Give me a colorful and delicious salad, and I am happy. There is nothing better in summer. Salads are healthy and normally not too complicated to prepare. The latter does not quite apply to this Summer Salad with Roasted Quinoa & Chickpeas, to be honest. Well, at least not fully. Compared to a simple tomato salad you have to do several steps more to get this salad on the table… but it’s definitely worth the extra work. Roasting the quinoa and chickpeas before adding to the salad makes a great difference ;)
Anyone who has ever eaten a salad with quinoa will probably agree when I say that this grain often tastes like wet cardboard. Not that I eat wet cardboard on a regular basis ;P It just has not the most pleasant flavor and texture. But it’s healthy, right?
Fortunately, you can solve the problem with consistency and flavors quite easily. If you mix cooked quinoa with some oil and then roast it in the oven, everything gets better. Similar to the chickpeas, the roasted quinoa gets a crispier texture, and the flavor changes as well. Roasting something makes it always better, right? ;P
Even though quinoa and chickpeas benefit from roasting, you should not overdo it. If the quinoa looks like black sesame seeds and the chickpeas look like little bunny droppings you either have an oven that is way too hot or you fell asleep and did not hear the alarm going off I guess ;P So keep an eye on the stuff in the oven and maybe flip em halfway through the baking time.
The roasting time the recipe tells you works best for our oven. That might be different for yours. That’s why you have to keep an eye on the oven. You decide how much you want to roast the quinoa and the chickpeas.
Otherwise, there is not much more to say about the salad. Anyone can chop veggies and mix them in a bowl. It’s no witchcraft. If you prefer other veggies you can always change what you want to add to the salad. Not everyone is super happy with huge white beans or avocados – use whatever you like.
The salad (as it is) is a great meal prep option. It should be good to eat for at least 1-2 days if you store it properly (in the fridge). Honestly, the more time the salad has to »marinate« the better. Only when all the ingredients have had a chance to really get to know each other and make friends, the party really gets started in your mouth…. let’s put it like that ;P
You can do a lot with legumes and grains like quinoa or durum wheat, for example. We like to use them often for recipes – that’s why a lot of them already ended up here on this blog. If you wanna try… take a look at the two recipes below.
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
(4-5 servings)
For the roasted quinoa & chickpeas:
3.5 oz. (100g) tricolor quinoa
1 cup (240ml) water
1 can (14 oz./400g) chickpeas
some olive oil
salt, pepper
For the salad:
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 large yellow (or red) tomato, diced
1 small red onion, chopped
1/2 cucumber, diced
1 avocado, diced
1 can (14 oz/400g) white jumbo beans
For the dressing:
1 garlic clove, minced
4 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. white balsamic vinegar
1 lime, juiced
1 tsp. maple syrup
some chili flakes (optional)
salt, pepper
some chopped flat-leaf parsley
(4-5 Portionen)
Für den gerösteten Quinoa & die Kichererbsen:
100g bunter Quinoa
240ml Wasser
1 Dose (400g) Kichererbsen
etwas Olivenöl
Salz, Pfeffer
Für den Salat:
1 rote Paprika, gewürfelt
1 große gelbe (oder rote) Tomate, gewürfelt
1 kleine rote Zwiebel, gewürfelt
1/2 Salatgurke, gewürfelt
1 Avocado, gewürfelt
1 Dose (400g) weiße Jumbo-Bohnen
Für das Dressing:
1 Knoblauchzehe, sehr fein gehackt
4 EL Olivenöl
2 EL weißer Balsamico-Essig
Saft 1 Bio-Limette
1 TL Ahornsirup
Salz, Pfeffer
einige Chiliflocken (optional)
etwas gehackte glatte Petersilie
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Wash/rinse the quinoa. Add together with the water and a pinch of salt to a small pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and let the quinoa cook according to the instructions on the package – mine was cooking for 15 minutes over low heat and then steaming (covered) for another 10 minutes in the pot off the heat. You can cook quinoa in advance and keep it in the fridge until you are ready to continue.
2. Preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C). Drain the chickpeas, drizzle with some olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and mix. Place them on a baking sheet – only on one half – add the cooked quinoa on the other half. Drizzle the quinoa with some oil and season with salt and pepper as well. Place the baking sheet in the upper third of the oven and bake/roast the chickpeas and quinoa for about 15 minutes. Mix/flip everything and continue baking/roasting for another 10-15 minutes. The chickpeas should have gotten some color and the quinoa should be slightly crispy. Take out of the oven and let cool down.
3. While chickpeas and quinoa are cooling down, you can prepare the veggies. Wash and dry the bell pepper and tomato and cut into small cubes. Peel the onion and dice finely. Cut the cucumber into small pieces. Cut the avocado in half and remove the stone. Peel the avocado and cut the flesh into small pieces. Rinse the white beans from the can. Add everything to a large bowl and mix to combine. When the chickpeas and quinoa are ready and cooled down, add them to the bowl as well and mix.
4. Peel and finely mince the garlic for the dressing. Add together with the oil, vinegar, lime juice, and maple syrup to a small bowl or cup. Season with some chili flakes (optional), salt, and pepper and mix to combine. Pour over the salad, mix, and let the salad sit for 15-20 minutes, so everything has the chance to get to know each other.
5. Sprinkle with some chopped parsley before serving and enjoy!
1. Den Quinoa gut spülen, dann zusammen mit dem Wasser und einer Prise Salz in einen kleinen Topf geben und einmal aufkochen. Die Hitze reduzieren und den Quinoa nach Packungsanleitung kochen – ich musste meinen Quinoa etwa 15 Minuten bei schwacher Hitze köcheln und dann weitere 10 Minuten (Herd ausgeschaltet und Deckel auf dem Topf) quellen lassen. Man kann Quinoa prima vorab zubereiten und dann im Kühlschrank aufbewahren, bis es im Rezept damit weiter geht.
2. Den Ofen auf 200°C (390°F) Ober-/Unterhitze vorheizen. Die Kichererbsen aus der Dose abtropfen lassen, mit etwas Olivenöl beträufeln, salzen, pfeffern und dann einmal gut durchmischen. Die Kichererbsen auf eine Hälfte eines Backblechs geben und den gekochten Quinoa auf der anderen Hälfte verteilen. Den Quinoa ebenfalls mit etwas Öl beträufeln und mit ein wenig Salz und Pfeffer würzen. Das Backblech ins obere Drittel des Ofens schieben und die Kichererbsen und Quinoa etwa 15 Minuten lang rösten lassen. Alles einmal durchmischen und weitere 10-15 Minuten rösten. Die Kichererbsen sollten etwas Farbe bekommen haben und der Quinoa sollte leicht knusprig sein. Aus dem Ofen nehmen und abkühlen lassen.
3. Während Kichererbsen und Quinoa abkühlen, kann das Gemüse vorbereitet werden. Paprika und Tomate waschen, trocknen und in kleine Würfel schneiden. Zwiebel schälen und fein würfeln. Die Salatgurke in kleine Stücke schneiden. Die Avocado halbieren, den Stein entfernen und das Fruchtfleisch in kleine Stücke schneiden. Die Bohnen aus der Dose abspülen. Alles in eine große Schüssel geben und vermischen. Sobald Kichererbsen und Quinoa ausgekühlt sind, ebenfalls zur Schüssel dazugeben und vermengen.
4. Für das Dressing den Knoblauch schälen und fein hacken. Zusammen mit Öl, Essig, Limettensaft und Ahornsirup in einer kleinen Schüssel oder Tasse verrühren. Mit Salz, Pfeffer und Chiliflocken (optional) würzen. Das Dressing über den Salat gießen, alles gut vermengen und dann etwa 15-20 Minuten ziehen lassen.
5. Vor dem Servieren mit etwas gehackter Petersilie bestreuen und genießen!
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
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Summer Salad with Roasted Quinoa & Chickpeas
- Prep Time: 00:25
- Cook Time: 00:30
- Total Time: 02:00
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Salad
- Cuisine: International
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
A great salad for hot summer days – a healthy salad with roasted quinoa & chickpeas. Actually also great in winter ;P
Ingredients
For the roasted quinoa & chickpeas:
3.5 oz. (100g) tricolor quinoa
1 cup (240ml) water
1 can (14 oz./400g) chickpeas
some olive oil
salt, pepper
For the salad:
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 large yellow (or red) tomato, diced
1 small red onion, chopped
1/2 cucumber, diced
1 avocado, diced
1 can (14 oz/400g) white jumbo beans
For the dressing:
1 garlic clove, minced
4 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. white balsamic vinegar
1 lime, juiced
1 tsp. maple syrup
some chili flakes (optional)
salt, pepper
some chopped flat-leaf parsley
Instructions
1. Wash/rinse the quinoa. Add together with the water and a pinch of salt to a small pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and let the quinoa cook according to the instructions on the package – mine was cooking for 15 minutes over low heat and then steaming (covered) for another 10 minutes in the pot off the heat. You can cook quinoa in advance and keep it in the fridge until you are ready to continue.
2. Preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C). Drain the chickpeas, drizzle with some olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and mix. Place them on a baking sheet – only on one half – add the cooked quinoa on the other half. Drizzle the quinoa with some oil and season with salt and pepper as well. Place the baking sheet in the upper third of the oven and bake/roast the chickpeas and quinoa for about 15 minutes. Mix/flip everything and continue baking/roasting for another 10-15 minutes. The chickpeas should have gotten some color and the quinoa should be slightly crispy. Take out of the oven and let cool down.
3. While chickpeas and quinoa are cooling down, you can prepare the veggies. Wash and dry the bell pepper and tomato and cut into small cubes. Peel the onion and dice finely. Cut the cucumber into small pieces. Cut the avocado in half and remove the stone. Peel the avocado and cut the flesh into small pieces. Rinse the white beans from the can. Add everything to a large bowl and mix to combine. When the chickpeas and quinoa are ready and cooled down, add them to the bowl as well and mix.
4. Peel and finely mince the garlic for the dressing. Add together with the oil, vinegar, lime juice, and maple syrup to a small bowl or cup. Season with some chili flakes (optional), salt, and pepper and mix to combine. Pour over the salad, mix, and let the salad sit for 15-20 minutes, so everything has the chance to get to know each other.
5. Sprinkle with some chopped parsley before serving and enjoy!
Notes
Make something amazing in the kitchen!
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