This quick and easy roasted chickpea salad recipe is not only delicious but it's also packed with healthy ingredients. The crispy chickpea croutons, caramelized sweet potatoes, and creamy balsamic dressing are perfection. Plus it's packed with plant-based protein.
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I make this recipe two ways-my 'Better Than Sweetgreens' method, and my 'For Longevity' method. Both methods are easy and do not compromise on flavor.
For a whole-roasted sweet potato version, visit my Healthy Sweet Potato Recipes post, and my Air-Fryer Sweet Potato recipe. Pair this with my Golden Hummus recipe.
You might also enjoy my longevity Strawberry and Kale Salad on this site!
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👩🏼🌾 Ingredients
For the Roasted Chickpea Salad:
- Chickpeas
- Sweet potato
- Kale
- Spices
- Hemp hearts (optional)
- Chopped walnuts (optional)
See the recipe card for quantities.
For the Creamy Balsamic Dressing:
- Tahini (optional)
- Balsamic vinegar
- Dijon mustard
- Maple syrup
- Shallots
- Red chili pepper (optional)
See the recipe card for quantities.
🍠 Substitutions
- Sweet potato - Make roasted or boiled sweet potatoes or omit them entirely.
- Hemp hearts - Two tablespoons serve up almost 7 grams of protein, the amount found in two egg whites. Omit as desired.
- Spices - All spices and amounts are listed in the recipe card below. Feel free to substitute with what you have on hand.
- Kale - use lacinato or curly kale, arugula, baby spinach, or green lettuce instead
- Walnuts - an excellent nut for increasing longevity (telomere length) but omit or substitute with a different nut of your choice
Visit my Vegan Salad Recipes page for more healthy salads.
📖 How to Make Roasted Chickpea Salad
For the full recipe with quantities, scroll down to the bottom of the post. This is an overview. Either roast or boil the sweet potatoes.
For Roasted Sweet Potatoes: Step 1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Transfer the sweet potato to a baking sheet. Add a drizzle of olive oil and the smoked paprika, garlic powder, chipotle powder, and salt to taste. Toss to coat evenly.
For Roasted Sweet Potatoes: Step 2. Roast for about 25 minutes, or until golden and tender.
For Boiled Sweet Potatoes: Step 1. Transfer the chopped sweet potatoes to a medium saucepan with water to cover by about 2 inches high. Bring the water to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the sweet potato is just fork tender (al dente).
For Boiled Sweet Potatoes: Step 2. Drain and set aside to cool. Toss them in the spices and a drizzle of lemon juice or olive oil.
Step 3. Chickpeas: Transfer the chickpeas to a large baking sheet. Toss them with a drizzle of olive oil or lemon juice, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, marjoram, allspice (if using), and salt to taste. Roast with the sweet potatoes for about 20 minutes, or until crispy.
Step 4. Creamy Balsamic Dressing: Transfer the balsamic vinegar, mustard, maple syrup, shallot, and red chili pepper to a small skillet or saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat.
Step 5. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil and cook for about 5 minutes, or until slightly thickened, stirring constantly. Add the water and adjust until a desired sauce-like consistency.
Transfer the chopped kale to a large salad bowl. Pour about one-half of the hot liquid dressing onto the chopped kale. Massage the kale until tender.
Step 6. Add the tahini to the remaining dressing, off the stove. Add warm water as needed, until the desired creaminess. (Do not heat further.)
Combine the salad ingredients with the remaining dressing and mix to incorporate. Add chopped walnuts and hemp hearts to this Roasted Chickpea Salad for more protein and omega-3s.
✔️ Expert Tips
- Dry the chickpeas before roasting, or cook your own, for the crunchiest chickpeas. If using canned chickpeas, rinse and rub them between layers of a dish towel before seasoning. This guarantees crunchy chickpeas. Or home-cook the chickpeas and transfer them to a colander to drain beforehand. If they are not getting crispy after 20 minutes of roasting, change the oven setting to broil and cook them for about 2 minutes more.
- Use high-quality balsamic vinegar for the best-tasting dressing. I used this brand for this recipe. (This is a paid link but not sponsored.)
- Storage: Refrigerate leftover Roasted Chickpea Salad in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Serve warm or chilled. For maximum freshness, store the salad components in separate containers.
🙋🏽♀️ Recipe FAQs
Boiling rather than baking or steaming maintains the most nutrients when cooking sweet potatoes. Boiling sweet potatoes can thin out cell walls and gelatinize starch, potentially improving nutrient bioavailability.
Boiled sweet potatoes also have a lower glycemic index, approximately half that of baking or roasting, resulting in a lower blood sugar spike. Roasting increases their glycemic index.
However, both ways are good for you as sweet potatoes are incredibly healthy. Just make sure to keep the skins on. The peel has nearly ten times the antioxidant power as the flesh. This level is comparable to that of blueberries!
Too much raw kale can interfere with thyroid function if iodine intake is insufficient. Chopping it and then waiting at least 40 minutes before cooking it, or adding a dash of mustard powder to cooked kale, helps produce the anti-cancer nutrient, sulforaphane.
This Roasted Chickpea Salad recipe adds hot dressing to the kale to partially cook and tenderize it. To maximize its nutritional benefits, chop the kale at least 40 minutes before adding the hot dressing.
The chickpeas are added to this Roasted Chickpea Salad for protein and their high phenolic content. I am unaware of a study showing any significant loss of nutrients for roasting chickpeas at this time.
🍽️ My Favorite Chickpea Recipes
👩🏽🍳 Made This Recipe?
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Roasted Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
For the sweet potatoes:
- 2 medium sweet potatoes chopped into 1-inch pieces
- Drizzle of olive oil or lemon juice or coconut aminos
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon chipotle powder
- Salt to taste
For the chickpeas:
- 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas drained and rinsed, or 1 ½ cups cooked
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried marjoram (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon allspice (optional)
For the dressing:
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard or whole-grain mustard
- 2 to 3 teaspoons maple syrup
- 1 medium shallot thinly sliced
- 1 small red chili pepper rib and seeds removed, minced
- 2 tablespoons water plus more as needed
- 1 tablespoon tahini plus more to taste
Other Ingredients:
- 8 loosely packed cups chopped kale
- 2 tablespoons hemp hearts (optional)
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts (optional)
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Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
- For the sweet potatoes:Either Roast: Transfer the sweet potato to a baking sheet. Add a drizzle of olive oil and the smoked paprika, garlic powder, chipotle powder, and salt to taste. Toss to coat evenly. Roast for about 25 minutes, or until golden and tender.Or Boil: Transfer the chopped sweet potatoes to a medium saucepan with water to cover by about 2 inches high. Bring the water to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the sweet potato is just fork tender (al dente). Drain and set aside to cool. Toss them in the spices and a drizzle of lemon juice or olive oil.
- For the chickpeas:Roast: Transfer the chickpeas to a large baking sheet. Toss them with a drizzle of olive oil (or coconut aminos, or lemon juice), cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, marjoram, allspice (if using), and salt to taste. Roast with the sweet potatoes for about 20 minutes, or until crispy.
- For the dressing:Transfer the balsamic vinegar, mustard, maple syrup, shallot, and red chili pepper to a small skillet or saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil and cook for about 5 minutes, or until slightly thickened, stirring constantly. Add the water and adjust until a desired sauce-like consistency.
- For the kale:Transfer the chopped kale to a large salad bowl. Pour about one-half of the hot liquid dressing onto the chopped kale. Massage the kale until tender.
- For the salad:Add the tahini to the remaining dressing, off the stove. Add warm water as needed, and mix until the desired creaminess. Combine the salad ingredients with the remaining dressing and mix to incorporate. Add chopped walnuts and hemp hearts if using.
Notes
- Nutrition facts include hemp hearts and walnuts.
- Dry the chickpeas before roasting, or cook your own, for the crunchiest chickpeas. If using canned chickpeas, rinse them and transfer them to a clean dish towel. Rub them between layers of the towel before seasoning. This guarantees crunchy chickpeas every time. Or home-cook the chickpeas and transfer them to a colander to drain beforehand. If they are not getting crispy after 20 minutes, change the oven setting to broil and cook them for about 2 minutes more.
- Use high-quality balsamic vinegar for the best-tasting dressing.
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Nutrition
This information is provided as a courtesy and is only an estimate. Nutritional values may vary depending on factors such as product types and brands used.
Irene says
I enjoyed the dressing a lot! The whole thing tasted delicious. Thank you!
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
So happy to hear you enjoyed this salad. Thank you.
Jessica says
My family loves this recipe. It's a perfect sidedish for a barbeque.
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
So glad you are all enjoying this one! Thank you.
Violet Pickles says
Another hit!! The genius is in cooking the dressing. So flavorful. I had no leftovers, sadly but will make this again. I didn’t add shallots but the red onions were a good substitute. This is one great salad!
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Thank you so much for your lovely comment. Glad yo hear you will be making this salad again.
Jennifer says
I made this tonight and it was delicious. Next time, I will be doubling up the recipe because I can easily eat 2 or 3 servings worth for a meal. This will be a frequent staple in my meal plan.
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
So happy to hear you enjoyed this bowl so much. Thank you for commenting.
Leana Lovejoy says
Simply fantastic
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Thank you. Have a lovely week!
Michelle Lopez says
What can I use instead of maple syrup?
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Date syrup or molasses.
Kristina Bray says
Absolutely a new favorite of mine! An symphony of flavors I can easily enjoy for breakfast, lunch, or dinner <3
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
So happy to read this! Thank you for commenting.
Arden says
This salad is so delicious! I'm having a hard time figuring out calories for your recipe. I assume they're listed per serving? So for this one, 521 calories for ~2 cups of salad?
Thank you!
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Hi. Thank you for your comment. So glad you enjoyed it. The nutrition info is for one-fourth of the total amount. Hope this helps.
Rosemary Henry says
Can I substitute balsamic vinegar with lemon juice and substitute the mustard for something else? I can’t consume vinegar or anything with vinegar in it like mustard and ketchup.
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Yes. Skip the balsamic and use lemon juice instead. Use 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard powder and skip the mustard.
Sue says
The dressing is 5 stars alone, and then add the roasted sweet potato and chick peas! Wow! This was so flavorful.
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Yay! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you.
Claire says
This looks lovely, thank you for sharing! One question, do the nutrition facts describe a single serving or all 4 servings?
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
It's for one serving but it is a large serving!
Lillian says
Are the sweet potatoes peeled or am I to leave the skins on them when they are chopped and roasted?
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Leave the skins on! They have tons of nutrients!
Val says
This is absolutely delicious. I have previously only liked kale as chips but I really enjoyed it in this recipe and the dressing is amazing. Thank you for all the fabulous healthy recipes 😊
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Awww so happy to read this. Thank you!!!
sadie says
I'm confused. Are number 1 & 2 mixed in order? Bake and then boil? Or boil & then bake? Many thanks for the clarification.
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Sorry for the confusion. It is one or the other. I just updated the recipe to make this clearer.
Gale says
Really great! I think I need to double the sauce next time
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Good to know! Thank you. Depending on the amount of kale, more sauce may be needed. It should be loosely packed cups so I will specify.
Maya says
Hi Nisha,
This looks amazing…
I am assuming that you could replace the shallot with some onion powder without that affecting the taste of the dressing too much. Sadly, I cannot stand the texture of fresh onions unless minced too small and cooked to death, which is not likely to happen in five minutes of cooking.
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Yes, absolutely. Feel free to replace!
Digestion facilitée, herbes médicinales. says
Ce blog est vraiment pratique, car je suis en train de créer un site web floral - même s'il est encore petit, rien à voir avec ce site. Je peux mettre un lien vers certains de vos articles car ils sont excellents. Merci beaucoup. Zoey Olsen.
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
I'm so glad you are finding my blog helpful. Thank you!!!