Moroccan Quinoa Salad with Crispy Chickpeas

a bowl of quinoa salad with kale and carrots.

4.58 from 7 votes

Moroccan Quinoa Salad with Crispy Chickpeas

This Moroccan quinoa salad with crispy chickpeas is protein packed and full of veggies! Make it today for a healthy meal prep lunch idea for the week!

Prep 20

Cook 40

Total 1

Fat 24

Carbs 58

Protein 16

Yield

Ingredients

Crispy Chickpeas

2 15-oz. cans garbanzo beans drained, rinsed, and moisture removed
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt

Dressing

2 tablespoons tahini
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
pinch cayenne pepper

Quinoa Salad

1 cup quinoa uncooked
2 cups water
3/4 cup chopped almonds
4 cups kale deboned
2 teaspoons olive oil
pinch of salt
2 large carrots ribboned
15 medium asparagus spears ribboned
1/4 medium red onion minced
1/3 cup chopped fresh mint
8 medjool dates pitted and chopped
4 oz. feta cheese crumbled

Instructions

Crispy Chickpeas

First, preheat oven to 400ºF. Then, spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
Drain and rinse 2 15-oz. cans of garbanzo beans. Then, place 2 pieces of paper towel on your counter and transfer beans to the top. Use another piece of paper towel to press as much moisture out of the beans as possible.
Once you've removed the moisture from the beans, transfer them to the baking sheet.
Next, prepare the Moroccan seasoning. Mix together all spices in a small bowl.
Drizzle on 2 tablespoons of olive oil and toss.
Finally, sprinkle on the seasoning and toss, making sure all chickpeas are fully coated.
Place baking sheet in oven and roast at 400ºF for 30-35 minutes, tossing every 15 minutes.

Dressing

Place all of the ingredients for the dressing in a jar and then screw the lid on.
Shake the jar aggressively until all ingredients are combined. Set aside for later!

Quinoa Salad

First, prepare quinoa. Place quinoa and water into a medium pot.
Bring to a boil over medium/high heat. Once boiling, turn down to low and cover. Let simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until all liquid has absorbed.
Next, toast almonds. Place chopped almonds into a pan. Turn heat to medium and toast for around 3-5 minutes making sure to constantly stir so they do not burn. Remove from heat once they've turned a golden brown.
Place kale into a large bowl and drizzle on olive oil. Season with a pinch of salt. Use your hands to massage the kale for a few minutes until the kale turns a bright green and has become softer to the touch. Set aside.
Next, prepare carrot and asparagus ribbons.
For the carrots, use a vegetable peeler to create ribbons. Simply peel each carrot as you normally would with a vegetable peeler but continue until the entire carrot is gone. Repeat for both carrots.
For the asparagus, cut off the asparagus tips and add them to the bowl with the carrot ribbons. Then, cut off the hard end at the bottom of each asparagus spear and discard. Using the same vegetable peeler, create asparagus ribbons with the center part of the asparagus.
Assemble the salad by placing the carrots, asparagus, red onion, fresh mint, dates, and feta into a large bowl.
Add the kale and quinoa to the bowl and toss.
Finally, drizzle on the salad dressing and toss until everything is combined.
Serve immediately and top with the crunchy chickpeas or meal prep by distributing the salad evenly into four meal prep containers. Keep the chickpeas separate from the salad if meal prepping because you don't want the chickpeas to get soggy!

Tips & Notes

Nutrition information is for 8 servings.

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Nutrition Facts