This salad is packed with protein and flavor, thanks to pomegranates, clementines, herbed chickpeas and arugula. It's a fantastic vegetarian meal!
When it comes to salad, the philosophy in our house is "Go big or go home". We figure that if you're going to do a salad, then do it right by including lots of add-ins (what we call "goodies"...yeah, I know) and keeping it healthy. I'm thankful that we're finally at the point in life where my two boys actually enjoy eating salads with dinner. That is cause for celebration around here!
I've been working at increasing my stash of vegetarian, and even vegan, recipes for both dinner and lunch. This salad fits in perfectly, with a blast of protein from the chickpeas. The one thing this salad is missing is some whole grains, so I like to serve it alongside some quinoa, farro or brown rice.
My husband and kids are not huge fans of plain chickpeas, though they love them in hummus! Thank goodness for that because I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't feed them hummus for snacks and in sandwiches. For this salad, I dressed up the chickpeas to make them more appealing. A touch of olive oil, along with some herbs did the trick. I had a hard time stopping myself from eating the whole bowl of chickpeas before tossing them in the salad.
Clementines and pomegranates are so darn good right now, and their natural sweetness marries well with the acid of the balsamic vinaigrette. I chose to segment the clementines because I don't love munching on the membranes in a salad, but feel free to do whatever is easier and appeals to you. I promise that segmenting an orange is easy, as long as you have a sharp knife. See my photo tutorial on How to: Segment an Orange (or Other Citrus Fruits). With clementines, there's no need to cut off the ends. Just peel and get to work with your knife.
I ate this for lunch this week, along with some whole wheat crackers and hummus (chickpeas everywhere!), and the mix of protein and carbs held me over to dinnertime without a problem.
Other healthy chickpea recipes:
Cookin' Canuck's Slow Cooker Vegetable Curry with Sweet Potatoes & Chickpeas
Cookin' Canuck's Healthy Mediterranean 7-Layer Dip
The Lemon Bowl's Lebanese Chopped Salad with Chickpeas
Mountain Mama Cooks' Chickpea Puttanesca over Creamy Polenta
Two Peas & Their Pod's Smashed Chickpea & Avocado Salad
Pomegranate, Clementine, Herbed Chickpea & Arugula Salad
Ingredients
The Salad:
- 1 14 ounce. can low-sodium chickpeas, drained & rinsed
- 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground pepper
- 4 cups packed arugula
- 2 clementines cut into segments
- ¼ cup pomegranate arils
- ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese
The Dressing:
- 1 ½ tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon agave nectar
- pinch of salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, stir together the chickpeas, olive oil, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper.
- In a large bowl, toss together the arugula, clementines, pomegranates, feta cheese and herbed chickpeas.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, agave nectar, salt and pepper. Slowly whisk while drizzling in the olive oil.
- Toss the salad with the dressing, divide between 4 plates, and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nikki @ NikSnacks
I need to up my vegetarian and vegan recipes too. I try to do Meatless Mondays and I usually succeed, but this salad looks to be a step in the right direction!
Lydia @ Suitcase Foodist
Love the splash of color - great way to warm up winter.
Nutmeg Nanny
This salad is so beautiful! I eat my weight in pomegranates during the winter....yum!
Kim (Feed Me, Seymour)
This looks amazing! So fresh and bright.