Zucchini Quinoa Chickpea Salad mixes zucchini, chickpeas, quinoa, fresh parsley and green onions, all tossed in a spiced olive oil dressing.  This quinoa salad recipe has the rich, warm flavors of cumin, turmeric and paprika and makes a healthy, filling lunch.

ZUCHINNI QUINOA CHICKPEA SALAD

Do you meal prep on the weekend?

I try each week to do some each week to make meal time easier. 

Today’s recipe for Zucchini Quinoa Chickpea Salad is a vegan salad I make on weekends and eat for lunches throughout the week.

I love quinoa salads like this Mediterranean Quinoa Salad, Greek Quinoa Salad, Tomato Cucumber Feta Quinoa Salad and this Avocado Kale Quinoa Salad.  

This salad is fresh, full of warm, rich spices and makes a healthy, hearty lunch.

It also works nicely as a side dish to your weekly meals, like this Air Fryer Cod, these Mediterranean Turkey Meatballs, Moroccan Chicken Thighs or this Black Sea Bass recipe. 

I don’t know about you, but I like warm spices like turmeric, cumin and paprika and I especially like them when they are mixed together.

In today’s recipe they are mixed with olive oil to create a delicious dressing.

I use chickpeas in the salad, but white beans would also work nicely. I also like to use zucchini, but a variety of vegetables would be great in this salad.

I am a big fan of quinoa in salads and soups. It gives the meal texture and is gluten-free.  

Quinoa is also high in protein and one of the few plant foods that contain all nine essential amino acids. It is small, soft and perfect for kids.

I like to add it to things like this Slow Cooker Turkey Quinoa Chili, this Tropical Kale Quinoa Salad this Greek Quinoa Bowl Recipe, Cilantro Lime Quinoa and these Thai Turkey Quinoa Lettuce Wraps.

When I meal prep, I like to make a big batch of quinoa and keep it in the fridge to add into recipes like today’s Zucchini Chickpea Quinoa Salad.

If you make a big batch, then you can split it up for a variety of uses!

Recipe Ingredients

• Quinoa: This salad uses quinoa which is a nice gluten-free grain for salads. Feel free to use your favorite grain. I think bulgur wheat, farro or wheat berries work nicely.
• Fresh Vegetables: For this salad it uses zucchini but other ideas that work great are carrots, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, Persian cucumbers, bell peppers and cauliflower. 
• Fresh Herbs: The fresh herbs help this salad come alive. It uses fresh parsley and green onion. Other herbs that would be nice include basil and dill. 
• Chickpeas: I love chickpeas { garbanzo beans } in salad. They add protein and texture to salads. You can leave them out if you don’t like them or try white beans in their place. 
• Dressing: The dressing on this salad is very flavorful. It includes extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, turmeric, cumin and paprika. The spice mixture is great together! 

How to Make This Quinoa Salad

1. Cook the Quinoa: First rinse the quinoa and then add the rinsed quinoa to a pot with the appropriate mount of liquid and cook quinoa according to package. Set aside to cool.

2. Combine Salad Ingredients: In a large bowl chickpeas, zucchini, green onions and parsley together.

3. Mix Together the Salad Dressing: In a small bowl or mason jar whisk together the dressing ingredients: olive oil, turmeric, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper for the dressing. Taste and adjust salt and black pepper.

4. Stir in Quinoa: Add the cooked quinoa to the zucchini and chickpea mixture and combine.

5. Mix Dressing: Mix in dressing and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Garnish with fresh parsley.

Store the leftovers in an airtight container for 3-4 days in the refrigerator.

Ways to Modify This Salad

• Beans: I used chickpeas in today’s salad but I also really like white beans, red beans or even black beans. 
• Spices: Spices are a nice way to add flavor to the salad dressing. Some good ones are sumac, za’atar, cumin, paprika or oregano.
• Vegetables: There are a lot of vegetables that would be nice in this salad. Some are carrots, red bell peppers, celery, red onion, radish, bell peppers, tomatoes, broccoli or mushrooms.
• Cheese: Feta cheese is often used in my salads but goat cheese, blue cheese, parmesan cheese or sharp cheddar cheese are also great options. 
• Spices: You can mix up the spices and try paprika, chili powder, sumac, za’atar or Italian seasoning.
• Protein: A chickpea salad is a nice opportunity to add your favorite protein. If you have leftover grilled chicken, shrimp, salmon or steak add it in. Tofu is also a nice addition.
• Other Ingredients: There are a variety of other ingredients that you might like to add. One option for the dressing is you can sub in lime juice for the lemon juice or try adding a bit of honey for sweetness. Also some other great ingredients to put in this vegan quinoa salad are artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, creamy avocado, sun-dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, green olives, black olives, pickled vegetables or pickled red onion.

Other Salad Recipes You Might Like:

SUMMER ORZO PASTA SALAD

SHIRAZI SALAD

EASY LEBANESE SALAD

JENNIFER ANISTON SALAD

LEMON ARUGULA SALAD

TOMATO CUCUMBER FETA QUINOA SALAD

MEDITERRANEAN BEAN SALAD