This healthy chickpea salad recipe is full of flavor from fresh citrus and a bright lemon herb dressing. Eat it on its own or serve it on a bed of greens. Thank you for Sunkist for helping me to share this recipe with you.
When it comes to choosing between sweet and savory, savory garners my vote every single time. The good news? It makes cutting back on sugar pretty easy. The bad news? I love salt in my savory dishes. Maybe a little too much. If there's soy sauce involved, I'm game! Considering that high sodium intake is linked to health risks such as stroke, heart failure and kidney disease, I know I need to keep an eye on this.
But when salt helps to enhance the flavors of the other ingredients, how do you cut back on it without sacrificing flavor? That's where our Healthy New Year Week 4 challenge comes in to play.
To recap, in Week 1 Liz and I focused on Boosting Protein at Breakfast to Fuel Your Day, in Week 2 we added in the challenge of Go Ethnic at Dinner and in Week 3 we challenged you to Try a New Lean Protein.
THIS WEEK'S GOAL IS...
REDUCE SODIUM WITH CITRUS
There are plenty of ways to use lemon to enhance your cooking. Lemon zest can be added before or during cooking, like in this Roasted Shrimp recipe, while lemon juice can be used to finish after cooking. If you want to keep some lemon juice on hand for adding to dressing, sauces or marinades, just follow my tips on How to Store (Freeze) Lemon Juice.
So, how exactly do you use lemon zest and juice to replace some of the salt in your cooking? It turns out that Sunkist has done the homework for us, coming up with pairings for everything from vegetables and seafood to grains and soups. Their S'alternative method translates to servings with less than 500 mg of sodium. I know that I'll be referring to this handy chart when adding zest and juice!
Chickpea & Citrus Salad
There are so many types of citrus in season right now, so I couldn't resist grabbing some Minneola tangelos at the store to mix in with the chickpeas. If you can't find tangelos, feel free to substitute navel oranges. Along with the lemon zest and lemon juice in the dressing, the citrus adds a bright, refreshing flavor that is always welcome in the middle of winter!
To help reduce the sodium in this high-protein salad, I started with canned chickpeas with no salt added, and mixed in some lemon zest with the tangelos and chickpeas. Lemon juice, olive oil and juice from the tangelos make up the base of the dressing, and the flavor is punched up with ground cumin, and fresh mint and basil.
Be sure to check out Liz's Thai Beef Satay Skewers with Peanut Dipping Sauce for another way to use lemon juice to help reduce sodium intake. I may need to make these for the big game day coming up!
A challenge is always so much more fun, and dare we say easier, when you have challenge buddies to keep you motivated and exchange ideas with. Liz and I are excited to share ideas with all of you in our Facebook group, and on Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #HealthyNewYear. Be sure to tag Liz (@thelemonbowl) and me (@cookincanuck) on Instagram when you post a #HealthyNewYear photo, and feel free to share your photos, ideas and questions in the Facebook group. It's not too late to join!
Printable Recipe
Citrus & Chickpea Salad Recipe with Lemon Herb Dressing
Ingredients
- 3 Minneola tangelos can substitute navel oranges
- 2 14 ounce each cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley
The Dressing:
- 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup tangelo juice from tangelos above
- 2 tablespoon fresh Sunkist lemon juice
- ¾ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon agave nectar
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh mint leaves
- 2 tablespoons thinly sliced basil leaves
Instructions
- Cut off the peels of the tangelos and cut the segments away from the membranes (see How to Segment Citrus Fruits). Work over a bowl so that all of the juices are captured. Squeeze the extra juice out of the remaining membranes.
- Place the tangelo segments in a bowl, and mix with the chickpeas, lemon zest and parsley.
- Toss with the dressing. Serve.
The Dressing:
- In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, tangelo juice, lemon juice, cumin, agave nectar, pepper and salt. Stir in the mint and basil.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Sunkist as part of the Healthy New Year Challenge. All opinions are my own.This post contains links to my Amazon affiliate page. Any revenue made from sales through these links helps to support this blog. Thank you!
susan
I'll be honest, I had no idea citrus was a way to reduce sodium in recipes. I use it to brighten up a dish and because I love it so much but had no clue otherwise. Like you, I like my salt and I salt like a chef too! Such a great infographic and this salad is just lovely.
Cathy Trochelman
I love chickpeas and I'm dying over this delicious savory sweet citrus dressing!
Patricia @ Grab a Plate
Love, love, love this salad! I'm so excited to try it - particularly since I have lemons and oranges on my trees out back right now 🙂 I'm really happy to see Sunkist graphic - love great info! Thanks for sharing!
Erin @ Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts
I love all the citrus in this dressing! I stocked up on citrus today at the store, so I see this salad in our future!
Justine | Cooking and Beer
I love chickpeas in salads. They are perfect any time of year! Adoring the citrus in this recipe!
Sharon @ What The Fork Food Blog
I love citrus in savory dishes, it adds such great bright flavor <3
Nicole
I love using fresh citrus to brighten up dishes. It really does do a great job as a salt replacement.
Aggie @ Aggie's Kitchen
I'm such a savory girl too! Citrus in savory dishes like this is such a winner - love that you used chickpeas, what a unique and delicious recipe Dara! I want it for lunch 🙂
Liz @ The Lemon Bowl
I love the smoky cumin and bright citrus in this!! My kids eat chickpeas as snacks all the time - they would love this!!
Jamielyn@iheartnaptime
These flavors look amazing together! Cannot wait to try this!