This creamy dill chickpea salad is ridiculously easy to make, so refreshing and very filling. Generously filled with fresh dill and tangy lemon juice, the creamy dressing is so delicious you won't believe it is dairy-free! Can be made ahead and perfect to pack lunches! Vegan and gluten-free.
This bean salad was created back when I was just starting the blog. How little did I know how passionate I was going to be with what was supposed to be a small personal project to share my passion.
Revisiting this recipe made me rethink about my blogging journey so far and I realize how it has helped me stay sane during the COVID pandemic as a mom of 2 young kids.
Along with constantly looking to improve my kitchen skills and the challenges of writing in my second language, this blog was and still is a solid ground to come back to daily. And I am so glad you are part of that!
This chickpea salad is also a good representation of what I am trying to do with this blog: create easy, healthy and delicious recipes that you would not think could be vegan.
In this case, using vegan yogurt allows you to get a creamy base for the dressing without using high-fat ingredients or dairy products. (You can also use any store-bought mayo or use this cashew mayo recipe). Combine the tangy yogurt with zesty lemon juice, fresh dill, pungent garlic, salty capers, sweet maple syrup and bold dijon mustard and you will get a tasty and thick vinaigrette perfect for a refreshing salad.
Why you will love this dill chickpea salad
- Quick and easy
- Healthy
- Easily customizable
- Convenient and using simple ingredients
- Can be made ahead
- Fresh and bright and delicious!
How to make this dill chickpea salad
This salad can be made within 15 minutes (or less if you are good at chopping vegetables!)
Start by combining the dressing ingredients in a bowl.
Then, mix in with canned chickpeas and chopped red peppers, celery and green onions.
Et voilà!
Tips for when making this salad
- I originally made this salad using vegan mayonnaise instead or yogurt. Choose the base of your choice depending on your diet. Or make your own vegan cashew mayo for a wholesome recipe.
- Be careful when choosing the yogurt: make sure it is unsweetened and unflavoured. You do not want your salad to taste like vanilla!
- Also depending on the type of yogurt you get, you might need to adjust the ingredients slightly. For example, I find the cashew yogurt to be more tangy, so if using this type, you might want to start with half the lemon juice and work you way up.
- This recipe makes 2 smallish portions, perfect as a side or a small lunch. Do not hesitate to double the recipe as it stores well in the fridge and makes for perfect lunches-to-go.
How to eat this salad
- This refreshing salad is delicious eaten straight from the bowl. I like to serve mine over a bed of crisp lettuce with a side of bread. Also, try serving it with falafel for a perfect paring.
- It also makes for a great baked potato stuffing! Just like in these lentil stuffed potatoes, batch cook baked potatoes and then stuff them with healthy bean mixture!
- If you want to eat this salad mix inside a classic sandwich using regular bread, I recommend to process the whole mixture in a food processor for a few seconds. This will allow to reach a more uniform texture that will hold better in between 2 slices of bread.
Customize this recipe to your taste
One of the reasons why this salad is so delicious is from the combination of different textures. So if you swap the vegetables, be sure to include some crunchy ones to keep the bites interesting. Other good choices would be cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower or even carrots.
Vegan Tzatziki would also make for a delicious dressing for this salad.
I hope you will love this Vegan creamy chickpea salad recipe as much as we do! If you try it, please leave a comment below and rate the recipe to let us know how it was.
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Dill Chickpea Salad - Creamy and Vegan
Ingredients
- 15 oz canned chickpeas - drained and rinsed
- 1 stalk of celery - diced
- 2 green onions - chopped
- ½ red pepper - diced
For the sauce:
- 2 tbsp fresh dill - chopped
- 1 clove of garlic - crushed
- 1 tbsp capers - roughly chopped
- ¼ cup vegan yogurt (or vegan mayonaise) - unsweetened and unflavored, see note
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice - or to taste
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- salt and pepper - to taste
Instructions
- Mix all the sauce ingredients together in a medium bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
- Keep the leftovers in a air tight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Notes
- You can use any store bought vegan mayo or make your own with this cashew mayo recipe. For a low in fat recipe, then use a plain vegan yogurt (make sure there are no sugar or vanilla extract added).
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I tried this recipe last weekend and it is delicious!! It is so full of flavour and I had most of the ingredients - just had to shop for some fresh dill. My friend visited and she loved it too! Thanks so much for this recipe- it’s a keeper !!
Yes it's a keeper, this salad is so good! Thanks Linda! 🙂
I made the Creamy Dill Chickpea Salad last week and it was yummy. It's great to have something that is good in the fridge for a few days. Keep 'em coming!
Thanks for your comments Jill! This salad sure makes for great leftovers! 🙂
I just made this as I was looking for something fresh tasting during this time. I had to substitute, dill pickles for capers, lime juice for lemon juice, yellow mustard + 1/8 dry for dijon; served it on a bed of greens. It was great!
Yes, this salad is perfect to boost the mood during this quarantining time. I'm glad you liked it!
J’ai fait la recette. Délicieuse salade tel quel, j’ai simplement ajouté des avocats 🥑
À refaire 🙂
Bonne idée pour les avocats!
Linda mandarin introduced me to your chick pea salad and I loved it. Also a tomato based soup. I will try making both.
Oh great! I'm glad you loved it! 🙂 Thank you so much for your comment!
Cette salade est vraiment très bonne ! Parfaite pour nos boîtes à lunch
Oh je suis contente que tu l'aimes! 🙂
Delicious—love the hint of sweetness from the maple syrup. Doubled the celery because I had a lot in the fridge. This recipe is a keeper—thank you for sharing!
Oh great! I'm glad you like it, thanks for sharing 🙂