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Gluten free Moroccan salad recipe with chickpeas and quinoa! This zippy healthy salad is far from boring. Layers of quinoa, spiced chickpea, dried fruit, pistachios, feta cheese, and vegetables. Great to serve as a gluten free and vegetarian main meal or side dish.
Let’s continue with fresh and light quinoa recipes, shall we? Lately I’ve been hooked on all kinds of quinoa salads! Yes, the love is genuine and real, maybe even borderline obsessive. Can you blame me?
Today’s recipe and quinoa food theme is just as LOVELY and somewhat SPRING-Y! It also has a bit of Mediterranean and Moroccan flare. My favorite type of food!
That being said, let me present to you… drum roll please….
MOROCCAN Style Quinoa Chickpea Salad
Swooning!
Although, I have to give you the backstory on this salad and why I ended up making it.
First of all, I needed another simple meal prep dish for lunches. I should really update you on life, but let’s just say we’ve had more transitions, life transitions. And meal prep recipes have saved us!
Secondly, the Kiwi (aka my husband) has requested lighter dinners, like salad for dinner. WHAT? A salad? Soup and salad, yes. Salad for lunch, sure. Side salads, always. I’m all about that. But I’ve never heard him request a salad as main DINNER meal. But it makes perfect sense. Spring and Summer is in the air. We’re craving those foods, naturally! And I shouldn’t be one to complain about a no cook meal for dinner.
That being said, if we’re going to have a salad for dinner, it’s going to be a WHOLESOME and one with lots of FLAVOR!”
Truth be told, I feel wrong serving a man a plain salad. Heck, I grew up with three brothers. They always saidsalad wasjust water, no lie. With their words in my mind, I was driven.
Ways to serve this Chickpea Quinoa Salad!
- Meal prep! Great to take to work or for kids/athletes looking for a quick nutrient dense meal.
- Make it fresh and serve at a potluck or party. This salad is so fresh, beautiful, and flavorful!
- Double the recipe and make this quinoa salad the Main dish around your dinner table. Toss in grilled chicken, fish, or uncured meat. Pair with soft boiled eggs or hard boiled eggs. Or keep as is, hearty and plant based!
The surprising thing is, this salad took little effort. And if you have a variety of leftovers in your house, it’s even better!
Ingredients to make a Moroccan Chickpea Quinoa Salad!
- Leafy greens for the base layer
- Chickpeas
- Moroccan Spices – think turmeric, cumin, and/or paprika!
- Cooked Quinoa
- Fig or Dates
- Fresh herbs such as Mint or Basil
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Carrots or Zucchini
- Red Onion
- Unshelled Pistachios
- Feta
- Balsamic vinegar and olive oil
- Splash of Lemon if you’d like.
OH my, the layers alone were hearty but still fresh and light in texture. Does that make sense? See for yourself with the recipe!
Moroccan Salad with Quinoa and Chickpeas
5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star
5 from 9 reviews
- Author: Lindsay Cotter
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 3-4 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Gluten freeMoroccan salad recipe with chickpeas and quinoa! This zippy healthy salad is far from boring. Layers of quinoa, spiced chickpea, dried fruit, pistachios, feta cheese, and vegetables. Great to serve as a gluten free and vegetarian main meal or side dish.
Ingredients
Units Scale
- 1 ½ to 2 cups cooked quinoa
- ⅔ cup canned chickpeas, drained OR pre-roasted chickpeas
- toss fresh chickpeas with a pinch of ground turmeric, pepper, kosher salt, and optional ground ginger
- 4 to 6 cups leafy greens
- 1 cup diced carrot or zucchini
- ⅔ cup diced tomatoes
- ⅓ cup chopped red or green onion
- ¼ cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped
- ½ cup (1 ounce) crumbled or cubed feta cheese
- 4 dried or fresh figs or sliced or diced pitted dates
- ½ to 1 ounce pistachios
- Garnish – splash lemon juice and 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh mint (~3 mint leaves)
Dressing
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons honey
- ¼ teaspoon ground paprika
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Prepare the quinoa according to the package or see this blog post for tips. Fluff with fork and set aside.
- Rinse the chickpeas (if using canned) and then toss with a pinch of turmeric, pepper, salt and ground ginger. In a large bowl, add the chickpeas and cooked quinoa.
- Add the greens, carrot, tomato, onion, parsley, feta, figs, and pistachios. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar honey, ground paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Adjust salt and pepper, to taste.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine.
- Finish by adding a splash of lemon juice to the salad garnish with fresh mint.
- Serve immediately or cover and place in fridge for up to 2 days. (see notes)
Notes
Storage Tips – To meal prep, keep the dressing separate until ready to serve.
Serving Tip – Add grilled chicken, prosciutto, salmon or seared lamb to the salad, if desired.
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 15 min
- Category: salad
- Method: mix
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 303
- Sugar: 14.8 g
- Sodium: 295.8 mg
- Fat: 8.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 48.4 g
- Fiber: 9.4 g
- Protein: 11.1 g
- Cholesterol: 8.4 mg
Can you just imagine diggin into all those layers? Gah, I’m pretty impressed with my man approved “salad” myself. Now, if only all men would be so open to eating a salad for dinner. I think I got lucky with my husband, the kiwi (lover of all foods) Cotter husband.
Okay, enough gushing over my salad. Let me know if you are known to make some pretty mean and green BIG A** salads (aka BAS)! If so, what’s in it? Moroccan spices, chickpeas, all the veg?
Do share!
Cheers,
LC
MORE HEALTHY SPRING SALAD RECIPES HERE!
This recipe is part ofour fave Healthy Spring Salad Recipes collection. Check it out!
