mint
- ▢ 8 medjool dates , pitted and chopped
- ▢ 4 oz. feta cheese , crumbled
Instructions
Crispy Chickpeas
- First, preheat oven to 400ºF. Then, spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
- Drain and rinse 2 15-oz. cans of garbanzo beans. Then, place 2 pieces of paper towel on your counter and transfer beans to the top. Use another piece of paper towel to press as much moisture out of the beans as possible.
- Once you’ve removed the moisture from the beans, transfer them to the baking sheet.
- Next, prepare the Moroccan seasoning. Mix together all spices in a small bowl.
- Drizzle on 2 tablespoons of olive oil and toss.
- Finally, sprinkle on the seasoning and toss, making sure all chickpeas are fully coated.
- Place baking sheet in oven and roast at 400ºF for 30-35 minutes, tossing every 15 minutes.
Dressing
- Place all of the ingredients for the dressing in a jar and then screw the lid on.
- Shake the jar aggressively until all ingredients are combined. Set aside for later!
Quinoa Salad
- First, prepare quinoa. Place quinoa and water into a medium pot.
- Bring to a boil over medium/high heat. Once boiling, turn down to low and cover. Let simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until all liquid has absorbed.
- Next, toast almonds. Place chopped almonds into a pan. Turn heat to medium and toast for around 3-5 minutes making sure to constantly stir so they do not burn. Remove from heat once they’ve turned a golden brown.
- Place kale into a large bowl and drizzle on olive oil. Season with a pinch of salt. Use your hands to massage the kale for a few minutes until the kale turns a bright green and has become softer to the touch. Set aside.
- Next, prepare carrot and asparagus ribbons.
- For the carrots , use a vegetable peeler to create ribbons. Simply peel each carrot as you normally would with a vegetable peeler but continue until the entire carrot is gone. Repeat for both carrots.
- For the asparagus , cut off the asparagus tips and add them to the bowl with the carrot ribbons. Then, cut off the hard end at the bottom of each asparagus spear and discard. Using the same vegetable peeler, create asparagus ribbons with the center part of the asparagus.
- Assemble the salad by placing the carrots, asparagus, red onion, fresh mint, dates, and feta into a large bowl.
- Add the kale and quinoa to the bowl and toss.
- Finally, drizzle on the salad dressing and toss until everything is combined.
- Serve immediately and top with the crunchy chickpeas or meal prep by distributing the salad evenly into four meal prep containers. Keep the chickpeas separate from the salad if meal prepping because you don’t want the chickpeas to get soggy!
Tips & Notes
- Nutrition information is for 8 servings.
Watch It
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Don’t forget to tag your posts on social media with the hashtag #fitfoodiefinds , we’d love to see what you’re up to!
Moroccan Quinoa Salad with Crispy Chickpeas
Ingredients
Crispy Chickpeas
- 2 15-oz. cans garbanzo beans drained, rinsed, and moisture removed
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
Dressing
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- pinch cayenne pepper
Quinoa Salad
- 1 cup quinoa uncooked
- 2 cups water
- 3/4 cup chopped almonds
- 4 cups kale deboned
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- pinch of salt
- 2 large carrots ribboned
- 15 medium asparagus spears ribboned
- 1/4 medium red onion minced
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh mint
- 8 medjool dates pitted and chopped
- 4 oz. feta cheese crumbled
Instructions
Crispy Chickpeas
- First, preheat oven to 400ºF. Then, spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
- Drain and rinse 2 15-oz. cans of garbanzo beans. Then, place 2 pieces of paper towel on your counter and transfer beans to the top. Use another piece of paper towel to press as much moisture out of the beans as possible.
- Once you’ve removed the moisture from the beans, transfer them to the baking sheet.
- Next, prepare the Moroccan seasoning. Mix together all spices in a small bowl.
- Drizzle on 2 tablespoons of olive oil and toss.
- Finally, sprinkle on the seasoning and toss, making sure all chickpeas are fully coated.
- Place baking sheet in oven and roast at 400ºF for 30-35 minutes, tossing every 15 minutes.
Dressing
- Place all of the ingredients for the dressing in a jar and then screw the lid on.
- Shake the jar aggressively until all ingredients are combined. Set aside for later!
Quinoa Salad
- First, prepare quinoa. Place quinoa and water into a medium pot.
- Bring to a boil over medium/high heat. Once boiling, turn down to low and cover. Let simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until all liquid has absorbed.
- Next, toast almonds. Place chopped almonds into a pan. Turn heat to medium and toast for around 3-5 minutes making sure to constantly stir so they do not burn. Remove from heat once they’ve turned a golden brown.
- Place kale into a large bowl and drizzle on olive oil. Season with a pinch of salt. Use your hands to massage the kale for a few minutes until the kale turns a bright green and has become softer to the touch. Set aside.
- Next, prepare carrot and asparagus ribbons.
- For the carrots , use a vegetable peeler to create ribbons. Simply peel each carrot as you normally would with a vegetable peeler but continue until the entire carrot is gone. Repeat for both carrots.
- For the asparagus , cut off the asparagus tips and add them to the bowl with the carrot ribbons. Then, cut off the hard end at the bottom of each asparagus spear and discard. Using the same vegetable peeler, create asparagus ribbons with the center part of the asparagus.
- Assemble the salad by placing the carrots, asparagus, red onion, fresh mint, dates, and feta into a large bowl.
- Add the kale and quinoa to the bowl and toss.
- Finally, drizzle on the salad dressing and toss until everything is combined.
- Serve immediately and top with the crunchy chickpeas or meal prep by distributing the salad evenly into four meal prep containers. Keep the chickpeas separate from the salad if meal prepping because you don’t want the chickpeas to get soggy!
Video
Notes
- Nutrition information is for 8 servings.
