Chickpea Chicken Salad with Tahini-Mustard Dressing
This chickpea chicken salad with tahini-mustard dressing, apples, walnuts, and cranberries is vegan-friendly, meal prep-ready, and flexitarian-friendly.
Ingredients
Salad
- 3 cans chickpeas 15 oz cans, drained and rinsed
- 2 ribs of celery diced
- ¼ cup minced red onion or shallot
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup walnuts chopped
- 1 apple chopped
Tahini-Mustard Dressing
- 6 tablespoons tahini
- 4 tablespoons water plus more as needed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 6 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together tahini, water, olive oil, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and pepper until smooth. Add more water as needed to thin.6 tablespoons tahini, 4 tablespoons water, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, 6 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 lemon zest, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- In a large mixing bowl, combine chickpeas, celery, red onion, cranberries, walnuts, and apple.3 cans chickpeas, 2 ribs of celery, ¼ cup minced red onion, ½ cup dried cranberries, ½ cup walnuts, 1 apple
- Pour the dressing over the salad mixture and stir until evenly coated.
- Taste and adjust with extra lemon juice, salt, or pepper to your liking.
Notes
Chicken Variation: Replace 1½ cans of chickpeas with 8 oz cooked, chopped chicken.
Meal Prep: Makes 6–8 servings, great for prepping ahead for the week.
Storage: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Stir before serving.
Mixed Batch Option: To serve both versions at once, split the recipe base after combining the celery, onion, cranberries, walnuts, and apple. Use 1½ cans of chickpeas in one bowl for the vegan version, and in a second bowl, combine 1½ cans of chickpeas with 8 oz cooked chicken. Divide the dressing evenly between both bowls and toss to coat.
Adapted Ingredient Split for Mixed Batch:
2 cans of chickpeas and 8oz of cooked chicken Vegan Bowl: 1½ cans chickpeas, half the mix-ins, half the dressing. Chicken Bowl: ½ cans chickpeas, 8 oz cooked chicken, half the mix-ins, half the dressing.
2 cans of chickpeas and 8oz of cooked chicken Vegan Bowl: 1½ cans chickpeas, half the mix-ins, half the dressing. Chicken Bowl: ½ cans chickpeas, 8 oz cooked chicken, half the mix-ins, half the dressing.
Nutrition
Calories: 188kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 3gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 6gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gSodium: 311mgPotassium: 142mgFiber: 2gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 30IUVitamin C: 8mgCalcium: 32mgIron: 1mg
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