Mashed Chickpea Tabouleh Salad
Ready in about 10 minutes, this vegan mashed chickpea tabouleh salad makes the perfect quick and easy meal. Mash up the chickpeas, chop a few veggies, mix with tahini and lemon and you’re all set for a healthy plant-based meal.
Why Make this Recipe
- quick and easy – this recipe is ready in just 10 minutes!
- allergy-friendly – can’t do grains, gluten, nuts or dairy, this is the salad for you!
- high in protein and fiber – chickpeas, hemp seeds and tahini add protein and fiber, making it a balanced meal
- versatile – enjoy on its own or add to pitas and buddha bowls
What You’ll Need
- Chickpeas. Use 1 15 oz can of chickpeas, which is about 1.5 cups. You can use a bit more or less, this recipe doesn’t have to be exact!
- Hemp seeds. Look for raw hemp seeds, sometimes called hemp hearts. They’re available in well-stocked grocery stores, health foods stores or online and are super nutritious!
- Veggies. You’ll need fresh tomato, red bell pepper and red onion.
- Herbs. You’ll need fresh parsley and garlic. Mint makes a nice addition too!
- Lemon. Fresh lemon is best but lemon concentrate will do in a pinch.
- Tahini. Tahini is a delicious paste made from sesame seeds. It’s readily available in grocery stores or can be found in Middle Eastern or Mediterranean specialty stores, or online.
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1. Mash the chickpeas and mix with the hemp seeds. You can do this in a bowl using a fork, potato masher or immersion blender or pulsing them in a food processor for a few seconds. Mix the hemp seeds into the mashed chickpeas.
Step 2. Chop and add the veggies. You’ll need bell pepper, red onion, parsley, tomato and garlic. Chop them all up, add them to the chickpeas and hemp seeds and mix it all up.
Step 3. Add the lemon and tahini. Finally, mix in the tahini and lemon then season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix it all up and enjoy!
Related Recipes
Loving this chickpea salad? Here are some more healthy salads to enjoy:
- Chickpea Shawarma Salad
- BBQ Chickpea Salad
- Thai Chopped Salad with Tofu
- Lentil Kale Salad with Broccoli
- Mediterranean Orzo Salad
This recipe can also be used in my cauliflower quinoa tabouleh bowls instead of the quinoa salad.
Did you try this recipe?
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I’d love to hear about it! Click here to leave a review and be sure to tag me @runningonrealfood if you post it on social media.
Mashed Chickpea Tabouleh Salad
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 4
- Category: Entree, Side
- Cuisine: Vegan
Description
This wonderfully light and fresh chickpea salad is a take on traditional couscous tabouleh. Serve as a light side salad, main dish or in a pita or wrap with hummus and falafel.
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups cooked chickpeas (approx. 1 15 oz can)
- 2/3 cup hemp seeds
- 1 large or 2 small diced tomatoes (approx. 1 cup)
- 1/2 diced red onion (approx. 1 cup)
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup finely chopped parsley
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- sea salt to taste
Instructions
- Place the chickpeas in a large bowl and use a masher or fork to mash into small pieces. Alternatively, make quick work of it and pulse them a few times in a food processor or blender.
- Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl and mix well.
Keywords: grain-free, gluten-free, oil-free, spring, light, easy, quick
This post was originally published on September 16, 2016. It was updated February 2020 with new photos and text.
I know this is vegan plant based …. but my bad, this salad is exceptional with some diced grilled chicken. Really enjoyed it packed into a pita for lunch, also used as a side salad with dinner …. love all your chickpea recipes. thank you……
We love all eaters here, no worries! I’m glad you enjoyed the salad and thanks for letting me know!
I made this yesterday, it’s delicious. Thanks for sharing
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I heart this salad!! I made it, adding 3 c finely diced spinach and a couple diced persian cucumbers (to make it feed my family of 4 bigger portions). SO good! Although, one MUST love parsley to enjoy it haha
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Just made this! YUM! Added cucumber and fine diced spinach and lots of pepper. SO good! Using this for our lunch wraps today.
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Amazing! So glad you enjoyed it.
So delicious on pita with hummus! Loved this so much!
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This is delicious! I’ve made it 3 times in the span of two weeks, because it is such a hit. The first time, I followed the recipe. The next two times, I didn’t have parsley or peppers so improvised on the veggies, using whatever I had — kale, basil, dill, cucumbers, etc., probably using a lot more veggies than the recipe called for –and it was still delicious. Once I didn’t use any garlic but used a lot of scallions. It’s been great every time, and it keeps well, too. Thanks for a great recipe!
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That’s awesome, yay for more veggies! So glad you enjoy it, I really appreciate your review!
Delicious! Such a great healthy lunch option. I added kale to the food processor with the chickpeas for a little extra green and it was perfect.
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Sounds great with kale! Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for much for the review!
Love this recipe! Added an extra garlic, because I love garlic. This has become our weekly lunch. I make it up Monday morning and my husband and I are able to enjoy for the rest of the week. Thank you Deryn!!!
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Omg, Deryn, the mashed chickpea tabouleh salad is really amazing. The way you took the pictures is also amazing. I will try my hands on it asap for sure. I am a huge fan of salads. Thanks a lot for sharing this amazing recipe with all of us. Regards
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Loved this Deryn and especially with the hemp seeds. First time I have used them! Just cut down on the number of garlic cloves, mine were huge so felt 4 might overpower everything!
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This was delicious!! I didn’t have parsley so I substituted basil and mint! So yummy
What would you reccomend as a substitute for hemp seeds? Ground flax perhaps?? Thanks!
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I wouldn’t recommend ground flax in this recipe. You could use couscous or quinoa and make a more traditional tabouleh, or maybe do a mix of chopped sunflower seeds and a grain.
I followed this recipe but added about a cup of cooked couscous and about 3 cups of cooked kale (to hearty it up and spread it further) in order to eat it for lunch all week. I packed it in a container with half of a baked sweet potato and it made 8 great lunches for my partner and I.
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Wonderful!! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Sounds great with the added couscous and kale!
This is a great idea. I love chick peas. I did a little slap-dash to it (to my taste) but all-in-all a wonderful idea! Thank You!
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I have a bunch of hemp seeds to use up! This looks like the perfect recipe to use them in.
I’m so excited I found your blog Kara. I found it through a link on Tarah’s blog and now I’m adding you to my blog roll. Your work is BEAUTIFUL! Very inpasritional, I can’t stop looking at your pictures. Congrats on the cover too!Ella