If you’re craving something healthy and filling, all with a little kick of spice, this spicy chickpea salad is for you. This is a simple, and easy side to make, with just a few ingredients that you toss together yielding maximum flavor.
You’ve got chickpeas, peppers, chives, and parsley tossed in a lemony, cumin infused dressing, with a little cayenne pepper for heat. Simple. Delicious. You’re welcome.
I love this salad as a side with lunch, or even as a savory afternoon snack. And it pairs well with lots of different things too – sandwiches, soups, or even a medley of other salads.
This is one of Dave’s favorite recipes that’s now been passed down to us, and I’ve tweaked it just slightly to allow you to tailor the spice level to you tastes, and cut down on the salt to let the other flavors shine. Here you can start with 1/8 teaspoon cayenne and go up to as much as 1/2 teaspoon if you like things really spicy. I, personally, like to taste my food rather than just have my tongue feel hot, so I keep things on the lower end of the spice scale.
To start, whisk up the dressing with olive oil, lemon juice, and the spices. Then add the chickpeas, diced peppers, chives, and parsley, then mix.
My biggest recommendation is to wear gloves when cutting the serrano peppers. I’ve learned this the hard way with some particularly spicy peppers that kept my fingertips hot for hours afterwards. Just wear gloves. Even if the peppers aren’t that hot, the one time you don’t wear gloves they will be, so you’ve been warned.
Spicy Chickpea Salad
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: sides, vegetarian, vegan
- Cuisine: vegan
Description
Sweet bell peppers and chickpeas are perfectly paired with spicy serrano peppers, lemon juice, and cumin in this vegan-friendly spicy chickpea salad.
Ingredients
For the dressing:
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
For the salad:
1 orange bell pepper, diced
2 Serrano peppers, seeds and membranes removed, finely diced
2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup chives, finely chopped
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together lemon juice, olive, oil, cumin, salt, ground black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Set aside.
- Rinse and drain chickpeas.
- Dice bell pepper, serrano pepper, chives, and parsley.
- Add all ingredients to the bowl with dressing, and stir to mix together evenly.
- Serve.
Notes
Wear gloves when removing seeds and membranes from the serrano peppers.
Any sweet bell pepper will work here – orange, yellow, or even red. Just not green.
Keywords: sides, vegatarian, vegan, salad, spicy
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