This high protein chickpea salad will fit the bill perfectly as the best snack option when you are looking for a meatless recipe with a good amount of protein during your weight loss journey or when you want to eat healthy in general!
Being consistent in your workout routine might be one of the toughest parts of your transformation journey; but eating clean, healthy and nutritious food and cutting out the junk will not be difficult when I am around!
It is a perfect day today to share a fresh salad recipe which involves minimal effort but produces maximum results! The high protein chickpea salad will become your favorite weightloss snack in no time thanks to its taste and benefit!
This chickpea salad has been one of my go-to snacks during my fat-loss journey because of its simplicity and the ease of putting it together. Try it once and you will never look back again!
Chickpeas are already quite popular as a good plant based source of protein and to top it off I have added my signature touch to enhance the protein quotient even further!
Curious to know more? Read on!
What is high protein chickpea salad?
I am sure you have had your fair share of chhole bhature where our favorite chhole is nothing but chickpeas in a delicious spice infused curry! My high protein chickpea salad is a spin on this nutritious ingredient i.e. chickpea which gets loaded with immense health benefits!
Salads are always the easiest thing to put together and this one is not an exception too! This chickpea salad is a quick mix of just a handful of ingredients and can be served in less than 10 minutes when you have cooked chickpeas at hand.
I would suggest keeping a large batch of cooked chickpeas in your refrigerator for most days of the week; you can make so many deliciously healthy recipes using this one magic item that it almost seems unreal!
For this high protein chickpea salad, just ensure to have your chickpeas slightly warm or at room temperature as cold chickpeas will not soak the flavors effectively from the dressing.
The tempting dressing of this salad is the simplest dressing you can ever imagine – just a quick mix of freshly squeezed lemon juice and a good dash of extra virgin olive oil! And you are done with your high protein chickpea salad!
Ingredients for high protein chickpea salad
You are just a few ingredients away from your delicious chickpea salad!
Uncooked chickpea/Kabuli chana: Chickpea is high-protein pulse and is quite popular in Indian cuisine! Chickpea is also known as Garbanzo beans and you can make uncountable healthy & delicious recipes using this high protein ingredient just like this high protein chickpea salad!
If you are familiar with using canned chickpeas, feel free to use that. In India, we are accustomed to using dry & uncooked chickpeas which we soak overnight and then cook in a pressure cooker in salted water the next day.
Red onion: To make this salad more palatable, a few pantry ingredients are chopped and thrown in, red onion being one with the dominating flavor. You can use as little or as much as you like; but just keep in mind that onion has a pungency which may overpower the salad if used too much.
Cucumber: Next comes the fresh & hearty cucumber! I love having cucumbers handy all the time in my refrigerator as this super low calorie item can add magic to anything – be it a hearty chicken salad for lunch or a green salad on the side or a quick snack on its own!
Cherry tomato: Add a breath of freshness and vibrancy with bright little cherry tomatoes! The red cherry tomatoes transform the look & feel of this high protein chickpea salad making it irresistibly appetizing!
Paneer/cottage cheese: As my signature touch, I added a tablespoon of crumbled paneer on top of each serving of this chickpea salad! This not only increases the protein content of your already high protein salad, but also makes it more delicious!
If you are not fond of paneer or cottage cheese, you may replace it with crumbled feta.
Lemon juice: As I mentioned above, this chickpea salad is very simple & easy to put together and you only need two ingredients to make the salad dressing. Lemon juice is the sour & acidic element of the dressing and the freshly squeezed juice of lemon will work best for this salad.
Extra virgin olive oil: The other important ingredient for the dressing is of course without any doubt is a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Salt & pepper: Finally add a dash of salt & pepper to taste to round things up!
How to make high protein chickpea salad?
Let’s check out the easy steps to make this high protein weightloss recipe!
Step 1: Wash and soak the dry/uncooked chickpea in water overnight. Next day, pressure cook them in lightly salted water for 10 minutes on medium heat until each chickpea is soft & tender. Drain the water out and set aside until you prepare other salad ingredients.
Step 2: Finely chop the red onion. Halve the cherry tomatoes. Chop the cucumber into small cubes. Crumble the paneer which will be used to top up the chickpea salad; paneer will work as a garnish and also increase the protein quotient of your salad.
Step 3: In a small bowl, mix the lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and salt & pepper. Give a good whisk.
Step 4: Take all the salad ingredients except paneer in a large mixing bowl. Then drizzle the prepared lemon-olive oil salad dressing over the salad.
Step 5: Using two forks or salad mixer, toss the salad in the dressing allowing it to coat each ingredient.
Step 6: Once the salad is nicely mixed, cover it with a cling wrap and leave it at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving. This will allow the ingredients to absorb the flavors from lemon juice and olive oil.
Step 7: When you are ready to serve, divide the salad into individual serving bowls. Then top it up with crumbled paneer on top of each bowl.
Step 8: Serve your high protein chickpea salad immediately and enjoy!
Other delicious weightloss recipes from Flavor Quotient
- Uncooked chickpea/Kabuli chana - 200 gms,
- Red onion - 1, small
- Cucumber - 1, medium
- Cherry tomato - 10 to 12 (or 1 large regular tomato)
- Paneer/cottage cheese - 100 gms
- Lemon juice - 2 tbsp
- Extra virgin olive oil - 1 tbsp
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Wash and soak the dry/uncooked chickpea in water overnight. Next day, pressure cook them in lightly salted water for 10 minutes on medium heat until each chickpea is soft & tender. Drain the water out and set aside until you prepare other salad ingredients.
- Finely chop the red onion. Halve the cherry tomatoes. Chop the cucumber into small cubes. Crumble the paneer which will be used to top up the chickpea salad; paneer will work as a garnish and also increase the protein quotient of your salad.
- In a small bowl, mix the lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and salt & pepper. Give a good whisk.
- Take all the salad ingredients except paneer in a large mixing bowl. Then drizzle the prepared lemon-olive oil salad dressing over the salad.
- Using two forks or salad mixer, toss the salad in the dressing allowing it to coat each ingredient.
- Once the salad is nicely mixed, cover it with a cling wrap and leave it at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving. This will allow the ingredients to absorb the flavors from lemon juice and olive oil.
- When you are ready to serve, divide the salad into individual serving bowls. Then top it up with crumbled paneer on top of each bowl.
- Serve your high protein chickpea salad immediately and enjoy!
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