Falafel-Spiced Chickpea Salad with Tahini-Lemon Vinaigrette
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This post has been compensated as part of my ongoing partnership with Barlean’s and may contain affiliate links. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.
This quick, simple Middle Eastern salad + homemade pita chips brings all the flavor of falafel in a fraction of the time – no deep frying required!
Do you like falafel? I have a favorite falafel recipe that my family absolutely loves, but it does take a bit of time to put together.
But sometimes I’m craving the flavors of falafel without having to put in a ton of effort, and that’s where this Falafel-Spiced Chickpea Salad with Tahini-Lemon Vinaigrette comes in!
This salad comes together quickly, is packed with plant-based nutrition, and is a great dish to take on-the-go.
Since I typically enjoy my falafel stuffed in a pita, I thought it would be fun to turn some pita bread into homemade pita chips to pack up alongside my salad.
This is a really simple treat to make at home, and pita chips are a fun addition to any snack or lunch box meal.
To make the pita chips extra special, I added one of my favorite super seed blends from Barlean’s. Their Energy Blend is a mix of Panax ginseng, organic flaxseed, chia seed and coconut. It’s full of Omega-3 (ALA), antioxidants, and fiber.
I love sprinkling this blend on my cottage cheese and fruit in the morning, or on yogurt parfaits. And it makes a great addition to pita chips!
I haven’t tried it yet, but the Energy Blend is also able to be mixed into bars and baked goods. Barlean’s recommends swapping out 1/2 cup of flour in a recipe that calls for 2 cups total with 1/2 cup of energy blend.
To get the seeds to stick, I used a little melted coconut oil. This is another versatile ingredient that I use for all sorts of things in my tiny kitchen, including seasoning our cast iron skillets!
This salad can be assembled while the pita chips bake. The whole thing can be ready in around 15 minutes!
My Tahini-Lemon Vinaigrette includes a simple mix of spices that give it a Middle Eastern flair. I absolutely love the mix of cumin, coriander, and paprika.
I used flax oil in this dressing because it’s a great, plant-based source of Omega-3. It’s not intended for heated applications, so you shouldn’t sauté or bake with it, but it’s great in vinaigrettes like this one. I used it in these Roasted Veggie Bowls with Lemon-Flaxseed Vinaigrette a while back, and it was great there, too!
You’ll get about 1/2 cup of vinaigrette here, so I recommend starting with about half of it and tossing that into your salad before adding more to your taste.
I’ve made this dish a few times now, and I find that if I make the vinaigrette in the bottom of a large bowl and just add the salad ingredients on top of it, it’s a little too heavily dressed.
Of course, you could always add in some more chickpeas or a few more veggies if you find it gets too saucy.
I’ve been packing this dish up to bring out and about with me. It totally hits the spot for lunches and snack time. It’s a great, hearty vegan dish with a lot of flavor that packs a nutritional punch.
I’ve been all about this stainless steel bento-style container from LunchBots. It holds just the right amount of food for snack time. It’s well designed, and is nice and compact. It’s the perfect size for my kindergartener’s school lunch.
I ended up buying the insulated thermal container from LunchBots to send hot foods to school with him for lunch, too. Both containers have been a big hit and a great addition to our food-on-the-go container stash.
Psst… I’m giving away one of the bento-style containers from LunchBots, along with your choice of one of the 3 Barlean’s items pictured above – check out the end of my post to win one of your own!
I’ve found that this salad pairs incredibly well with fresh figs. For snacking, 2 pita chips, a bit of salad, and some fresh fruit is just the right amount. If you’re having this as a meal, 4 pita chips alongside a larger portion of the salad is perfect.
Be sure to check out my Falafel-Spiced Chickpea Flatbreads if you want to try out another one of our favorite spins on falafel. It’s total street food/comfort food mashup!
Looking for more of our favorite salads? Check out these 5-star recipes:
- Roma Salad with Caper-Dill Vinaigrette
- Taco Salad with Homemade Chipotle Ranch Dressing
- Quick Chickpea Salad with Lemon-Dill Vinaigrette
- Pax Romana’s Quinoa Salad with Mixed Vegetable, Goat Cheese & Orange Dressing
- Fennel + Citrus Salad with Shallots + Capers
- Creamy Cucumber, Avocado, Chickpea, & Sun-Dried Tomato Salad
- Smoky Shrimp Salad with Green Goddess Dressing
- BBQ Ranch Chopped Chicken Salad
- Cantaloupe, Prosciutto and Shaved Parmesan Salad
- Triple Crunch Asian Salad
Falafel-Spiced Chickpea Salad with Tahini-Lemon Vinaigrette
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 Servings 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
Description
This quick, simple Middle Eastern salad + homemade pita chips brings all the flavor of falafel in a fraction of the time – no deep frying required!
Ingredients
For Pita Chips:
- 2 pieces pita bread
- 1–2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- 2–3 teaspoons Barlean’s Energy Blend
For Tahini-Lemon Vinaigrette:
- 3 tablespoons flax oil
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon ground paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
For Salad:
- 1 (15.5-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup grape tomatoes, quartered
- 1 English cucumber, seeded and chopped
- 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- For Pita Chips: Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut each piece of pita bread in half, then cut each half into 4 triangles. Place pita triangles in a single layer on a baking sheet. Brush each pita with a thin layer of coconut oil and sprinkle with Barlean’s Energy Blend. Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes, until the pita is starting to brown. Set aside and let cool.
- For Vinaigrette: In a small bowl, whisk together flax oil, tahini, lemon juice, cumin, coriander, paprika, salt and pepper.
- For Salad: In a large bowl, place chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, cilantro and parsley. Pour in half of the vinaigrette and stir well to combine. Add more dressing, if desired.
Notes
Makes about 1/2 cup vinaigrette
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 370
- Sugar: 3.3 g
- Sodium: 565.3 mg
- Fat: 20.5 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 39.7 g
- Fiber: 8.5 g
- Protein: 10.8 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: pita bread, chickpeas, chickpea salad
Ashley
Ashley Covelli is a food photographer, recipe developer, and culinary instructor based in Ossining, New York. She loves helping people become enthusiastic and adventurous in the kitchen so that they can build skills and confidence to cook for themselves and their loved ones. She can almost always be found with at least 3 different beverages within arm's reach.
30 Comments
Jen @ Cuddles and Chaos
Yuuuuuuum! This sounds delish!
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
It really is great! Maybe I should bring some to our meetup this week 😉
Ashima
I love tahini for salad dressings and it goes so perfectly with chickpea salads! I also make a simple tahini-lemon-maple syrup dressing for my chickpea salad!
Adding seeds to the pita chips is such a cool idea. Thanks for sharing!
btw love your cute lunchbox and also the red plate.. so so middle Eastern!
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
Oooh the maple-tahini-lemon combo sounds awesome, Ashima! And yes – the seeds were a great addition to the pita chips. Made them feel a little more special than “plain” pita chips. Thanks for stopping by and your kind words 🙂
Ben M
>Do you like falafel?
OF COURSE I like falafel!
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
Yay! #TeamFalafel
veenaazmnaov
I love the falafel flavors you have going here. We love pita chips in our home. Tahini dressing is out favorite too. SO totally our kind of meal.. Yum!
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
Glad this hits a lot of your favorite meal points! I need to experiment with more fun tahini-based dressings. This one was so much fun!
Lori H
I still have never had falafel, but I want to try it sometime. The bento lunch box is cool!
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
We shall have to add it to the roster for your next visit! And yes – the lunch box is AWESOME. It’s been getting a LOT of use these last few weeks 🙂
Lois. O
You had me at falafel spiced… I can eat falafels all day if you gave me the choice, but being that it is fried it is probably better for me to have it like this. Thanks for the healthier refresh you put on typical falafels
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
Thanks, Lois! Yeah, I’m a big falafel fan as well, but it’s definitely not one of the healthiest options. This salad, on the other hand… YUM!
FoodieGirlChicago
Chickpeas are one of my favorite ways to add protein to a salad. Love that they are the star of this salad!
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
Chickpeas totally save the day for so many meals in my house. Glad you approve! 🙂
Marisa Franca Stewart
What a great looking salad and the plus is that it’s good for you too. I love the box — I wish I would have had it when the kids were young. I do love the addition of chickpeas — a great source of protein.
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
My 5-year-old has been loving the lunchbox! He’s on the fence about chickpeas – some days he loves ’em and some days he won’t eat ’em. But I’ll keep trying! 🙂
Maqhi Davis
I’m loving this salad recipe. It sounds so refreshing. That seed blend is one I need to look for. It sounds so versatile. I’d pack salads, fruits, and snacks…maybe some leftovers. My granddaughter loves bento style boxes for her lunches.
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
Bento style is so much fun! Makes packing a little bit of a lot of different things so much more efficient!
Shannon @ Pass Me Some Tasty
This salad is totally my jam! I love the flavor combo in this! And the bento box would be perfect for when I’m on the go.
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
It’s SUCH a tasty mix!
Denise Z Wright
I love the vinaigrette flavors….some of my favorites. I have never heard of Barleans but their products look so cool. I’m entering your raffle … .I hope I win! I see they are in Whole Foods so I’ll give them a look next time I’m there. That Energy blend looks interesting. (If I won, I would use this bento box for my son in hopes to feed him a better lunch).
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
Hi Denise – congrats on being selected as the winner! I sent an email your way earlier this week – please check it out and send me your info so your prize can be mailed out. Thanks so much!
AvocadoPesto
I need to try that energy blend and I’m always meaning to add flax oil to my recipes but never remember! Falafel is one of my favorite dishes so I know I would love this!
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
Yes! It’s so easy to just sprinkle on top of things. I tend to forget to use flax oil unless I’m making a dressing of some sort, but I use the energy blend all the time!
karyl henry
I love chickpeas, and the texture and bulk they add to recipes! This salad looks really delicious, and I’ve pinned it…definitely will make this one
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
Thanks so much – let me know what you think of it when you get around to trying it, Karyl! 🙂
Donna Mansour
Ooh now this is my kind of salad! Love the flavors, and that vinaigrette sounds amazing!
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
Thank you! I love easy, flavorful dishes like this 🙂
Denise
Hi Ashley, I won the raffle for the Barlean’s Energy Blend and just used it for the first time. I wanted to let you know that I love it! I wish had tried it sooner. I’m so glad I won this because I would never have discovered this product otherwise and I really, really like it!
Ashley
I’m so glad that you’re enjoying the seed blend, Denise! I love sprinkling it over cottage cheese or yogurt parfaits for breakfast. Such a fun mix!