Sweet Potato Chickpea Salad – A simple and healthy filling vegan and gluten-free lunch or dinner; made with red onions, parsley and a tangy lemon dressing.
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Sweet potato chickpea salad is on the menu for lunch today!
After almost two years of traveling abroad it feels a bit odd to back at home. Not as extreme as reverse culture shock but all of a sudden the questions have gone from where are you from. where are you traveling, to what do you do, where are you living nowadays.
The dynamic seems to have changed a bit.
I’m still getting the hang of things.
Though it has been great to see friends and family. There’s really nothing quite like starting the weekend with the parents over oysters, crepes with caviar, and glasses of prosecco.
Oh it feels good to be home.
Oh and I’m super excited about all the recipes I am finally going to treat my parents too. I’ve got a list of oh about a thousand recipes I can’t wait to make.
And I am so excited to have a full and I mean full cabinet of spices to work with. For the longest time I’ve only had salt to add to my cooking, so now that’s I’ve got a whole arsenal of spices, expect things to get a bit crayzay around here.
Let’s start things off easy, with just a handful of spices in this sweet potato chickpea salad recipe. Vegan, gluten-free and full of flavor. Filling and simple lunch or meatless summer meal.
We’re talking:
- pan fried diced sweet potatoes until just lightly charred,
- mixed with chickpeas,
- parsley,
- red onions and
- topped with a zesty and tangy lemon cumin dressing.
Flavor explosion in your mouth? I think so.
This sweet potato chickpea salad is filling enough for a full meal and uses everyone’s favorite fall ingredient – sweet potatoes with some vegan protein added in with the chickpeas. Fresh herbs are a must here (though if you don’t have parsley I am sure cilantro would work here too). I love adding chickpeas in salad, just regular canned or better roasted and turned into croutons like in my vegan arugula salad with quinoa and avocado.
There’s just something hearty about a salad with chickpeas in it, and when you add in sweet potatoes too it instantly becomes a full on meal. This sweet potato chickpea salad is definitely filling enough for a entree style salad. And it’s low carb too, and meatless so it’s basically the best thing you could make for yourself. No baking of the sweet potatoes here either. It’s amazing how quickly the sweet potatoes cook when diced up and pan fried. It just takes minutes. Next time I make this salad I’ll try pan frying the chickpeas too for a bit more crunch to them. If you try making this sweet potato chickpea salad with pan fried chickpeas let me know!
Also did I mention I’m obsessed with sweet potatoes nowadays? I mean I used to hate them but then something finally clicked and I realized, wow, no, sweet potatoes are actually delicious. It’s amazing how taste buds can change. I read somewhere (or did I see this in a blockbuster movie) that your taste buds change every 7 years or so, so I guess I’m still in store for several other rounds of changes.
Now if you’re loving sweet potatoes as much as I am it’s only fair to point you in the right direction of a vegan sweet potato recipe. Wouldn’t want you to waste time on a bad recipe right?
My new favorite way to use sweet potatoes is in vegan veggie burgers – the mashed up consistency is perfect for binding the rest of the ingredients together while still maintaining a soft and fluffy patty.
When you get a chance try out my Vegan Sweet Potato Tofu Burger, Vegan Sweet Potato Squash Burgers or if zucchini is more your jam then my chickpea zucchini burger recipe is right up your alley!
Are you loving sweet potatoes as much as I am? Please please share your favorite sweet potato creations!
Now that I’m finally on board I need more sweet potatoes recipes in my life, I can’t just make this sweet potato chickpea salad recipe everyday! : )
How to make my sweet potato chickpea salad:
A simple and healthy filling vegan and gluten-free lunch or dinner sweet potato chickpea salad recipe.
- 1 can chickpeas rinsed and drained
- 1 medium sweet potato peeled, and diced,
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt pepper, to taste
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 medium red onion diced
- 2-4 cloves garlic minced
- large handful parsley chopped
- 1 lemon zested
- 1/2 a lemon juiced
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes or chili powder
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2-3 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
-
Heat pan over medium heat and add oil. Cook diced sweet potatoes until lightly browned on all sides and cooked through. Add salt, pepper to taste and half the cumin powder (1 teaspoon) .
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In a large bowl combine chickpeas, garlic, onion, and parsley.
-
To the bowl add the sweet potato with the lemon juice and zest, coariander,rest of the cumin powder, red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper and sesame seeds.
-
Toss to combine. Add additional olive oil (up to one tablespoon -- optional).
Recipe Adapted From Elemental Custard
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
this looks like a seriously good salad, definitely will be recreating this in my kitchen. love it!
Vicky says
Thanks! A different take on salad without any leafy greens, but still filling enough for a full meal : ))
Ginnie says
This looks like the perfect lunch! Thanks for sharing:)
Vicky says
Thanks so much! Simple, healthy and filling : ))
Bintu @ Recipes From A Pantry says
Oh your parents sound like the know how to spoil you. You use 2 of my fav things -sweet potato and chickpeas in this salad so I love it.
Vicky says
They sure do! If sweet potatoes and chickpeas are your favorites you’ve got to try them together in this simple salad : ))
Miz Helen says
Thanks so much for sharing your awesome recipe with Full Plate Thursday and hope to see you soon!
Pinning your post!
Miz Helen
Vicky says
Thanks for pinning!
Lauren says
Hi,
Can this salad be made the day before you need it??
Vicky says
Hi Lauren, yes I am sure you could make this the day before!
Mikayla says
Just made this with my mom! We substituted the parsley with dill though, and also added some corn to it! It was amazing!! Great recipe 🙂
Vicky says
Thanks so much! So glad you liked it : ))
Mathieu says
I really like the fact that there is no dressing in this salad! I often find salad recipes but they usually have a very heavy dressing. I’m making this for the week, I already had everything besides the potato. Always keep some cans of chickpeas in your pantry – they come in handy quite often! Thanks for the recipe, Vicky!
Vicky says
Hope you enjoy the salad! I’m not a big fan of super heavy dressings either and opt to make my own or at least just use a drizzle of olive oil over using the store bought 20+ ingredient processed salad dressings
Ashley says
This looks SO GOOD. I’m also highly obsessed with sweet potatoes right now (I don’t have any sweet potato creations on my blog yet though so I have nothing to share, sorry). I’m also trying more meatless meals to slash my grocery budget! This is great!
Vicky says
Thanks! I recently starting loving sweet potatoes too : )) Meatless meals are still delicious and indeed cheaper!
Bret says
Hey! What is the serving size per person?
Vicky says
The full recipes serves 3.
Lawrence says
I need a delicious salad that would travel well – I think that this could be the one. Perfect for a vegetarian pot luck dinner.
Vicky says
Yes this would be the perfect one for you!
Amanda says
do you know what the calorie count is in this recipe if it only serves 3
Vicky says
The calorie count per servings if the full recipe serves 3 is 366 calories. Hope that helps!
Rachel Jones says
The recipe makes a huge batch and just a little was very filling! Love it!
Vicky says
Yes it is definitely very filling!
Sara says
That is very helpful for me at least! I do want to point out though, your calorie counter (which I suspect is an automated plugin) is WAY off. It is saying that it is only 54 calories per serving. I don’t know how all that works, but I wanted to make sure you were aware.
I did the math using sparks recipe, double checking with google calories and without the sesame seeds it comes to about 240 calories, in case anyone needs to shrink it some more.
Vicky says
Thanks for pointing that out Sara. The calorie counter is built into my recipe plugin so I will let them know that the numbers are way off.
Rachel Jones says
I tried this! It was delicious! Thank you!
Vicky says
So glad you liked it!!
Jen says
Hi! I pinned this and bought all of the ingredients but now I can’t find the actual recipe on here! Am I missing something? Thanks!
Vicky says
Hey Jen, sorry about that, not sure what is happening. Here is the recipe:
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 medium sweet potato, peeled, and diced,
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt, pepper, to taste
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 medium red onion, diced
2-4 cloves garlic minced
large handful parsley, chopped
1 lemon, zested
1/2 a lemon, juiced
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (or chili) powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2-3 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
Heat pan over medium heat and add oil. Cook diced sweet potatoes until lightly browned on all sides and cooked through. Add salt, pepper to taste and half the cumin powder (1 teaspoon) .
In a large bowl combine chickpeas, garlic, onion, and parsley.
To the bowl add the sweet potato with the lemon juice and zest, coariander,rest of the cumin powder, red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper and sesame seeds.
Toss to combine. Add additional olive oil (up to one tablespoon — optional).
Amy says
This was super delicious. I ended up sauteing the onions with the potatoes and added red/yellow peppers, jalapeno and a zucchini for some extra flavour.
Vicky says
Love you additions to the recipe! Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for commenting to let me know : ))
Sasha Torkildson says
Great recipe! Sweet and spicy, warm and comforting! Thank you for sharing!
Vicky says
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!
Marla@Marlasmuffins.com says
I loved the ease of making the sweet potato in a pan. Thank you for the recipe. So Yummy!
Vicky says
Thanks! So much quicker than in the oven right?!
Johnna says
This looks terrific for Autumn to me. Excited to try. (We’ll make it for dinner one evening!)
Vicky says
Thanks so much! One of my favorite fall recipes : )
CJ says
Don’t peel the sweet potato!!! Almost makes me cry…all those wasted nutrients and fiber. 🙁
Vicky says
Sorry! Just how I made the recipe that time!
Cindy says
Your blog is so full of ads that I quit browsing because it was taking so long to get your recipes. Good luck to you.
Vicky says
So sorry about that Cindy!
kit says
I substituted chickpeas for kidney beans and red onions for white onions, and it was still delicious! great recipe 🙂
Vicky says
So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe!
cookilicious says
I am in the lookout for salad recipes for dinner and am making a weekly calendar for the same. Being a vegetarian, need a protein rich meal as well and this recipe is just that. Adding this to my calendar. Thanks for this.
Vicky says
Hope you enjoyed this recipe!
Andrew says
what size can of chickpeas did you use
Vicky says
A 15 ounce can.
Erica says
Is it best served with the sweet potatoes warm or does it not matter? I want to meal prep this for lunch this week so if so, I’ll keep the sweet potatoes seperate to reheat and then toss when ready to eat! Thanks, it looks delicious!
Vicky says
It doesn’t matter – they can be warm or cold.
Ann W says
Extremely flavorful. Love the combination of spices with my two favorite foods: sweet potatoes and chickpeas! It was so easy to pan fry the potatoes. My husband actually had seconds! This will be a staple in our home as we transition to a plant based diet. Can’t wait to try some of the tweaks there have suggested.
Vicky says
Yay! SO happy to hear you both enjoyed the recipe! : ))
Mina says
I cut the cayenne pepper and crushed red pepper in half and it was the perfect hot. I only added 1 tsp of cumin because it’s over powering. Other than that I followed the recipe. I love this stuff.. I could eat it every day..
Vicky says
Thanks for the kind words! Happy to hear you enjoyed my recipe!
Mindy says
I have just bookmarked a bunch of your recipes and can’t decide which ones to make first this week, so I started with this one, which was delicious! I made it for dinner last night and it filled me up quickly. I was missing a little crunch and though avocado would add a nice texture, so I mixed the cold left overs with romaine, cherry tomatoes, avocado and added fresh lemon, garlic and olive oil.
I still have plenty for more lunches this week. I also doubled the sweet potato because I don’t like a lot of chickpeas in each bite.
Thanks for your great recipes!
Vicky says
So happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe!!
grace says
This salad is truly so simple to prepare. Not only is it easy to make it tastes amazing! I add quinoa to this salad and eat it as a whole meal. must try!
Vicky says
So happy to hear you enjoyed my recipe. Great idea to add quinoa to make it even more filling and nutritious!
Nate says
I added chopped kale, cucumber and dill with a little vegan mayo to balance out the boldness of this delicious salad. Spot on
Vicky says
Thanks! Love your additions to the recipe!
Lisa says
This looks fantastic. I bet it is good warm and cold…. that’s my favorite kind. I plan to make some up to bring for lunches at work
Vicky says
Thanks! Yes this totally works as both a warm and cold salad!
Gina says
Looks great!! I cook with cast iron, I struggle with the sweet potatoes sticking and breaking down in general. I know to ensure the pan is hot and there is a layer of cooking fat in the pan.. Have you used cast iron to prepare this? Any tips
Vicky says
I have not used cast iron for this specific recipe but I do frequently cook using cast iron and find as long as there is enough cooking oil in the cast iron pan the food does not stick. So maybe try adding a bit more oil ?
mary says
Hi! If I use fresh chickpeas how much should I use?
Vicky says
1 can has 15 ounces or 1.75 cups of cooked chickpeas
Anna says
I made this for a potluck the other day and a lot of people I was talking with were commenting on this dish, how good it was, not knowing I was the one who brought it. They were all raving about it and asked for the recipe. Absolutely delicious and from now on my go-to dish for potlucks!
Vicky says
Yay so happy to hear that!
Rose Martine says
Looks beautiful and delicious! I do some prep ahead meals but not that many. I think this is very worthwhile and nice to know you always have a meal on hand!
Vicky says
Thanks!
Hannah Flack says
It’s funny cause I think people believe that just cause we’re food bloggers means that we have all of the time in the world to cook dinner. I find myself scrambling every single night! These recipes are awesome and will be a total life-saver!
Vicky says
Right?!