Fiber-Forward Chickpea Salad (Printable Version)

Vibrant chickpeas, cabbage, and carrots tossed in creamy tahini-lemon dressing for a fiber-rich dish.

# What You Need:

→ Salad

01 - 2 cups cooked chickpeas (or 1 can, drained and rinsed)
02 - 2 cups shredded green or red cabbage
03 - 1 cup shredded carrots
04 - 1 small red bell pepper, diced
05 - 2 green onions, thinly sliced
06 - 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
07 - 2 tablespoons toasted sunflower seeds (optional)

→ Tahini-Lemon Dressing

08 - 3 tablespoons tahini
09 - 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
10 - 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
11 - 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
12 - 1 clove garlic, minced
13 - 2 to 3 tablespoons cold water, as needed to thin
14 - 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
15 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
16 - 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

# How to Make It:

01 - In a large bowl, mix chickpeas, cabbage, carrots, bell pepper, green onions, parsley, and sunflower seeds.
02 - In a small bowl, whisk tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, maple syrup or honey, minced garlic, cumin, salt, and black pepper. Gradually add cold water to achieve a creamy, pourable consistency.
03 - Pour the dressing over the salad mixture and toss thoroughly to coat all ingredients evenly.
04 - Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve immediately or refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow flavors to meld.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It actually fills you up thanks to all that fiber, so you're not hunting for snacks an hour later.
  • Zero cooking required means you can have lunch ready faster than the time it takes to make coffee.
  • The tahini dressing is so creamy and satisfying that nobody misses heavy ingredients.
  • It tastes even better the next day once the flavors get to know each other.
02 -
  • Don't skimp on the lemon juice—it's what stops the tahini from tasting heavy and one-note, and it's the whole reason this dressing tastes like itself rather than like a thousand other tahini dressings.
  • If you dump all the dressing on at once and then wait, the cabbage and carrots will weep a little liquid, and your salad gets watery by tomorrow—add just enough dressing that things look cohesive and creamy, and save the rest in a jar to drizzle when people plate up.
03 -
  • Make the dressing a day ahead if you can—the flavors mellow and blend better, and you'll spend less time in the kitchen when you're actually hungry and ready to eat.
  • If tahini is hard to find or you're avoiding sesame, almond butter thinned with lemon juice and a splash of olive oil gets you about eighty percent of the way there.
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