Make this smashed chickpea salad in 20 minutes with minimal effort! Packed with plant based protein, fibre, veggies, and flavourful spices it's sure to be staple in your lunch rotation.
If you are like me and lunch is the most dreaded meal of the day then this recipe is for you! Don't get me wrong I love eating lunch but I just hate the inevitable 'what should I eat'. Lunch is just such a weird part of the day for me. I'm hungry (obviously) but have zero motivation to cook a full meal. So unless there's leftovers there is a 99% chance my lunch will consist of random things thrown together.
Which is why I have been on the hunt for easy, throw together lunch ideas perfect for busy days and this smashed chickpea salad is perfect! Chickpeas coated in all the best southwest flavours like cumin, paprika and lime, mashed with some fresh veggies with a nice little yogurt dressing... can you say YUM?? AND it's gluten free and vegetarian!
What ingredients do I need for smashed chickpea salad?
Don't let the long ingredient list scare you! More than half of the recipe is just spices that you probably already have in your cupboard!
Chickpeas- All you need is a can of chickpeas! I personally love chickpeas as a great source of fibre and plant based protein (if you haven't tried my chickpea blondies or cookie dough you need to). I haven't tried using dried chickpeas but I don't see why they wouldn't work- just prepare them according to package directions first.
Bell pepper- I personally have an affinity for red peppers. I find them superior to orange and yellow but ESPECIALLY to green. Green peppers are just not my thing, they aren't as sweet and not my favourite but you can really use any colour pepper you want here!
Spices- Ok so like I said, the spice list is a bit long. I just wanted to make sure you got the full southwest flavour in this smashed chickpea salad! Cumin, garlic powder, paprika, and chili powder are what drives the flavour here. These are all spices that you probably will have on hand (especially if you have the basic all encompassing spice rack like me).
Corn- When I think of southwest I think of a salsa with corn in it so I obviously had to include some corn! This definitely isn't required for the chickpea salad but I'd recommend it for the full experience.
Lime- For the perfect amount of acidity to help round out the flavours in this chickpea salad!
Parsley- I LOVE fresh parsley. I added it to my copycat Costco quinoa salad the other day and I am fully obsessed. It brings such a fresh but also spicy flavour to salads and I'd highly recommend purchasing it fresh instead of dried!
Greek yogurt- If you've been around here for awhile you know I love substituting plain Greek yogurt for mayonnaise or sour cream whenever I can. I just love adding a little protein boost, while simultaneously decreasing the fat content. However if you prefer mayonnaise feel free to use it!!
Tomatoes and Onions- More fresh ingredients to help level up this smashed chickpea salad! I can't think of any vegetables more suitable for a southwest salad than tomatoes and onions!
What should I serve smashed chickpea salad with?
Okay so now you have your smashed chickpea salad done, but what do you eat it with? That's the beauty of this salad it is SO versatile so you won't get sick of eating it everyday!
You can eat it on....
- Bagels
- Wraps
- As a topping on a salad
- Toast/ in a sandwich
- Alone with a fork (my favourite option lol)
- With chips as a dip!
- In a burrito bowl with some rice, lettuce and salsa
PS. I love seeing my recipes in action! If you decide to make this smashed chickpea salad don't forget to tag me on Instagram-@nourishedbynic or leave a comment below!
📖 Recipe
Southwest Smashed Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
- 1 can (400g) chickpeas rinsed and drained
- 1 tablespoon greek yogurt or mayonaise
- ½ of one lime just the juice
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ tsp chili powder
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- ½ cup tomato diced
- ¼ cup red onion diced
- ¼ cup fresh parsley chopped
- ½ cup corn kernels frozen or canned both work
- 1 medium bell pepper any colour
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add chickpeas and mash using a fork or a potato masher until chunky and mostly mashed.
- Add yogurt, lime juice, cumin, paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper and mix until fully combined.
- Stir in the tomatoes, corn, onion, parsley and bell pepper. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as desired.
- Enjoy!
Mary says
Very easy and many of the ingredients are staples in my pantry . The red onion and the dressing really bring this lunch together.
Terri says
Just wanted to let you know there's a typo on this. In the third paragraph, it states that this recipe is GF and vegan. However, it's only vegan if you make modifications such as using a vegan mayo or vegan yogurt, which I definitely might try. I think it should read: vegetarian. 😉 Hope to see more vegan recipes from you!
Nicole Addison says
Hi Terri- this has been updated! Try my smashed vegan chickpea salad!
Maryse Basque-Doiron says
Made this salad with some chicken fajitas. Delicious! Will definitely make it again.
Dene Betz says
Delicious! Really great flavor.
Victoria says
This is a favorite in my house. We eat it on toasted sourdough with tuna on top and it's soo yummy. I think I usually double the spices. Such an easy and delicious lunch!
Nicole Addison says
This would be so good with tuna added for some extra protein! Thank you so much for the comment Victoria!!
Nicole