Roasted Chickpea Greek Salad with Lemon-Herb Dressing

Roasted Chickpea Greek Salad with Lemon-Herb Dressing will spice up your salad life.  Crunchy chickpeas with a hint of spice take your favorite Greek flavors and ingredients to the next level.  Toss a handful of chickpeas over a perfectly balanced mix of lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, shallot, feta cheese, and top with the mildly sweet and tangy lemon-herb dressing.  

I recently started a new job, which for me means that I need to figure out how to make packed lunches exciting again.  I’ve talked about the salad rut before, and that my friends is something I did not want to be a part of ever again.  Which is precisely why I present to you this non-rutty Roasted Chickpea Greek Salad with a homemade Lemon-Herb Dressing.

I’ve been dying to try roasted chickpeas for a while now; I had the can just sitting in my cupboard, begging to be opened.  It’s so easy to roast chickpeas so I don’t know what took me so long.  Here it is: rinse the chickpeas off with water, dry between paper towels, roll ’em around in a little bit of olive oil, sprinkle some tasty spices on, throw in oven.  Could it be any easier?

Full disclosure: the whole not wanting to be in a salad rut and chickpeas were not the only reason for this salad.  If you’ve been following along, I went home to Minneapolis and basically ate my way through the city.  On top of that, the BF hopefully comes home soon (yay!), which means that after far too many months of deployment induced emotional eating, I need that salad.

But I love to eat and life is all about balance, so why not make the salad so delicious that you don’t even realize you’re eating healthy?!  Mission accomplished.  I love the crispy chickpeas; they’re like croutons but a million times healthier.  This recipe spices the little guys up with some delicious Greek herbs: oregano, of course, a little parsley, garlic powder (I don’t really know how the Greeks feel about this one, but I love me some garlic), and a dash of paprika to spice things up, cause I like me some spice, too.

Throw in some tomatoes, cucumber, thinly sliced shallot, feta cheese, and some lemon-herb dressing and BAM.  Delicious salad for your lunches, dinners, snacks…anytime, really.  Now the dressing, let me tell you.  Let me tell you how easy it is and that you should never buy store bought dressing again.  Just don’t do it.  Please.  This is so, so simple, it doesn’t have any weird ingredients in it, and it’s cheap!  Now I know I can be pushy sometimes, but can you really argue with that?!

So this dressing… olive oil, lemon, lemon zest, oregano, and maple syrup.  Now that I’ve got you nice and confused, let me explain this maple syrup thing.  I planned on using honey, however, when I went to whip up this dressing I realized I used the last of my honey in some granola I was testing out.  Since I basically live in the middle of no where, there was no way I was just going to drive to the store for honey, let’s be real.  Next best thing?  Maple syrup of course.

Honestly, I was a little nervous to tell y’all that I used maple syrup, but it turned out to be so delicious I had to share.  Your call – maple syrup or honey (see, it’s so easy and you can use whatever you have in your kitchen to make homemade dressing)!  The maple flavor was not overpowering at all, it was just a tinge sweet; overall this lemon-herb dressing is very mild, with a hint of tangy and sweet.  If you’d like a little more ka-pow, I’d recommend adding extra herbs of your choice.  I really wanted the flavor of the chickpeas to stand out, hence the more mild dressing.

Now that I feel like I’ve blabbed on about a salad for far too long, here’s the recipe for you to go fill your healthy soul, you.

Roasted Chickpea Greek Salad with Lemon-Herb Dressing

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• Author: Fork in the Kitchen
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 25 mins
• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings

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Ingredients

ROASTED CHICKPEAS:

• 1 16 oz-can chickpeas/garbanzo beans
• Drizzle of olive oil
• 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• Dash of paprika
• Sea salt
• Pepper

DRESSING:

• Zest of 1/2 lemon
• Lemon, juiced (approximately 1/4 cup)
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey (to taste)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Salt

SALAD:

• 1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
• 1 medium cucumber, diced
• 1/2 – 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2-4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
• 1 small shallot, thinly sliced

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Instructions

ROASTED CHICKPEAS:

1. Pre-heat oven to 400°.
2. Drain and rinse chickpeas. Place on large baking sheet with sides and dry by rolling a paper towel over chickpeas (if the skins come off, either discard or leave; it’s up to you if you want to remove from all chickpeas).
3. Lightly drizzle olive oil over chickpeas.
4. Sprinkle oregano, parsley, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper over chickpeas. Roll chickpeas around the baking sheet until all are coated with olive oil and herbs.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until crispy.

DRESSING:

1. Combine lemon zest, lemon juice, dried oregano, and maple syrup or honey. Slowly pour in the olive oil while whisking. Add salt and adjust ingredients to preferred taste.

SALAD:

1. Toss lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, shallot, feta, chickpeas, and dressing.

Notes

If making this salad for individual portions, do not mix dressing until ready to eat.

Store chickpeas in an airtight container.