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Color, texture, and crunch; this Moroccan-inspired Chickpea Quinoa Salad has it all! Fresh carrots, parsley, Medjool dates, and golden raisins make this salad recipe extra special. Serve as a main course or as a side!
This Chickpea Quinoa Salad hits all of my salad requirements. It’s all about the rainbow of veggies and dried fruit in this Moroccan quinoa chickpea salad drizzled with possibly THE easiest honey lemon dressing.
Salad Leftovers from this are a welcome site.
It’s a kitchen sink side dish that work well for potlucks. Equally delicious as a main dish because it has plenty of plant-based protein, ideal to serve when my vegan friends come to visit. It’s great to serve along side grilled shrimp, salmon or chicken.
Let’s get into this Quinoa Salad situation – we’ve got fluffy, cooked quinoa, shredded carrots, a whole can of chickpeas (or garbanzo beans), and fresh herbs, like, flat-leaf parsley and green onions. Also in the mix is some golden raisins, dates, and one handful of chopped pistachios. Toss that all up and drizzle with the honey lemon dressing. And just look at all that beautiful color!
And that honey lemon dressing! It’s as simple as tossing a little cumin, olive oil, lemon juice, honey, salt, and a hint of chili power and a quick shake-y shake in a mason jar.
Let’s talk about how this is the perfect power salad for lunches, picnics, and barbecues.
Moroccan chickpea quinoa salad to the rescue indeed!
Fabulous Recipe. This is among my all time favorites!
Ingredients for a quinoa power salad
- Cooked Quinoa: this whole grain is naturally gluten-free and contains tons of antioxidants. It’s considered a completely protein – making it ideal to include in a vegan or vegetarian diet. You can find this ingredient in most grocery stores and it’s also available online here.
- Matchstick Carrots: adds vibrance to the salad and is great source of fiber. They also contain vitamin K and calcium.
- Green Onions: or scallions add the same taste as onions do without any of that harsh bite.
- Canned Chickpeas: has tons of fiber which keeps you nice and full. It adds bulk to the salad so that you don’t get hungry quickly.
- Dates: have tons of fiber and give this salad a nice pop of sweetness.
- Raisins: I like to use golden raisins for this recipe because they are typically used in Moroccan cuisine, but feel free to swap this for any variety you like.
- Pistachios: adds color and crunch. Give them a rough chop so you get a little bit in every bite!
- Parsley: adds lots of color! We’re using a full bunch of parsley for this recipe. See notes below for other herbs you can use.
- Seasonings: I typically just use some ground cumin, salt and chili powder or cayenne pepper in the dressing. But it’s totally customizable!
- Olive Oil: this is the heart and soul of the lemon dressing.
- Lemon Juice: adds a bright pop of acid and also cuts through the sweeter ingredients like the dates and the raisins.
- Honey: this won’t add too much sweetness as we’re only using 1 tablespoon but it does make the dish a bit more balanced.
How to make chickpea quinoa salad
- Cook the quinoa. Add oil to a saucepan and sauté the quinoa for a minute. Sautéing really helps amp up the nutty salty flavor. Pour in water and bring to a boil. Cover with a lid and cook over low heat. Fluff with a fork when it’s done. Let the quinoa cool before using it in the salad.
- Make the dressing. In a small mason jar, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, ground cumin, salt, honey, cayenne (or black pepper) and shake. Taste and then adjust with more seasonings as you prefer.
- Toss the salad. In a large bowl, combine quinoa with matchstick carrots, green onions, garbanzo beans, dates, raisins, pistachios, and parsley. Toss before you add the dressing, and continue to toss until the salad is well combined. Taste and adjust with more salt and pepper as needed and you’re ready to serve it up!
Why you’ll love this family favorite recipe!
- Allows you to flex your refrigerator. Use the ingredients you have on hand, add in English cucumbers, swap the pistachios for walnuts. Use basil, fresh dill, or mint instead of just using parsley. Add some crumbled feta to your bowl.
- Ideal for meal prep. It’s one of those salads that actually taste better as they sit in the fridge. Since we aren’t using any vegetables with a high water content, like tomatoes, it’s an ideal salad to prep ahead and keep in an airtight container for the week.
If you like this recipe, try these:
- Greek Quinoa Salad Jars
- Summer Tomato and Cucumber Quinoa Salad
- Cuban Mojo Chicken Quinoa Bowls with Mango Salsa
- Spring Pea Feta Couscous Salad with Basil Vinaigrette
- Superfood Broccoli Salad with Creamy Poppyseed Dressing
Moroccan-Inspired Chickpea Quinoa Salad (Power Salad)
Equipment
Ingredients
Chickpea Quinoa Salad:
- 1½ cups cooked quinoa or ½ cup uncooked (see notes)
- 1 cup matchstick carrots
- 4 scallions thinly sliced
- 15 ounce can chickpeas rinsed and drained
- ⅓ cup chopped dates
- ⅓ cup golden raisins
- ¼ cup chopped pistachios
- 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley chopped
Honey Lemon Dressing
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon honey maple syrup or brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper black pepper or chili powder
Instructions
- QUINOA: Cook the quinoa according to package directions in a rice cooker or on the stove. Allow the quinoa to cool to room temperature before using it in the recipe. This works great with leftover quinoa!
- POWER SALAD: Add the cooked quinoa, carrots, scallions, chickpeas, dates, raisins, pistachios, and parsley to a bowl.
- HONEY-LEMON DRESSING: Combine the ingredients for the dressing in a small mason jar and give it a few good shakes until the dressing mixes through. Taste and adjust with more salt, chili or honey as desired.
- DRESS: Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Taste and adjust the salad with more cayenne or salt as needed. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator if you want to serve this later.
Notes
- Parsley: Sometimes when you buy parsley, the bunch is HUGE. If that is the case, just use ¾ bunch. It’s really up to you how much parsley/herbs you want to use. Some of the parsley can be replaced with mint, basil, or cilantro if you’d like.
- Toast: When preparing the quinoa, add a teaspoon of oil and sauté the quinoa for about 1 minute before adding the water and cooking. This gives the quinoa a nutty/toasted flavor which goes really well with the flavors of this salad!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This? Leave a comment & rating below!
This recipe was amazing!! However, I have to admit….I used couscous instead if quinoa……and I swapped out the nuts for pumpkin seeds. But the flavours were so great! The sweetness if the dates and raisins were probably my favourite part. My new favourite salad!
Really nice recipe. My family would really enjoy this one. Thanks for sharing it. 🙂
This was just fabulous! Served it with home made pita crisps and it was exactly what I wanted. Thanks for a great recipe!
I made this today and it was amazing. I loved it. Admittedly, I did leave out the cumin, because I don’t love cumin, but aside from adding just a tad bit more salt, I left everything else as written. I am looking forward to many more summer meals using this recipe. Thank you.
This looks lovely. I have just started the elimination diet for the first time and this looks like a perfect option for lunches. However I currently need to exclude citrus. Would you have any suggestions for an alternative dressing?
Unfortunately without further recipe testing, i’m not sure what would add that same flavor profile, perhaps vinegar?
I just made this and it’s really good! I wouldn’t have thought to put some of these ingredients together. I used cannellini about a quarter of a small red onion for the chickpeas and scallions because that’s what I had. I also reduced the oil in the dressing to about 2 tbsp and it still came out great!
Looks great (though honey is not vegan…)
Correct, hence the option of using maple syrup or brown sugar 🙂
I made this recipe and it was delicious. I used currants instead of dates. Like others I want to cut down on the oil. Any suggestions on how far I can cut it? 2 tablespoons? I am trying to make it more weight watcher friendly. so I am adding currants instead of dates and leaving out the raisins. although the original recipe is fabulous, I need to reduce the calories. Thanks.
Glad to hear you enjoyed it Anne! You can certainly try cutting back on the oil if you’d like but I found reducing the oil too much leaves the dressing thin and thus it won’t cling to the quinoa the same way the original dressing does. If that doesn’t bother you, you can certainly give it a go 🙂
Great recipe! How long will it last in the fridge? I want to make it in advance and eat it throughout the week but not sure if it’ll last that long.
Glad to hear you enjoyed it Kristy! I’d say the leftovers will last 3-4 days in the refrigerator. You can always keep the dressing separately and just mix it into your bowl before eating as well. That will prolong refrigeration time by another day and keep some of the ingredients from softening too much!
I made this salad for the brunch with my friends today. It was excellent and everybody loved it!!! I’ll make it again for Easter but I want to experiment and use cilantro and mint. Thank you for such a great recipe!
Sooo delicious. Thank you ?
Sooo good?
Great recipe, I love it. I cut down on the oil though!
Made it. LOVE it! I used cilantro and dried cranberries (not a raisin fan) dee-lish 🙂
Any suggestions to lower the fat and sugar content? I love the sound of this!
You can play around with the olive oil and honey to your preference if you’d like Jan. Most of the sugar is coming from the dates/ raisins, so you could also add less than the quantities listed and this should help reduce it.
I made this twice. Today!
This was delicious! My husband said that this has to become a staple in our house now. Loved the flavours and it is so healthy! Thank you!
This was great! I didn’t have any lemons on had, so I substituted a clementine and white vinegar for the lemon juice and it was perfect! Probably will make it that way again 🙂
this recipe looks awesome. i can’t wait to try it soon. love the golden raisins & dates in a savory dish!
My husband and I really enjoyed the flavors of this salad. I took a tip from Cooks Illustrated and toasted the uncooked quinoa in a dry saucepan for about 5 min. until I heard faint popping. Toasting brings out the nutty flavor of the grain. I then cooked the quinoa and followed the recipe as written. Delish!
Thanks for that suggestion about toasting the quinoa! That’s exactly how I make mine. I meant to leave a little tip in the notes section about it, but it completely slipped my mind! Thanks again! 🙂