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This lentil chickpea salad makes a hearty lunch for busy days! It cooks up in less than 30 minutes using simple, budget-friendly ingredients. A vegan chickpea salad that’s perfect to carry with you on the go if needed!

completed Vegan Lentil Chickpea Salad plated on a white plate against a white surface

Lentils and chickpeas make a surprisingly tasty combination in this easy vegan salad recipe. A quick and easy tahini sauce makes a tasty topping that brings all the flavors together.

If you love this recipe you might also enjoy this Mediterranean Lentil Salad or this Orzo Chickpea Salad.

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Why This Recipe Works

  • This chickpea lentil salad is a solid base to get creative using a mix and match of veggies and spices.
  • Incredibly quick vegan chickpea salad! It’s ready in just minutes.
  • Great for meal prepping.
  • Tastes great warm or cold making it even more flexible for meals.

What Goes Into This Lentil and Chickpea Salad

This easy salad recipe uses a few pantry staples and fresh veggies. Nothing is too difficult to find and you should be able to gather up what you don’t already have on a quick run to the grocery store.

ingredients for Vegan Lentil Chickpea Salad measured out against a white surface
  • Olive oil: Just a touch to cook the veggies for lentil and chickpea salad.
  • Onion: I prefer cooking with yellow onion in this recipe.
  • Bell pepper: Colored peppers are sweeter than green. Choose a red, orange, or yellow bell pepper for the best flavor.
  • Seasoning: Garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
  • Legumes: We’re using garbanzo beans, AKA chickpeas, and lentils. For the lentils, I recommend using green, brown, or other varieties that hold up well when cooked. Avoid using red or yellow which cook up rather mushy.
  • Spinach: An easy fresh green that makes a tasty addition to this chickpea and lentil salad. You can also use kale, arugula, or other greens. 
  • Tahini: A paste made from sesame seeds that’s great for making a creamy vegan salad dressing.
  • Lemon juice: Use fresh lemon if possible for the best flavor.

How To Make Lentil Chickpea Salad

  • 1) Cook the onions and peppers in a skillet with olive oil over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, or until slightly browned. Add one-quarter teaspoon of garlic powder, salt, and pepper to the cooked veggies.
  • 2) Add the garbanzo beans to the onions and peppers and cook for an additional 4 minutes.
  • 3) Add the spinach and water to the skillet and cover with a lid, cooking until the spinach is wilted. 
  • 4) When it’s ready, add the lentils to the chickpea salad mix. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside.
  • 5) Combine the tahini, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and one-quarter teaspoon of garlic powder in a small bowl. Add the warm water and whisk until smooth.
  • 6) Drizzle the tahini dressing over the chickpea lentil salad and toss everything together. 
  • 7) Enjoy warm or cold!

Expert Tips and FAQs

  • Avoid using red or yellow lentils when making this lentil and chickpea salad. They’re too soft and mushy.
  • Be sure to drain the lentils and chickpeas well so they don’t add liquid to the salad.
  • Store leftovers in the fridge for up to five days. I don’t recommend freezing this salad. Serve it up cold or reheat it in the microwave or a skillet until warm.
Should I use canned lentils or home-cooked lentils?

Either one will work but I highly recommend cooking them at home. You will have more control over the texture. For salads, lentils are best cooked with a little bite left in them. Here’s a guide to lentils for reference.

Is lentil chickpea salad served warm or cold?

The beauty of this recipe is both work great! This makes the dish so much more flexible when it comes to serving it up.

completed Vegan Lentil Chickpea Salad plated on a white plate against a white surface

How to Serve

Really, this lentil chickpea salad is an entire meal in one bowl but here are some ideas for serving if you’re looking for something a bit more substantial.

More Lentil Recipes You’ll Enjoy

Photos by Alfonso Revilla

Vegan Lentil Chickpea Salad

4.99 from 59 votes
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 25 minutes
Servings: 2 servings
This lentil chickpea salad makes a hearty lunch for busy days! It cooks up in less than 30 minutes using simple, budget-friendly ingredients. A vegan chickpea salad that's perfect to carry with you on the go if needed!

Ingredients 

  • 1 Tablespoon of olive oil
  • ¼ cup of diced yellow onion
  • ½ medium red orange or yellow bell pepper, diced
  • ½ teaspoon of garlic powder divided
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 cup of cooked garbanzo beans
  • 1 cup of cooked lentils
  • 2 ½ cups of spinach
  • 1 tablespoon of water
  • 1 ½ Tablespoons of tahini
  • 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice

Instructions 

Salad:

  • In a frying pan over medium heat, pour olive oil and onions and peppers, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until slightly browned. Add ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
  • Next, add garbanzo beans to the onions and peppers and cook for an additional 4 minutes.
  • Once 4 minutes is up, add spinach and water and cover until spinach is wilted.
  • Add the lentils to the chickpea salad mix, add salt and pepper again, and set aside.

Dressing:

  • To prepare tahini drizzle: combine tahini, lemon juice, salt, pepper, ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder, and add warm water and whisk until smooth.
  • Lastly, drizzle tahini over lentil salad and toss together.
  • Enjoy warm or cold!

Notes

  • Avoid using red or yellow lentils when making this lentil and chickpea salad. They’re too soft and mushy.
  • Be sure to drain the lentils and chickpeas well so they don’t add liquid to the salad.
  • Store leftovers in the fridge for up to five days. I don’t recommend freezing this salad. Serve it up cold or reheat it in the microwave or a skillet until warm.

Nutrition

Calories: 337kcalCarbohydrates: 38gProtein: 16gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 0.2mgSodium: 266mgPotassium: 793mgFiber: 13gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 3547IUVitamin C: 18mgCalcium: 108mgIron: 6mg

Disclaimer: Although plantbasedonabudget.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Plantbasedonabudget.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.

Additional Info

Author: Lauren Bossi
Course: Dinner, Salad
Cuisine: American
Method: Stovetop
Diet: Vegan
Tried this recipe?Please tag us at @PlantBasedOnABudget! 🙂
About

Lauren Bossi

My name is Lauren Bossi; I run Track & Field at the University of Hartford in CT. I’ve got a passion for running and plant-based eats. When I’m not wandering around the aisles of the grocery store I enjoy cooking, baking, photography, pun-writing and tag-saling.

More about Lauren Bossi

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Recipe Rating




Comments

  1. 5 stars
    This Vegan Lentil Chickpea Salad was so yum! I’ve been looking for ways to get more beans and veggies into my diet and this is it.

  2. 5 stars
    Love all the flavors in this salad! And I can’t believe how fast it was to make! Definitely a new lunch time fave!