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!
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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.
First, this salad is really nice looking :p !! Taste was great too. I tried a lot of quinoa salads in the past months and this one is now my favorite. Thank you!
I don’t like quinoa (can’t stand the texture). What can I substitute? Would brown rice work, or would whole wheat couscous be better?
Either would work, I feel the couscous would soak up more dressing though so you may need to make a little extra if you decide to go that route.
How about farro?
Should work just fine!
Delicious – making it again!
This salad is superb. My niece calls it her “life changing salad!” I’ve made it a few times now, and have always used craisins and almonds. I think next time I’ll try adding sunflower seeds too. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!
Super super super good!!
I made this recipe without the pistachios, and with regular raisins (I am unable to use the sulphured type) – it is absolutely awesome. Will be making it again, and sharing it this time (hee hee). Delightful flavor and grand crunch!
Fabulous Recipe. This is among my all time favorites!
Really nice looking salad.
Just made this in a whim, and golly gosh it’s delightful! Super easy, and very filling for a salad! The whole fam bam loved it!! It would be a very versatile salad, maybe a nice lemon vinaigrette for summer mm mm!
I added kale, and apple cider vinegar to the dressing. So good!!!
Made salad exactly as writte, except cut back on honey a bit.. Very delicious, everyone loved it! Healthy too
Thank you so much for this recipe. This has become one if my kids favourite lunchbox salads.
What can I sub pistachios for?
You can use sunflower seeds, almonds, walnuts or simply omit the pistachios from the recipe if you’d like.
I had to tweak this recipe as there were a few things I didn’t have. But it came out lovely. I’d say more like 4-5 servings.
Hi Marzia! This is the first recipe I’ve made from your blog and oh my goodness is it yummy! Enjoying a bowl for lunch as we speak! And I also have a big pot of your Winter Detox soup in the crock pot for later- my house smells amazing. Thanks for the healthy and flavorful recipes! I can’t wait to try more of them!
This is absolutely AMAZING! Not the flavor I expected when I saw cumin and chili powder, but I trusted the reviews and I’m so glad I did! Delish!
Absolutely delicious, subbed toasted walnuts as was all I had and added craisins too, otherwise followed the recipe as written. A keeper and a definite go to as a main or side. Thank you!
the food looks so nice
First, this salad is really nice looking :p !! Taste was great too. I tried a lot of quinoa salads in the past months and this one is now my favorite. Thank you!
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!
Excellent salad recipe. Very flavorful and just plain delicious. It was a hit with everyone.
Wonderful salad. Great for lunch or side to a larger meal. I did adjust the dressing. I used 1/4 cup lemon juice and doubled the honey. Always a hit with guests.
Salad is looking nice and I think it’s healthy too?
I made this twice. Today!
Thank you for this lovely recipe.
I’ve made this Moroccan chickpea Salad at least a dozen times, it is one of my favorites especially pared with Moroccan crusted salmon! My family and I have been enjoying it with forbidden rice instead of the quinoa, the rice gives it a nice chewy texture that pairs wonderfully with the dressing. I would highly recommend trying the black rice if you’re looking for a little change! Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
Great recipe, I love it. I cut down on the oil though!
Thanks for your article!
I love salad so much, it has many essential nutrients for our health. So I think that people should boost full of nutrients by cooking salad for their family every day.
This is absolutely AMAZING! Not the flavor I expected when I saw cumin and chili powder, but I trusted the reviews and I’m so glad I did! Delish!
Loved the Moroccan Chic Pea salad