High-Protein Chickpea Quinoa Salad

Name: High-Protein Chickpea Quinoa Salad
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 30 ounces chickpeas (2 (15-ounce) cans, drained, and rinsed (or 3 cups cooked)); Dash of paprika ((optional)); Dash of garlic powder ((optional)); 1/4 cup plus 1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (plus more for drizzling); 1 cup dry quinoa (or 4 cups cooked); 5 medium Roma tomatoes (diced (about 8 ounces)); Salt to taste; 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons lemon juice ((about 3 medium lemons)); 1 long English cucumber (diced (about 3 cups)); 1 1/2 cups diced red onion ((about 1 medium)); 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon hemp seeds (or hearts (optional)); 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Published: Jul 18, 2022 by Nisha Melvani · 35 Comments

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High-Protein Chickpea Quinoa Salad with over 25 grams of protein per serving is healthy, easy, and meal prep friendly. Eight ingredients, vegan, and gluten-free. Perfect for a packed lunch, weeknight dinner, picnic, potluck, or barbecue.

32-ounce salad jar with olive oil, lemon juice, chopped cucumber, tomato, red onion, roasted chickpeas, quinoa, hemp seeds, and cilantro. — Each 32-ounce Chickpea Quinoa Salad jar serves 1 to 2 people.

Make this salad in a mason jar for meal prep! Layering the ingredients keeps them separate, so they last longer. Plus, these salad jars are convenient to take to work, or for when you're on-the-go. You can also skip the jars and make it in a bowl instead.

Either way, it's delicious. Salting the tomatoes brings out their umami flavor, and roasting the chickpeas adds a welcomed crunch. You are going to love this meal!

This High-Protein Chickpea Quinoa Salad was inspired by my Protein-Packed Quinoa & Kale Salad on this site, as well as this Easy Arugula Chickpea Quinoa Salad.

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👩🏼‍🌾 Ingredients
🥒 Substitutions
📖 Instructions
💡 Expert Tips
🙋🏽‍♀️ Recipe FAQs
🍽 Related Recipes
👩🏽‍🍳 Made This Recipe?
📖 Recipe
💬 Comments

👩🏼‍🌾 Ingredients

Olive oil in jar, chopped cucumber, tomato, red onion, cilantro, roasted chickpeas, and quinoa, in white bowls, and a lemon. — Ingredients for making Chickpea Quinoa Salad.

Add hemp seeds or hearts for an additional 10 grams protein per jar. (Each jar has 25 grams protein without hemp seeds.)

See recipe card for quantities.

🥒 Substitutions

Cucumber - instead of cucumber, you can use chopped bell pepper
Chickpeas - add edamame instead of chickpeas
Red onion - skip the red onion and add two minced garlic cloves to the olive oil instead (use a garlic press for best results)
Hemp seeds - Hemp seeds or hearts add 10 grams of protein per jar. You can omit them, or substitute with sunflower seeds, or pepitas (5 grams and 2 grams protein respectively).
Quinoa - Instead of quinoa, you can use wild rice (gluten-free). Or substitute with farro, orzo, couscous, or barley, but the salad will no longer be gluten-free.
Cilantro - substitute with your choice of fresh chopped herbs (parsley, mint)

📖 Instructions

This recipe includes a few optional steps for adding even more depth of flavor. While you can skip these steps, they do bring out the best tasting salad.

Step 1. Start by cooking the quinoa according to the directions on the packet. Use vegetable broth instead of water for even more flavor.

Cooked chickpeas drying between layers of a striped kitchen towel.

Step 2. Optional: Rub the chickpeas between layers of a kitchen or paper towel to dry. Rub them to remove the skins, if time permits. Toss with olive oil. paprika, garlic powder, and salt.

Seasoned crispy roasted chickpeas on a stainless steel rimmed baking tray.

Step 3. Optional: Roast the chickpeas at 425ºF for 15 minutes. Broil them for about 3 minutes more, or until golden brown and crispy.

Salted chopped tomatoes in a white colander, chopped cucumber and salt in a white bowls, and one bunch cilantro, on white marble.

Step 4. Optional: Transfer the chopped tomatoes to a strainer. Add a generous dash of salt and toss until evenly coated. Set aside to drain. Toss the tomatoes to remove excess liquid.

Adding roasted chickpeas to three 32-ounce salad jars with olive oil, lemon juice, chopped cucumber, tomato, and red onion.

Step 5. Add olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon juice, cucumber, tomatoes, red onion, chickpeas, quinoa, hemp seeds, and cilantro to the mason jars. (See recipe card for quantities.) Or add the ingredients to a large bowl and mix to combine.

Chopped cucumber, tomato, red onion, roasted chickpeas, quinoa, high-protein hemp seeds, and cilantro salad in a white bowl with an olive-oil lemon juice dressing. — Simply invert the chickpea quinoa salad jars over a bowl and mix well for serving.

Try my high-protein Vegan Lentil Salad jars for another great meal prep recipe. For more easy high-protein salads, visit my Vegan Salad Recipes page.

💡 Expert Tips

Equipment: Use three (32-ounce) Mason jars for one to two servings, and up to 35 grams protein, per jar. Or you can use any size canning jar you desire.
To fit this salad into jars in equal amounts without leftovers, the combined jar capacity must equal 96 ounces. For example, you can use eight (12-ounce) jars, six (16-ounce) jars, and so on.
Roast the chickpeas on a large rimmed sheet in a single layer so they crisp up evenly. Broil for about 3 minutes after roasting to get them extra crisp.
Storage: Refrigerate any leftover High-Protein Chickpea Quinoa Salad in an airtight container for up to 4 days. For the jars, refrigerate them lid-side up for up to 5 days. Because there is no lettuce, and the dressing is on the bottom, they will not become mushy. Invert the jars into a bowl and mix well for serving.

🙋🏽‍♀️ Recipe FAQs

What is the best size Mason jar for a salad?

If you plan on serving a salad as a main dish, use 32-ounce jars. This size jar serves at least one person, but can also be enough for two, depending on portion sizes. For side salads, use 16-ounce jars instead.

How do you layer a Mason jar salad?

Add the ingredients in the following order: dressing, hearty vegetables, beans and less hearty veggies, pasta and grains, tofu or tempeh, lettuce, nuts & seeds, fresh herbs.

What are hemp seeds?

Hemp seeds are small, brown seeds from the Cannabis sativa plant. They have a mild nutty flavor, and are exceptionally rich in omega-3 and -6. (Hemp hearts are the hulled version of the seeds.) They have 10 grams of protein per 3 tablespoon serving. However, they can be pricey so feel free to substitute with sunflower or pumpkin seeds, or omit entirely.