This vegan blueberry chickpea salad is the perfect fit for warm summer nights when you’re craving something light for dinner. It’s quick and easy to make with just a few ingredients and is sure to be a new favourite!

Overhead view of a colourful salad with greens, cabbage and blueberries.

Features

  • This sweet and tart salad features fresh blueberries, red cabbage, greens, chickpeas, hemp seeds, cranberries and an easy tahini maple dressing.
  • Dietary Features: Vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, nut-free.
  • Ready in 10 minutes!
  • High in protein and fiber for a healthy main dish but makes a nice, light side salad too.
  • Pair it with my sweet potato black bean burger or quinoa beet burger for the perfect summer meal!

Ingredient Notes

Complete list of ingredients with amounts and full instructions is located in the recipe card below. This section covers ingredient and substitution considerations.

Visual list of ingredients for making a blueberry chickpea salad recipe.
  • Tahini: The dressing is made with tahini, lemon and a bit of maple syrup. Good tahini makes a big difference here! It should be very smooth and creamy, almost pourable, with a slightly sweet taste and it should not be overly bitter. I like Soom and Arz Fine Foods.
  • Maple Syrup: The dressing calls for sweetener to balance the lemon juice and add a subtle sweetness that works well with the blueberries, however, if you’d like the recipe to be sugar-free, you can omit the maple syrup. I will also include some alternative dressing recipes below.
  • Greens: Any greens work. You can use finely chopped and massaged kale, spinach, arugula, romaine or any mixed leafy greens.
  • Cabbage: The recipe calls for red cabbage but green cabbage would also work.
  • Cranberries: For a lower-sugar recipe, these can be omitted. Substitutions include raisins or chopped dried apricots or dates.
  • Hemp Seeds: These add texture, healthy fats and a little protein. You can leave them out or swap them for walnuts, slivered almonds, sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds.
  • Chickpeas: Canned chickpeas work, just give them a good rinse before use.
  • Blueberries: You’ll need fresh blueberries for this recipe. Blackberries or sliced peaches would also be good!

How to Make this Salad

This salad is super easy to make in just a few minutes! There’s no cooking involved. All you need to do is whisk together the dressing, chop the cabbage and assemble the salad.

  • Creamy tahini in a bowl.
  • Colourful salad with greens, cabbage and blueberries. Small dish of blueberries in background.

Variations

  • swap the hemp seeds for walnuts to make a blueberry walnut salad
  • swap the mixed salad greens for baby spinach to make a spinach blueberry salad
  • use raisins or chopped dates in place of the cranberries
  • use fresh sliced strawberries or raspberries instead of blueberries or combine them, a strawberry blueberry salad would be amazing!
  • try it with miso tahini dressing, balsamic vinaigrette or maple dijon dressing
Close up overhead view of a colourful salad with greens, cabbage and blueberries.

Storing

  • The salad without the dressing can be assembled ahead of time and stored in the fridge for 1-2 days.
  • After dressing has been added, it’s best enjoyed fresh.
  • The tahini maple dressing will keep for up to 1 week in the fridge. The dressing may separate a bit after storing or thicken considerably. If so, just give it a good stir and thin with a little water if needed.
Forkful of blueberry chickpea salad.

This salad is filling enough for a light main dish but can also be served as a side with these sweet potato black bean burgers or beet burgers. For a perfect summery meal, try my vegan blackberry crumble for dessert!

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Overhead view of a colourful salad with greens, cabbage and blueberries.

Summer Chickpea Blueberry Salad

  • Author: Deryn Macey
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 0 mins
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Salad
  • Cuisine: Vegan
  • Diet: Vegan

Sweet, tart, crispy and tangy, this delicious salad is full of flavour, texture and nutrition. It’s high in fibre and protein and makes the perfect light summer meal that’s easy to make, no cooking required!

★★★★★

5 from 7 reviews
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Ingredients

For the Tahini Maple Dressing

For the Chickpea Salad

  • 8 heaping cups of mixed salad greens, arugula or spinach (2 cups per salad)
  • 4 cups very finely sliced red cabbage (1 cup per salad, use a mandoline if you have one)
  • 1 cup dried cranberries (1/4 cup per salad, or raisins or chopped dates)
  • 12 tbsp hemp seeds (3 tbsp per salad, or other nut or seed of choice such as pepitas, walnuts or raw sunflower seeds)
  • 19 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (1/2 cup per salad)
  • 2 cups fresh blueberries (1/2 cup per salad)

Instructions

  1. To make the tahini maple dressing, whisk all the ingredients together until smooth. Start with 3 tbsp water and slowly as needed until it’s thick and creamy but pourable.
  2. I like to make this salad as individual servings but you can also make it in one large mixing then divide it between 4-6 servings. To make as individual portions, start with bed of 2 cups of greens in each bowl. Top each with equal amounts of the rest of the ingredients.
  3. Top each with a generous drizzle of the tahini maple dressing.
  4. Serve and enjoy!

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1
  • Calories: 388
  • Fat: 16 g
  • Carbohydrates: 54 g
  • Fiber: 16 g
  • Protein: 19 g

Keywords: blueberry chickpea salad, blueberry salad

Originally published August 22, 2018.