Moroccan Chickpea Quinoa Power Salad
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Color, texture, and crunch! This Moroccan inspired chickpea and quinoa power salad has it all! We’re using carrots, parsley, dates, and golden raisins to make this salad extra special! Serve as a main course or as a side!
Guys. I’m on a salad binge. It’s all about the rainbow of veggies/dried fruit in this quinoa power salad drizzle with possibly THE easiest honey-lemon dressing.
We take our salads seriously around here.
SO much goodness loaded into this one salad guys. I’m kinda of still in awe over a bowl of good-for-you salad that will keep you going all day long but only calls for simple ingredients with just a wee bit of chopping involved. Okay, I kid, it’s more than a ‘wee’ bit but I promise friends, it so so worth it. And hey, that’s just calories burnt, right?
Also, this one goes out to my vegan friends out there! HEY! It’s me, the person inside the person that vowed to eat more veggies and lighter meals this year, but kinda sorta lost her way there for a bit. But i’m here! And this salad goes out to you.
Quinoa Power Salad situation: we’ve got cooked quinoa, shredded carrots, a whole can of chickpeas (or do you call them garbanzo beans?), tons of chopped parsley, golden raisins, scallions, dates, and one handful of chopped pistachios that in all my excitement I completely forgot to picture in the bowl of delicious moroccan salad goodness. How silly of me! Toss that all up and drizzle with the honey lemon dressing. And just look at all that beautiful color!
And let me tell you about that zippy honey-lemon dressing! It’s as simple as tossing a little cumin, olive oil, lemon juice, honey, salt, and a hint of chili power into a mason jar, capping and giving it a few good shakes until the dressing mixes up. BAM!
Let’s talk about the perfect power salad for lunches, picnics and barbecues. This is the ideal salad to make when you’re watching what you eat and your picnic friends have nothing green/veggie/healthy on the table.
Moroccan chickpea salad to the rescue indeed.
Confessions of a quinoa power salad lover:
- The substitution/additions for this salad are limitless! Seriously friends! MAKE IT YOUR OWN. I want to dry chopped dried apricots, try roasting the chickpeas, subbing in a little cilantro, maybe trying it with brown rice instead of quinoa. I’ve got another version of this moroccan salad on the blog where I used chopped walnuts and left out the quinoa entirely! It’s perfect for when you’re already serving bread/rice on the side and still want this in your life.
- It will last! Like, what is considered forever in salad years. As in I tossed this salad with the dressing and packed away the leftovers and had them 2 days later and it was still delicious. The refrigerator time gives the quinoa a chance to soak up all the honey-lemon goodness. The carrots, dates, and raisins all have a chance to mesh flavors and boy oh boy it’s the perfect meal for a quick desk lunch or a busy day in the kitchen.
- HERBACIOUS! that’s how I describe this quinoa salad. After all, I am chopping up an entire bunch of flat leaf parsley and tossing it in like it’s my job. But as I mentioned before, you can swap some of the parsley for a little chopped cilantro or mint. I’m totally not a mint girl so I didn’t but you absolutely can. Oddly enough, I LOVED mint as a child. Um… what CHILD loves mint? ? Perhaps one that’s destined to be a food blogger? ?
- This has seriously become my go-to salad. I kid you not, while the hubby is out of town, I totally binge on this salad. It’s lunch, it’s a side for a couple of dinners, and it makes me happy.
This Quinoa Power Salad is ALL that and a bag of chips. And though it may not contain actual chips, it has so much CRUNCH from the nuts and carrots that it’s got me a little like, WHOA.
Bask in the glow of your salad making skills.
Let this simple protein-packed power salad make your lunchtime a little more delicious.
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Moroccan Chickpea Quinoa Power Salad
Color, texture, and crunch! This Moroccan inspired chickpea and quinoa power salad has it all! We're using carrots, parsley, dates, and golden raisins to make this salad extra special! Serve as a main course or as a side!
Ingredients
POWER SALAD:
- 1 ½ cups cooked quinoa (or ½ cup uncooked)
- 1 cup matchstick carrots
- 4 scallions, thinly sliced
- 1 (15 ounce) can of 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
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon honey (maple syrup or brown sugar for vegans)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon chili powder
Instructions
- POWER SALAD: Cook the quinoa according to package directions. Allow the quinoa to cool completely before tossing with the salad ingredients. Toss ingredients together.
- 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. Drizzle the dressing into the salad and toss the salad to combine everything. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for later!
Notes
- Sometimes when you buy parsley, the bunch is HUGE. If that is the case for you, just use ¾ bunch. It's really up to you how much parsley/herbs you want to use. Also, some of the parsley can be replaced with mint or cilantro if you'd like.
- 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 really great nutty/toasted flavor which goes really well with the flavors of this salad!
IS THIS A GOOD CHOICE FOR YOU?
The calculated nutritional facts are for 8 servings. As always for the most accurate calorie count, calculate them using the specific brands you’ve used to prepare the recipe.
If you like this recipe, you might also like:
superfood broccoli salad with creamy poppy seed dressing
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69 Comments on “Moroccan Chickpea Quinoa Power Salad”
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!
First, this salad is really nice looking :p !! Taste was great too. I tried a lot of quinoa salads in the past months and this one is now my favorite. Thank you!
the food looks so nice
Absolutely delicious, subbed toasted walnuts as was all I had and added craisins too, otherwise followed the recipe as written. A keeper and a definite go to as a main or side. Thank you!
This is absolutely AMAZING! Not the flavor I expected when I saw cumin and chili powder, but I trusted the reviews and I’m so glad I did! Delish!
Hi Marzia! This is the first recipe I’ve made from your blog and oh my goodness is it yummy! Enjoying a bowl for lunch as we speak! And I also have a big pot of your Winter Detox soup in the crock pot for later- my house smells amazing. Thanks for the healthy and flavorful recipes! I can’t wait to try more of them!
I had to tweak this recipe as there were a few things I didn’t have. But it came out lovely. I’d say more like 4-5 servings.
What can I sub pistachios for?
You can use sunflower seeds, almonds, walnuts or simply omit the pistachios from the recipe if you’d like.
Thank you so much for this recipe. This has become one if my kids favourite lunchbox salads.
Made salad exactly as writte, except cut back on honey a bit.. Very delicious, everyone loved it! Healthy too
I added kale, and apple cider vinegar to the dressing. So good!!!
Just made this in a whim, and golly gosh it’s delightful! Super easy, and very filling for a salad! The whole fam bam loved it!! It would be a very versatile salad, maybe a nice lemon vinaigrette for summer mm mm!
Really nice looking salad.
Fabulous Recipe. This is among my all time favorites!
I made this recipe without the pistachios, and with regular raisins (I am unable to use the sulphured type) – it is absolutely awesome. Will be making it again, and sharing it this time (hee hee). Delightful flavor and grand crunch!
Super super super good!!
This salad is superb. My niece calls it her “life changing salad!” I’ve made it a few times now, and have always used craisins and almonds. I think next time I’ll try adding sunflower seeds too. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!
Delicious – making it again!
I don’t like quinoa (can’t stand the texture). What can I substitute? Would brown rice work, or would whole wheat couscous be better?
Either would work, I feel the couscous would soak up more dressing though so you may need to make a little extra if you decide to go that route.
How about farro?
Should work just fine!
First, this salad is really nice looking :p !! Taste was great too. I tried a lot of quinoa salads in the past months and this one is now my favorite. Thank you!
This salad has been my go to lunch for weeks since I found the recipe. I’ve started a plant based diet and this is a perfect dish! I added flax seeds and used dried cranberries since I didn’t have dates. I think dried apricots would be wonderful too. Thanks for this awesome recipe!
This recipe is delicious! I did use dried cranberries instead of raisins as I prefer a tart flavor instead of sweet. Thank you for sharing…..
so good! made it recently and it is to die for!! definitely tastes better the next day and even a few days later when all the flavors are really soaked up. i drizzled a little warm peanut butter on it and it was DELICIOUS! definitely will make again. easy and makes a great side dish, dinner, or even a snack!
I found this recipe through pinterest and I am already attracted by the photo of this salad. Quickly made it and it turn out the very best of all the salads i had. That is sooo yuuum?Thank you soo much for sharing.
This is a Family Favorite. I’m diabetic and the dates make this just sweet enough, with fiber to boot Crunchy, tasty,
easy, filling.
This one is on the first page of my favorites binder.
This has become my staple! I have a very busy life – and I find it super easy to make this on Sundays to feed me for the rest of the week! I never get tired of this quick, easy and super delicious recipe!
Everone I have served this salad to, vegans, vegetarian ‘s, meat eaters, love this salad. I make this every week so that I have something delicious to eat each lunch time with other delicious vegan things in the fridge.
Made this for my work week lunch
It tastes great and I know I can play with the ingredients and still have an amazing dish
THANK YOU!!!
Delicious! I added a mix of cilantro, parsley and mint. I also added feta. This is a keeper. Goes great with roasted salmon.
Thank you.
This was soooo yummy. It went well with my grilled moraccon chicken. The only thing I changed was to sub dried cranberries instead of the dates and raisins b/c that’s what I had on hand. Definitely a keeper.
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! 🙂