Spring and Summer Recipes, vegetables and salad

Chickpea Salad with Honey-Lime Vinaigrette

13 comments I may earn money from products/companies mentioned in this post. This post may contain affiliate links. I may earn a small commission, at no extra charge to you, when you shop through my links. You're support is greatly appreciated!

Chilled salads are some of my favorite summertime dishes to make. It seems like each summer season I find a new favorite… and I make it at least one million times between June and August. 


This simple chickpea salad is the leading favorite, so far, for summer 2016. I’ve not made it one million times just yet, but I’ve only just perfected the recipe!  I’ve paired this dish up with simple baked chicken and lime-cilantro shrimp and it was a wonderful compliment to both dishes.
Lately, chickpeas and fresh rosemary have found special places in my heart and I’ve been using both ingredients, respectively, a whole lot. So, if you are a fan of either ingredient or both, you may be happy to know that more recipes with both of those fixings are in the works!
This salad has all the best features of several of my favorite dishes: it’s light, healthy and it takes very little time to put it together! However, if you wanted to take a short-cut and use bottled dressing instead of making your own, a quality balsamic vinaigrette would make a good substitution.
And, now that I’m thinking about it, another delicious add-in would be some diced cucumber.
The chilling time recommended for this easy side dish isn’t absolutely necessary before serving, but it sure does allow the flavors in this salad to come together and stand-out. So, do make it ahead of time when you can.

As for myself and my family, we’ve been catching up on some much needed time together now that Evan is back from overseas! He was gone for a grand total of eight months, so he basically needed training to get up to speed with this crazy crew. And, I might have redecorated while he was away (just a little bit), so he needed a tour of the house too. 

Now that the grill-master of the house is home, you can bet your buttons I’ll be serving this chickpea salad with all the barbecue he’ll be serving up this weekend too. 

In July, we are taking our first big vacation together in years, so we are looking forward to that. I’ll leave you in suspense over our destination, though. Just know that we can hardly wait! 
Picture I posted recently on my Instagram feed. I paired this salad up with some lime-cilantro shrimp πŸ™‚

This dish was inspired by recipe by a Rachel Ray recipe.


Chickpea Salad with Honey-Lime Vinaigrette    printable recipe

  • 2 cans (15 oz) chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed (remove any bean shells that come loose as you rinse them off. Just makes the salad prettier!)
  • 3/4 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced into halves or or thirds (I tend to use them in thirds)
  • 2 medium stalks of celery, finely chopped
  • 1/2 of a large red bell pepper, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
  • 2 medium springs of fresh rosemary, leaves removed from the stems and coarsely chopped.
  • salt and pepper
1. Prepare the vinaigrette (recipe follows) and set it aside.

2. Combine all of the salad ingredients in a large bowl, lightly coat with salt and pepper. Mix well.

3. Pour the honey-lime vinaigrette over the chickpea salad. Allow to chill for at least 2 hours before serving. 

4. Enjoy!
Honey Lime-Vinaigrette     
                                        
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (or other oil, like canola)
  • juice of two medium limes
  • 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 clove of garlic, finely minced (optional) 
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon black pepper (freshly cracked pepper alway adds lots of extra umphh!)
1. Place all ingredients in a shaker bottle and shake until well combined. No shaker bottle? Place all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk or stir vigorously until the dressing is well-combined. 

Other chilled salad recipes you might enjoy are: 
Lightened Up Broccoli 
Marinated Cherry Tomato Salad

All are perfect for a summer barbecue supper!

13 Comments

  1. Delicious and healthy! I love salads like this that could easily turn into a meal by themselves. The vinaigrette sounds perfect.

  2. Dear Marcelle, this sounds like a wonderful and family-friendly recipe – with tons of healthy ingredients! Great flavor profile!
    Hope you and your family are spending a wonderful summer!
    Andrea

  3. I love pulses/legumes in summer salads! So much flavor, and I love their texture. Chickpeas are wonderful, aren't they? And perfect in this salad. Thanks!

  4. This salad and vinaigrette pairing sound lovely! Perfect for my lunches this week!

  5. I love cold summer salads too. You are absolutely right, it takes no time to put together a few seasonal ingredients to make a delicious salad. Love the focus on chickpeas in your summer salad with the honey-lime vinaigrette. Beautiful.

    Velva

  6. Hi Grace, thank you! We definitely enjoy our chilled salads during these brutal summer months!

  7. glad you're all together for a bit! i love cold salads too, especially with chickpeas. nothing has a texture quite like those little guys! πŸ™‚

  8. Hi Beth, it really is wonderful to have everyone home (finally!) Thank you πŸ™‚

  9. Your salad looks delicious. So nice to have the whole family together again!

  10. Hi David! The shrimp is a simple dish too! Thank you πŸ™‚

  11. Simple real food..exactly my kind of salad!

  12. I love chickpea salads. They make a perfect meal, even by themselves, although I wouldn't say no to that shrimp!

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*