Quinoa Chickpea Tabbouleh Salad

This Quinoa Chickpea Tabbouleh Salad is made with all the ingredients of a traditional tabbouleh, but made with quinoa instead, and with chickpeas for extra protein! The dressing is a super simple mixture of lemon juice, garlic, spices, and olive oil, and the salad keeps great in the fridge for several days!

Something I absolutely LOVE is making easy, healthy salads that can be kept in the fridge to eat all week for lunch and/or sides. It makes life so much easier. And more delicious! Especially when quinoa chickpea tabbouleh is involved with tons of fresh herbs, crunchy veggies, and a garlicky lemon herb dressing. What more could you want?! 😍

To me, there’s no substitution for fresh herbs, beautiful produce, and a super flavorful homemade dressing. I know I probably sound like a broken record, but the most simple and fresh ingredients create the most amazing and delicious things!

Everything gets mixed in one bowl, which means less dishes for us!

And you can even store it in the same container you mixed it in. I’m serious. I’m all about ease here.

Who else sometimes gets to 1 or 2pm on a super busy day and is hangry in the worst way, and doesn’t feel like cooking an elaborate lunch, let alone assembling a salad from start to finish? Well that’s where this salad comes in.

I can’t tell you how many times this bowl of goodness (or some version of it) has saved me on those busy days. I love being able to go into the fridge, put it in a bowl, and EAT!

Or just eat it straight from the container, if we’re being serious.

I often make some sort of grain salad on the weekends to have ready for the week with fresh veggies, farro/quinoa/brown rice and a simple vinaigrette. And usually some kind of cheese like feta or mozz and chopped nuts! Because I am someone who neeeeds texture in their food.

So you can totally get crazy with the ingredients here. Even though this is my tabbouleh version, this recipe is totally a vehicle for whatever your heart desires, and you can sub whatever grains that you love, and add feta and/or chopped pistachios (just an idea..that combo is my favorite!).

With summer coming, I am totally craving all of the fresh, lemony, and herby flavors. This hits that craving right on the head.

I used an ENTIRE bunch of parsley in this salad, and fresh mint and basil too! The dressing has the juice of two lemons, some Italian seasonings, fresh garlic, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and extra virgin olive oil. SO GOOD. And so simple! That dressing is one of my go-to’s to keep in the fridge.

Also, who else finds most store-bought dressings completely unappetizing? Most of them seriously taste like plastic or something artificial to me. And it’s so incredibly easy to make them at home and they’re SO much better!!

So perfect for meal prep.

And this is another one of my favorite meal prep salads! It’s super springy/summery!

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Quinoa Chickpea Tabbouleh Salad

This Quinoa Chickpea Tabbouleh Salad is made with all the ingredients of a traditional tabbouleh, but made with quinoa instead, and with chickpeas for extra protein! The dressing is a super simple mixture of lemon juice, garlic, spices, and olive oil, and the salad keeps great in the fridge for several days!

Course Main, Salad, Side

Cuisine Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Meatless, Vegetarian

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 4

Author Molly | Spices in My DNA

Ingredients

For the salad

• 3/4 cup quinoa, rinsed
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1 (15.5 ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 3/4 cups diced seedless cucumber
• 1/3 cup finely diced red onion
• 1 bunch flat leaf Italian parsley, chopped
• 1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 2 vine ripe tomatoes, diced

For the dressing

• juice of 2 lemons
• 1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• pinch of red pepper flakes
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Make the quinoa. Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Once boiling, add the quinoa, stir, and cover. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 15-18 minutes or until quinoa is fluffy and has absorbed all liquid. Set aside to cool.

2. While quinoa is cooking, make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, garlic, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Once quinoa has cooled, assemble the salad. In a large bowl, combine the quinoa, chickpeas, cucumber, red onion, parsley, mint, basil, and diced tomatoes. Stir to combine. Add desired amount of dressing (you likely won't use all of it) and stir again to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Recipe Notes

*Salad will keep for up to 5 days in the fridge. If you feel like it needs some "freshening up" after a few days, add an extra handful of chopped fresh parsley, basil, and/or mint!

*I love adding crumbled feta, and/or roasted, salted chopped pistachios to this salad!

*Feel free to switch up the grains here too. This salad would be delicious with farro, brown rice, lentils, or bulgur like traditional tabbouleh!