This lemony chickpea quinoa salad is a hearty salad. I grow fresh mint, parsley, basil and thyme in my garden, to making this recipe is a lot easier with the fresh herbs on hand.
Lemony Chickpea Quinoa Salad
This recipe uses fresh herbs from the garden and is a one-dish meal.
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 380kcal
Cost: 10
Equipment
- 1 medium saucepan
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa rinsed
- 1 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 2 cups broth vegetable or chicken
- 1 19 oz can chick peas rinsed. can use 14 oz can if 19 oz not available
- 1 cup green peas frozen, thawed or warmed
- 2 tbsp fresh mint chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh basil chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
- 1 tsp fresh thyme stripped from stem
- 1 lemon juiced
- 2 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place the rinsed and still wet quinoa in the sauce pan with 1 tbsp olive oil. Heat on medium, stirring, to allow water to evaporate and until you see a few white tails appear on the quinoa
- Add 2 cups of broth, cover and bring to a boil. Once boiled, turn burner off, keep lid on and allow pot to sit on stove until quinoa is fully and broth is absorbed - about 15 minutes.
- Once quinoa is done, add to a serving bowl along with chickpeas, green peas, and fresh herbs.
- In a small bowl wise lemon juice and olive oil and salt and pepper, then apply to salad and stir.
- I like a lot of fresh herbs, but if you prefer, you can start with less and taste it. I've also added fresh chives when I have them in my garden.
- Optional - this salad is great with additional protein like 1 cup edamame, 1 cup diced roasted chicken or cubed Italian sausage
Notes
Because of the fresh herbs and the fresh lemon juice, this hearty salad tastes very summery and is great on a hot day. Refrigerate any remaining salad and continue to enjoy for 3 days.
This salad has quinoa, chickpeas and green peas - three high protein ingredients and you may find you like it as a one-dish meal, but it can also work as a side-dish, in which case, you will have more than 4 servings.
If you want to amp up the protein even higher and have some, sausage, chicken, tofu or other protein, then simply add it to boost the protein content.
What makes this recipe so healthy?
Quinoa – is one of the few plants that is a complete protein
Chickpea – 1 cup of chickpeas contains 12 grams of protein
Fresh herbs – the herbs are good sources of beneficial plant phytonutrients
Lemon – rich in vitamin C and plant phytonutrients
Olive oil – rich in oleic acid, an anti-inflammatory fatty acid
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