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    Home » 30 Minute Dinners

    Turkish Chickpea Salad

    Published: Jun 4, 2023 by Larisha Bernard · This post may contain affiliate links · 22 Comments

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    You’ll be shocked at the amount of flavor in this 20 minute inspired Turkish chickpea salad. Summer meal prep level up!

    vegan turkish chickpea salad in a white casserole dish.

    Summer time means you don’t really feel like cooking, but you might be willing to spend 10-15 minutes in the kitchen to prep something if it lasts for the week. If that’s you, then this vegan inspired Turkish chickpea salad is right up your alley.

    I’ll be completely honest that this is inspired by Turkish recipes with my own spin on things and not completely authentic to Turkey recipe spices or ingredients.

    Still, this recipe is amazing. It’s packed with flavor and nutrients that will not only taste delicious but be great for your body as well!

    It’s perfect for meal prep throughout the summer or for cookouts and get-togethers as well!

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    Jump to:
    • Why You’ll Love This Dish
    • 🥘Recipe Ingredients
    • Substitutions and Variations:
    • Step by Step Instructions for vegan Turkish chickpea salad:
    • Recipe FAQs:
    • Other Vegan Salad Recipes to Consider:
    • Turkish Chickpea Salad

    Why You’ll Love This Dish

    • Easy – This recipe only takes 20 minutes to make!
    • Great for Meal Prep – this is one of those recipes that only gets better with time which is perfect for meal prep as you can make it 3-5 days in advance and use as needed
    • Gluten Free and Allergen Friendly – this recipe is completely Top 9 Allergen Free which means it’s a great option to serve

    🥘Recipe Ingredients

    ingredients to make vegan turkish chickpea salad on a table.

    Gather your ingredients!

    • Chickpeas – This simple ingredient is the star of the dish and perfect for texture variation and protein.
    • Olive Oil – You want a healthier oil for this recipe since you are going to be making a sauce with the oil and scraping as much of it out of the skillet as possible.
    • Onions – We are using sweet onions for this recipe. We are playing a spin on a sumac onion recipe that usually uses red onions, but since we are cooking these we are using sweet.
    • Sun Dried Tomatoes – We use sundried tomatoes in oil for more flavor.
    • Garam Masala – not a typical Turkish ingredient that the flavor in garam masala pair perfectly with this recipe.
    • Sumac – is an amazing spice that we recommend adding to your spice cabinet. It has some sweet and tangy notes that really help to elevate dishes it’s adding too.
    • Red Wine Vinegar – we are adding red wine vinegar for the sauce component of the dish since it has more smoky notes that go well with this dish.

    See my recipe card below for a complete list of the ingredients with measurements.

    Substitutions and Variations:

    • Chickpeas – You could do this with white beans as well, but they don’t hold up as well during the cooking process so keep that in mine. Bite size pieces of cauliflower could also be used into or as an addition.
    • Olive Oil – Grapeseed or Avocado oil would be good alternatives.
    • Onions – You can use red onions for this dish, but note during cooking, red onions typically turn gray which may look appetizing.
    • Sun Dried Tomatoes – You can use dried sundried tomatoes if you hydrated them first. Note, that there will be some flavor differences.
    • Red Wine Vinegar – apple cider vinegar or balsamic vinegar would be a substitute for this
    • Stretch this meal – Feel free to add more vegetables like carrots or celery to this, or something like tofu or mushrooms would be a good addition if you like them to stretch this. Alternatively, putting this mixture over noodles, rice, or in a tortilla wrap can also help.

    Step by Step Instructions for vegan Turkish chickpea salad:

    cooking chickpeas, onions and garlic in skillets.

    Step 1. In a large skillet over medium heat, add oil and then add the chickpeas. Stir to coat the chickpeas in oil for 1 minute. Add spices and cook for 5 minutes until chickpeas are red and fragrant. Pour chickpeas, scraping all the spices from the pan, into a large bowl.

    Step 2. In the same skillet, over medium heat, add remaining oil. Then, add the onions and garlic. Stir frequently and cook for 3-4 minutes until the onions are slightly soft and the garlic is fragrant.

    sauting vegetables in skillets.

    Step 3. Add the red peppers, sundried tomatoes and ½ teaspoon salt. Stir and cook for 2 minutes.

    Step 4. Remove from heat. Let cool slightly, then add red wine vinegar and remaining spices. Stir together well.

    combining ingredients to make vegan Turkish chickpea salad.

    Step 5. Add vegetables to the chickpeas, along with the red cabbage, cilantro, basil, and lemon juice.

    Step 6. Mix together well. Serve cold or warm.

    vegan turkish chickpea salad in a white casserole dish topped with avocado and basil.

    Recipe FAQs:

    Can I make this dish top 9 free?

    Yes. This recipe is already written to be Top 9 Free.

    Can I prep this dish ahead of time?

    Yes. Once made, let cool completely and you can store in an air tight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.

    Can I double this recipe?

    Yes, just make sure to use a large enough pot to hold all your ingredients.

    Can this be frozen?

    No, we don’t recommend freezing this dish.

    Other Vegan Salad Recipes to Consider:

    • vegan kale crunch salad in a wooden bowl.
      Vegan Kale Crunch Salad
    • A serving dish of vegan green bean salad with feta and almonds.
      Vegan Green Bean Salad with Feta and Almonds
    • vegan easy cold soba noodle salad on a long oval plate.
      Soba Noodle Salad
    • A spoon pouring dressing over easy vegan broccoli salad.
      Easy Vegan Broccoli Salad

    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
    Did you make and love this recipe?
    Click the 5 stars in the recipe card above or below in the comment section! This is a great way to support us so we can continue to bring great recipes!

    vegan turkish chickpea salad in a white casserole dish.
    Print Recipe
    5 from 7 votes

    Turkish Chickpea Salad

    You'll be shocked at the amount of flavor in this 20 minute inspired Turkish chickpea salad. Summer meal prep level up!
    Prep Time5 minutes mins
    Cook Time15 minutes mins
    Total Time20 minutes mins
    Course: Main Course, Salad
    Cuisine: Turkish
    Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
    Servings: 4 servings
    Calories: 291kcal
    Author: Larisha Bernard

    Ingredients

    For the Chickpeas

    • 4 tablespoon olive oil, divided
    • 15 oz chickpeas, cooked, drained and rinsed*
    • 1 teaspoon garam masala
    • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
    • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • ¼ teaspoon turmeric
    • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
    • ¼ teaspoon black pepper, more or less to taste

    For the Vegetables

    • 1 sweet onion, thinly sliced
    • 4 cloves garlic, minced
    • 1 red pepper, thinly sliced
    • 2 tablespoon sun dried tomatoes in oil, finely chopped
    • 1 tablespoon sumac
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
    • ½ teaspoon chili powder
    • ½ teaspoon cumin
    • ½ teaspoon vegan sugar, optional
    • 1 cup red cabbage, chopped
    • 1 cup cilantro, chopped (sub with parsley if needed)
    • 5-6 fresh basil leaves, choped
    • 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

    Instructions

    • In a large skillet over medium heat, add 2 tablespoon oil and then add the chickpeas. Stir to coat the chickpeas in oil for 1 minute. Add all the chickpea spices (garam masala to pepper) and cook for 5 minutes until chickpeas are red and fragrant. Pour chickpeas, scraping all the spices from the pan, into a large bowl.
    • In the same skillet, over medium heat, add remaining oil. Then, add the onions and garlic. Stir frequently and cook for 3-4 minutes until the onions are slightly soft and the garlic is fragrant. Add the red peppers, sundried tomatoes and ½ teaspoon salt. Stir and cook for 2 minutes.
    • Remove from heat. Let cool slightly, then add red wine vinegar and remaining spices (chili powder to sugar). Stir together well. Add vegetables to the chickpeas, along with the red cabbage, cilantro, basil, and lemon juice. Mix together well. Serve cold or warm.

    Video

    Notes

    *You can use canned chickpeas to make this dish go faster.  If using dried chickpeas, add chickpeas to a large bowl and cover with water to soak the overnight. Bring a pot of water to boil (enough to cover chickpeas), drain chickpeas and add to boiling water, turn to simmer and cook for 1 – 1.5 hours until soft. Drain and set aside. 
    **Nutritional facts are just estimates. Please utilize your own brand nutritional values to double check against our estimates. 
    ***For high protein, you may want to make this 2 servings instead of 4.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1cup | Calories: 291kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Sodium: 919mg | Potassium: 556mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 1914IU | Vitamin C: 67mg | Calcium: 88mg | Iron: 3mg
    Tried this recipe? 🌟Share So We Can See! @makeitdairyfree or tag #makeitdairyfree!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Charles Abbott

      August 07, 2023 at 9:12 pm

      5 stars
      It takes a little bit of time to prep but it is well worth it! Thank you so much for helping me enjoy some awesome healthy food.

      Reply
      • Larisha Bernard

        August 09, 2023 at 11:56 am

        So glad you liked it!

        Reply
    2. Linda Barker

      June 29, 2023 at 1:50 pm

      Wonderful salad. Yummy and interesting spices and I got to use a whack of sumac which made me very happy. I increased everything by 50% and topped it with tofu marinated in the same spicing as the vegetables and then fried crispy. That was the most difficult step of the whole thing. Definitely a keeper. Also, I want you to know that the picture of the two of you accompanying this blog is a delight. Thanks for sharing it.

      Reply
      • Larisha Bernard

        June 30, 2023 at 10:09 am

        So glad you loved the salad! Great idea with the tofu. Thank you so much for your kind words about our photo also.

        Reply
    3. Marci P

      June 26, 2023 at 6:16 pm

      5 stars
      My husband (who is not vegan)and I both loved this dish. The flavor combination was fabulous!
      Thank you!

      Reply
      • Larisha Bernard

        June 27, 2023 at 2:03 pm

        That’s wonderful!

        Reply
    4. Susan

      June 18, 2023 at 12:41 pm

      This is really, really good!! Thanks!

      Reply
      • Larisha Bernard

        June 21, 2023 at 9:39 am

        So happy to hear that!

        Reply
      • Tammy

        June 22, 2023 at 9:44 pm

        5 stars
        Delicious! I will definitely make this again!!

        Reply
        • Larisha Bernard

          June 27, 2023 at 8:16 pm

          yay!

    5. Lynn

      June 16, 2023 at 9:42 am

      5 stars
      Amazing recipe. Different flavor profile from what I’m accustomed to but a definitely a go to now.

      Reply
      • Larisha Bernard

        June 21, 2023 at 9:42 am

        So glad you gave it a try!

        Reply
    6. Alicia Mitchell

      June 15, 2023 at 7:36 pm

      5 stars
      Delicious! Going in to our meal rotation, for sure!

      Reply
      • Larisha Bernard

        June 21, 2023 at 9:42 am

        Yay!

        Reply
    7. Erica Phillips

      June 13, 2023 at 6:29 pm

      5 stars
      This was so yummy! Served warm but will totally appreciate it cold as the summer warms up! Sumac was new for us but we found it and it was lovely! So much spice in this and all so complimentary!

      Reply
      • Larisha Bernard

        June 21, 2023 at 9:46 am

        So happy that you found it and loved it!

        Reply
    8. Joanne

      June 06, 2023 at 5:55 pm

      5 stars
      This salad is excellent -bursting with flavour! Thank you!

      Reply
      • Larisha Bernard

        June 06, 2023 at 9:07 pm

        so glad you enjoyed it!

        Reply
        • Lorraine

          June 18, 2023 at 10:52 am

          5 stars
          I had high expectations for this recipe and it exceeded them. My husband, who tolerates, but is seldom excited about vegan dishes, couldn’t stop raving about it. My only complaint is that it went over so well, I didn’t score nearly enough leftovers!

        • Larisha Bernard

          June 21, 2023 at 9:39 am

          That’s a huge win!

      • Sean L

        June 20, 2023 at 4:41 pm

        5 stars
        love food with flavour and this hit the mark. Surprising filling too, wife loved it and its being added to our weekly meal prep. thanks mate!

        Reply
        • Larisha Bernard

          June 21, 2023 at 9:36 am

          So glad to hear it was a hit!

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