Chickpea Kale Salad with Creamy Tahini Dressing
A nourishing, refreshing kale and chickpea salad tossed in a creamy tahini dressing. It makes a great side dish or a satisfying meal on its own. Naturally vegan and gluten-free.
5-Stars From Our Readers
“Your chickpea kale salad recipe is so delicious! I will be making this salad recipe again and again!!”
— Sherry
A Note From Kristen
I’ve always loved a salad that feels like a full meal, and this kale tahini salad does exactly that. With dark leafy kale as the base and a super creamy lemon tahini dressing, it’s a beautiful mix of textures and flavors. Fresh, hearty, and satisfying! It also happens to be naturally vegan, gluten-free, nut-free, and soy-free, making it perfect for just about anyone. Whether I’m prepping it ahead for the week or enjoying it right away, this one never disappoints.
~Kristen
Ingredient Notes
Please keep in mind that this is just a quick overview. Visit the full recipe for amounts and instructions!
How to Make Kale Chickpea Salad
- You will start by roasting the chickpeas on a baking sheet in the oven until they are golden and crispy.
- Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, massage the raw kale leaves with oil and salt until tender.
- Add the remaining salad ingredients to the chopped kale and set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk the tahini salad dressing ingredients together until smooth and creamy.
- Add the crunchy chickpeas and the dressing to the salad.
- Toss this tasty salad to combine, serve and enjoy.
Expert Tips
- You can massage the kale as little or as long as you would like to achieve the texture you prefer. Different types of kale take longer than others to tenderize, so you will need to adjust the massage time based on the kind of kale you are using.
- You can make this even more filling and nutritious by adding other ingredients like roasted butternut squash, sweet potato medallions, brown rice, pumpkin seeds, or pomegranate seeds.
- If you are not vegan, a handful of shredded vegetarian parmesan cheese works well in this salad.
Frequently Asked Questions
The longer you massage kale, the less bitter it becomes.
Kale can handle being dressed for a good stretch of time before becoming soggy, compared to most leafy greens. In fact, dressing at least 1 hour prior to serving, ensures more tender leaves.
Kale salad will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
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Chickpea Kale Salad with Tahini Dressing
Ingredients
Crispy Chickpeas
- 1 15-ounce can chickpeas rinsed, drained, patted dry
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
Kale Salad
- 2 heads kale stems removed, chopped
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 bell pepper chopped
- ½ onion any kind, chopped
- 1 carrot shredded or grated
Tahini Dressing
- ¼ cup tahini
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves minced or grated
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon brown mustard or Dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon red chili flakes
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Drain and rinse the canned chickpeas, then pat dry.
- Place the chickpeas on the parchment-lined baking sheet, then add the olive oil and salt. Toss to combine and spread in a single layer.
- Roast the chickpeas for 20 minutes, or until crispy and golden.
- Meanwhile, place the chopped kale, and salt in a large bowl.
- Massage the salt into the kale, using your hands, until the kale softens, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the bell pepper, onion and carrot to the kale. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, add the tahini, lemon juice, garlic, maple syrup, mustard, salt and red chili flakes. Whisk until smooth.
- Slowly add the water to the dressing ingredients, whisking as you go, until a smooth dressing forms.
- Add the roasted chickpeas to the kale salad, then top with the dressing.
- Toss all to combine.
- Serve and enjoy!
AMAZING FLAVORS and textures! Realized I forgot to buy the pepper as I was driving home from the supermarket, then immediately remembered the jar of roasted red peppers I had just opened. Subbed and it was delicious! Second time around…so this is going into my repertoire! Find myself having to add more kale tonight as “2 heads” is difficult to judge, especially when using chopped kale. Any chance you could list the amount you use in weight…or cups? That’d be super helpful. Thanks for this awesome recipe!!!
I am a big, big fan of kale salads, and the addition of the chickpeas for protein here really made it taste amazing!
What a great salad! I’m trying to eat less meat and this salad was hearty and delish!
This is the perfect work lunch! The tahini dressing is amazingly good, and I just love the garlic. I’ll be making this a lot!
I loooove crunchy chick peas and the tahini gave the dressing so much flavor! Terrific salad!
Kale and chickpeas taste surprisingly good together. So healthy too. I loved the dressing here as well especially the zing from mustard. Delicious salad.
Your chickpea kale salad recipe is so delicious! I will be making this salad recipe again and again!!
I made this salad yesterday and was so impressed with it. I love the combination of kale and chickpeas. They are a great taste and texture compliment to each other. Unbelievably easy ti make.
Yum! Love the dressing!
Healthy, super filling and delicious! Loved it and the dressing added such great depth to the salad. Yum.
I love this kale salad, it’s like a big bowl of delicious superfood!
Finally, a recipe that lets me serve chickpeas and kale in a cold dish instead of a cooked. Great recipe!