Roasted Chickpea Kale Salad

I’m sure many of you have either bought roasted chickpeas or made your own at home. Roasted chickpeas are very easy to make and they make a delicious, healthy snack you can enjoy any time. As for kale salad, it’s a staple at my house and in the warmer months I eat it couple times a week when I want something light and fresh. Raw kale can be a bit intense, so to soften it up and reduce the bitterness before in this salad, I massaged it with a little olive oil and fresh lemon juice. This Roasted Chickpea Kale Salad combines some of my favourite ingredients and there’s a good chance they’re on your list too. How about avocado, roasted chickpeas, sunflower seeds, roasted sweet potato and tahini? Yep, sounds pretty amazing, doesn’t it?

How to Make Roasted Chickpeas

The best thing about roasted chickpeas is you can make them with countless different flavourings for a different result every time. You can make them sweet. savoury, spicy or my personal favourite, sweet and salty.

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Use Canned Or Cook Your Own

They’re also incredibly easy to make. You can use canned chickpeas or cook your own. I sometimes cook a big batch of chickpeas as part of my weekly food prep but more often than not, I used canned chickpeas for their convenience. When choosing canned chickpeas you want to look for one with a BPA-free lined can. I like Eden Foods Garbanzo Beans which I can usually find on sale at my local natural food store.

Important: Dry The Chickpeas Off

Before roasting, you’ll want to drain the chickpeas and give them a good rinse. Then, and more importantly, you’ll want ot use a paper towel or dish cloth to dry them off as much as possible. Some of the skins will come off when you’re drying htem but no matter, just pick them out or leave them as they crisp up nicely when roasting. I don’t take the time to remove all the skins from my chickpeas and I don’t think it’s necessary to do so.

Place on Baking Sheet

Afte ryou’ve dried thte chickpeas off, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silione baking mat. I love my silicone baking mats because they last forever and they’re re-usable so you don’t have ot keep buying parchment paper. You can grab them on Amazon for under $20 for a pair of them. They’re a must-have for my kitchen and I recommnend grabing some to use for everything from these chickepas to the roasted sweet potato, to baking and more.

Add Oil and Spices

Ok, so you’ve got your dried chickpeas spread out on a baking pan. Now add 1/2 tsp of olive or avocado oil per 19 oz. can of chickpeas (about 2 cups). Next add your spices! There are countless ways you can spice your roasted chickpeas. A simple go-to is sea salt and black pepper. For this recipe, I used garlic powder, sea salt and black pepper. I’ve listed more ideas below for flavouring roasted chickpeas, there is really no wrong way to go, so feel free to experiment.

NOTE ON USING OIL: If you prefer, you can make roasted chickpeas without oil however using a small amount of olive, coconut or avocado oil will result in a crispier chickpea. I’ve seen recipes use up to 2 tablespoons of oil per 2 cups but I find that to be too much. Most recipes will call for about a tablespoon of oil but I still find that to be more than necessary. I only use about 1/2 a tsp of olive per 19 oz. can and I like the result I get with that amount.

Spice Combinations for Roasted Chickpeas

• Chili Roasted Chickpeas: chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, salt
• BBQ Roasted Chickpeas: cumin, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, salt, pepper and a drizzle of maple syrup or pinch of coconut sugar
• Ranch Roasted Chickpeas: garlic powder, onion powder, dried dill, dried parsley, salt
• Curried Roasted Chickpeas: curry powder, salt
• Turmeric Roasted Chickpeas: turmeric, black pepper, salt
• Cinnamon Roasted Chickpeas: cinnamon, optional sugar or maple syrup
• Spicy Roasted Chickpeas: cayenne, salt and pepper
• Cheesy Roasted Chickpeas: garlic powder, onion powder, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper.

As you can see, any flavour combination you can think of will work for roasted chickpeas. If they can put it on a chip, you can put it on roasted chickpeas.

Roasted Chickpea Kale Salad

So, what else we got goin’ on in this roasted chickpea salad? Well, I decided to go with:

• roasted sweet potato: easy, peasy, these can cook while the chickpeas cook
• sunflower seeds: healthy fats and a bit of crunch
• avocado: healthy fats and delicious, creamy texture
• massaged kale: the base of the salad, massage the raw kale with olive and lemon juice to soften and reduce bitterness
• lemon tahini sauce: quick and easy tahini sauce made by mixing tahini with lemon, apple cider vinegar, water and sea salt

That’s it! It’s a fairly simply salad made with everyday, whole food ingredients and after you slather it all with tahini lemon sauce, you’ll be in roasted chickpea kale salad heaven.

Lemon Tahini Sauce on Everything

To make the tahini stretch a little further, I thinned it with lemon, apple cider vinegar, water and sea salt. If you don’t feel like mixing up a dressing, you can just drizzle the tahini right over your salad and dig in.

I wanted this salad to be extra creamy so I mixed the tahini with tangy ingredients like lemon, vinegar and sea salt. This way you get an amped up version of tahini that goes perfectly with the rest of the ingredients and you’ll have enough for an extra creamy, saucy salad.

I love the combination of tahini, lemon and hot sauce, so I also added a good drizzle of hot sauce to mine. If you’re pinched for time, instead of mixing up the lemon tahini sauce, top your salad with a drizzle of tahini, hot sauce, lemon, sea salt, black pepper and just dig in.

Massage the Kale First

Raw kale can be a little rough, intense and bitter. I recommend massaging the kale with a tiny drizzle of olive oil, spritz of fresh lemon juice and pinch of sea salt before using. Make sure you tear the kale leaves away from the thick stems as those can be very hard to digest. I use my hands to tear the kale off the stems then rip it up into bite-size pieces. You can also use a knife to chop it up.

After you’ve torn or chopped the kale up, add a quick drizzle of olive or avocado oil, give it a good spritz of fresh lemon juice and pinch of sea slat and then use your hands to work it all in so each piece of kale gets coated. Set aside for 5 or 10 minutes to allow the kale to soften.

Kale is a nutritional powerhouse and packed with so much goodness including calcium and vitamin C. If you want to try more kale recipes, check out these flavour explosions:

• Tofu Kale Salad with Coconut Peanut Dressing
• Buffalo Cauliflower Kale Salad
• Healthy Kale and Cauliflower Soup
• Lentil Sweet Potato Stew with Kale

Roasted Chickpea Kale Salad: Recipe Notes

The recipe will make enough chickpeas and sweet potato for about 4 salads, adjust the rest of the ingredients accordingly for how ever many you’re serving. The sauce recipe makes enough dressing for one large salad, double or triple as needed.

I did not give exact amounts for the salad ingredients. To make one large salad I used a few big handfuls of kale, 1/4 of an avocado, a few tablespoons of sunflower seeds, 1/4 of the chickpeas and about 1/4 of the sweet potato. You can store any extra chickpeas in an air-tight container and any extra sweet potato in the fridge to enjoy later. I hope the recipe all makes sense, please let know if you have any questions as I’m not super exact with salad recipes. You can add any other veggies you want, you can replace the sunflower seeds with another nut or seed if you prefer, or even use a different dressing.

Like many Running on Real Food dishes, this recipe is more of a guideline to inspire you to get creative and have some fun in the kitchen. Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram and use #runningonrealfood so I can check out your creations, it seriously makes my day every single time.

Alright, guys. Let’s get into this salad. I very much hope you enjoy it.

Roasted Chickpea Kale Salad

★★★★★

5 from 5 reviews

This Roasted Chickpea Kale Salad features sweet potato, avocado, sunflower seeds and lemon tahini sauce. It’s easy to make as you can roast the chickpeas and sweet potato all at once while you prep the rest of the salad. It’s creamy, flavourful, has all the texture you could ask for and it’s absolutely packed with nutrition.

• Author: Deryn Macey

Ingredients

For the Roasted Chickpeas

• 1 19 oz can chickpeas, rinsed, drained and dried
• 1/2 tsp olive or avocado oil
• generous sprinkling of garlic powder, sea salt and black pepper

For the Roasted Sweet Potato

• 1 medium-sized sweet potato
• 1 tsp olive or avocado oil

For the Lemon Tahini Sauce

• 2 tbsp tahini
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• water to reach disired consistency
• 1/2 tsp sea salt or to taste

For the Kale Salad

• kale, a few handfuls per person, torn from stems and chopped or torn into bite-sized pieces
• sunflower seeds, a few tablespoons per person
• avocado, 1/4 per person
• optional, hot sauce, lemon, sea salt and pepper for topping

Instructions

To Make the Roasted Chickpeas

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Use a paper towel or cloth to blot the chickpeas dry.
3. Place on a parchment or silicone baking mat-lined baking sheet.
4. Drizzle with the oil then sprinkle with garlic powder, salt and pepper then roll them around until they’re all coated.
5. Roast for 30-40 minutes, shaking the pan after 20 minutes, until crisped and light browned,

To Make the Roasted Sweet Potato

1. Cut sweet potato into desired pieces. I cut mine into rounds.
2. Toss in a bowl with the oil until well coated.
3. Place on a parchment or silicone baking mat-lined baking sheet.
4. Roast in the oven for 25-40 minutes (will depend on size you cut them), flipping half way through, until tender and starting to brown.

To Make the Lemon Tahini Sauce

1. Add the tahini, lemon and vinegar to a small dish and stir vigorously to combine. It may seize up a bit but it will smooth out once you add water.
2. Slowly add water, 1 tsp at a time until you reach desired consistency.
3. Add salt, to taste.

To Assemble the Kale Salad

1. While the chickpeas and sweet potato is cooking, prep the kale then massage it with a tiny drizzle of olive oil, lemon and sea salt. Use your hands to work it until each piece is coated. Let sit for 10 minutes or so to allow it to soften.
2. Top with sunflower seeds and avocado.
3. Add the chickpeas and sweet potato once they’re ready.
4. Drizzle it all with the lemon tahini sauce and if desired, hot sauce, more lemon and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.