Simple Chickpea Salad (5 Minute Lunch Idea!)

A quick lunch idea in 5 minutes! This easy chickpea salad is easy to make: the perfect plant-based lunch for the office or a quick dinner.

Ready for one of our best quick dishes? This easy chickpea salad. Some people might say it’s not even a recipe. Well, here we have fancy recipes like sourdough bread and the perfect margherita pizza. But Only just as important are the non-recipes as what Alex and I eat for lunch each day. Making “real” recipes and making a quick 5 minute lunch are equally valid! So how do you eat a plant-based lunch without spending hours preparing meals? How do you make a quick dinner out of nothing? It starts with a can of chickpeas.

How to cook a healthy lunch in 5 minutes

Alex regularly eats this simple chickpea salad for lunch. (I often make our best oatmeal, but I love them too!) It’s so easy to make that it’s more of an idea than a recipe. But we wanted to share it with you because it’s a lifesaver and illustrates an idea of ​​what it means to eat a plant-based lunchtime diet. How to prepare a healthy and nutritious plant-based lunch: this Mediterranean Chickpea Salad! See recipe below for exact amounts – scroll down!

• Chickpeas: Drain and then rinse a can of chickpeas.
• Pepper: Dice one pepper (about a handful).
• Cucumber: Dice one English cucumber (about a handful). We like to use an English cucumber because it doesn’t need to be peeled. If you can only find a regular cucumber, peel it first!
• Spices: Put everything in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and smoked paprika.

That’s it! Complete Chickpea Salad. Put it in an airtight container and take it to the office: refrigerate until ready to serve! The recipe below has all the exact quantities. Once you’re comfortable, you don’t even need to measure. And remember that instead of peppers and cucumbers, you can use any vegetables in your fridge.

Step it up: add herbs or other spices!

There are endless variations on this easy chickpea salad! Once you’ve created the original concept, you can dress it up in new ways. Here’s what we recommend:

• Grated or chopped herbs: If you have some on hand, it’s best to add fresh herbs! Chopped or shredded parsley, basil, dill, oregano, or thyme would all be excellent.
• Celery Seed: Alex likes to add a little complexity by adding a sprinkling of celery seeds.
• Dijon mustard: A little squirt of Dijon mustard would also add a good amount of complexity.
• Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Italian Seasoning, or Greek Seasoning: Just add a pinch of any of these spices for a little boost.

Our readers are so creative: they always share with us how they’ve personalized our recipes. What else would you like to add?

What to serve with a simple chickpea salad

This easy chickpea salad recipe is designed as a healthy one-serving lunch recipe. Yes, that’s a whole can of chickpeas in one serving to give you a mega boost of plant-based protein! Or you can eat it in two and add some sides. You can also serve it as a side salad (it’s one of our favorite vegan salad recipes). If you’re serving for lunch, here are some ideas:

• Cracker: store bought, or these almond crackers are delicious and packed with protein
• Pita Bread: Serve with pita triangles or other flatbreads
• Hummus: OK, it’s more with chickpeas! But eat half the salad and top it off with pita and hummus.
• Vegetables : Add carrot sticks or pepper strips on the side.
• Dried fruits and nuts: Add some toasted salted almonds and dried fruits like apricots or cherries.
• Fresh fruit: Grapes, green apple slices or a peach in the summer would be fantastic.

Make it a quick dinner!

What should I eat instead of take away? This Easy Chickpea Salad! This is for when you just got home from work and are starving. This salad comes together in 5 minutes and is a healthy option for a whole plant dinner (WFPB). Takeout, on the other hand, takes longer (30 minutes?) and is probably not as healthy. It’s your turn to judge! Here’s what we could imagine using to make dinner:

• Rice, quinoa, or other whole grains. Use what you have left! Or whip up a white rice or quinoa casserole in about 20 minutes. Even faster? The couscous cooks in 10 minutes.
• All Vegetables! Place the chickpea salad in a bowl with the rice or quinoa and whatever raw vegetables you plan to use. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
• A spoonful of hummus or a sauce! A creamy sauce is nice if you have hummus in the fridge, or our best tahini sauce is ready pretty quickly.

Of course, there are a million ways to make dinner out of this. What would you do?

This easy chickpea salad recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.