Moroccan-Inspired Chickpea Quinoa Salad (Power Salad)
Color, texture, and crunch! This Moroccan-inspired chickpea quinoa salad has it all! We’re using carrots, fresh parsley, medjool 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 Moroccan quinoa chickpea salad drizzled with possibly THE easiest honey lemon dressing.
We take our salads seriously around here.
As in, we like salads that are loaded with color, flavor, and crunch. I’m kinda still in awe over a bowl of good-for-you salad that will keep you going, but only calls for simple ingredients is packed with veggies. It’s also one of those kitchen sink side dishes or mains that I can make when my vegan friends come to visit without having to feel guilty that they won’t feel full afterwards.
Let’s get into this Quinoa Salad situation – we’ve got fluffy, cooked quinoa, shredded carrots, a whole can of chickpeas (or garbanzo beans), and fresh herbs, like, flat-leaf parsley and green onions. Also in the mix is some golden raisins, dates, and one handful of chopped pistachios. Toss that all up and drizzle with the honey lemon dressing. And just look at all that beautiful color!
And that honey lemon dressing! It’s as simple as tossing a little cumin, olive oil, lemon juice, honey, salt, and a hint of chili power and a quick shake-y shake in a mason jar.
Let’s talk about how this is the perfect power salad for lunches, picnics, and barbecues.
Moroccan chickpea salad to the rescue indeed!
Ingredients for a quinoa power salad:
- Cooked Quinoa: this whole grain is naturally gluten-free and contains tons of antioxidants. It’s considered a completely protein – making it ideal to include in a vegan or vegetarian diet. You can find this ingredient in most grocery stores and it’s also available online here.
- Matchstick Carrots: add vibrance to the salad and is great source of fiber. They also contain vitamin K and calcium.
- Green Onions: or scallions add the same taste as onions do without any of that harsh bite.
- Chickpeas: has tons of fiber which keeps you nice and full. It adds bulk to the salad so that you don’t get hungry quickly.
- Dates: have tons of fiber and give this salad a nice pop of sweetness.
- Raisins: I like to use golden raisins for this recipe because they are typically used in Moroccan cuisine, but feel free to swap this for any variety you like.
- Pistachios: adds color and crunch. Give them a rough chop so you get a little bit in every bite!
- Parsley: adds lots of color! We’re using a full bunch of parsley for this recipe. See notes below for other herbs you can use.
- Seasonings: You can play around with the spices in this salad I typically just use some ground cumin, salt and chili powder or cayenne pepper in the dressing. You can swap the cayenne for red pepper flakes to make it a little more mild. You may want to adjust the salad once you’ve tossed the dressing to make sure it’s to your liking.
- Olive Oil: this is the heart and soul of the lemon dressing.
- Lemon Juice: adds a bright pop of acid and also cuts through the sweeter ingredients like the dates and the raisins.
- Honey: this won’t add too much sweetness as we’re only using 1 tablespoon but it does make the dish a bit more balanced.
How to make chickpea quinoa salad:
- Cook the quinoa. Start by adding a teaspoon of oil to a saucepan and then sauté the rinsed quinoa for a minute. Sautéing the quinoa really helps amp up the nuttiness of the quinoa and adds free flavor. Then add water and bring the quinoa to a boil. Cover with a lid and let the saucepan stay on the stove over low heat. Fluff the quinoa with a fork when it’s done (or simply follow package directions.) Let the quinoa cool completely before using it in the salad.
- Make the dressing. In a small mason jar, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, ground cumin, salt, honey, cayenne (or black pepper) cover with a lid and give it a good shake. Taste and then adjust with more seasonings as you prefer.
- Toss the salad. In a large bowl, combine the cooled quinoa with matchstick carrots, green onions, garbanzo beans, dates, raisins, pistachios, and parsley. Give the mixture a good toss before you add the dressing, and continue to toss until the salad is well combined. Taste and adjust with more salt and pepper as needed and you’re ready to serve it up!
Full list of ingredients and instructions below.
Confessions of a quinoa salad lover:
- The substitution or variations for this salad are limitless! Seriously! MAKE IT YOUR OWN. I want to try dried apricots, sunflower seeds, pepitas, almonds, and even try roasting the chickpeas before adding them to the salad to add more crunch. Maybe swapping some of the parsley for cilantro. And I might even use my leftover brown rice in place of quinoa. You could also add other fresh veggies that are chopped into small pieces, use dried cranberries, and cubed feta cheese, or swap the scallions for minced red onion. Seriously, there’s so much you can do here.
- Leave off the quinoa, I won’t mind! My other moroccan salad recipe on the blog uses chopped walnuts and skips 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 in the fridge and had them 2 days later and it was still just as delicious. So meal prep this; seriously! 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 – which makes it ideal for a desk lunch!
- HERBACEOUS! that’s how I describe this chickpea 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 mint, chives, cilantro, or even some fresh basil.
- Looking for ways to add more protein? I love serving this recipe with garlic parmesan chicken skewers, you can toss is rotisserie chicken, dice up leftover lemon rosemary chicken or honey lemon chicken, and add that to the salad as well.
If you like this recipe, try these:
- Greek Quinoa Salad Jars
- Summer Tomato and Cucumber Quinoa Salad
- Cuban Mojo Chicken Quinoa Bowls with Mango Salsa
- Spring Pea Feta Couscous Salad with Basil Vinaigrette
- Superfood Broccoli Salad with Creamy Poppyseed Dressing
Moroccan-Inspired Chickpea Quinoa Salad (Power Salad)
Color, texture, and crunch! This Moroccan-inspired chickpea quinoa salad has it all! We’re using carrots, fresh parsley, medjool dates, and golden raisins to make this salad extra special. Serve as a main course or as a side!
Ingredients
Chickpea Quinoa 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)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper (black pepper or chili powder)
Instructions
- QUINOA: Cook the quinoa according to package directions in a rice cooker or on the stove. Allow the quinoa to cool to room temperature before using it in the recipe. This works great with leftover quinoa!
- POWER SALAD: Add the cooked quinoa, carrots, scallions, chickpeas, dates, raisins, pistachios, and parsley to a bowl.
- 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. Taste and adjust with more salt, chili or honey as desired.
- DRESS: Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Taste and adjust the salad with more cayenne or salt as needed. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator if you want to serve this later.
Notes
- PARSLEY: Sometimes when you buy parsley, the bunch is HUGE. If that is the case, just use ¾ bunch. It's really up to you how much parsley/herbs you want to use. Some of the parsley can be replaced with mint, basil, or cilantro if you'd like.
- TOAST: 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 nutty/toasted flavor which goes really well with the flavors of this salad!
Recommended Products
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 233Total Fat: 12gCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 5gProtein: 5g
The nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is just an estimate. To get the most accurate information, please input the ingredients you've used into a nutrition calculator.
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! 🙂
this recipe looks awesome. i can’t wait to try it soon. love the golden raisins & dates in a savory dish!
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 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!
I made this twice. Today!
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.
Made it. LOVE it! I used cilantro and dried cranberries (not a raisin fan) dee-lish 🙂
Great recipe, I love it. I cut down on the oil though!
Sooo good?
Sooo delicious. Thank you ?
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!
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 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 🙂
Looks great (though honey is not vegan…)
Correct, hence the option of using maple syrup or brown sugar 🙂
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!
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 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 was just fabulous! Served it with home made pita crisps and it was exactly what I wanted. Thanks for a great recipe!
Really nice recipe. My family would really enjoy this one. Thanks for sharing it. 🙂
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!
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.
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.
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!!!
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.
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!
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.
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.
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!
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…..
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!