Chickpea Salad with Beets & Radish

A healthy chickpea salad recipe with beets, celery, radishes, and red onions. It’s gluten-free and a vegan option is provided. A great picnic or BBQ recipe!

Longer days mean it’s time to think about eating outside. There’s something about outdoor dining that makes even the most basic meal feel like an occasion.

Luckily, this healthy chickpea salad is easy to make, and anything but basic. It’s a great alternative to a cold pasta salad for your next barbecue or picnic. I actually made this for a recent bike ride with a picnic stop at the halfway point. It was perfect for the occasion.

Thanks to the chickpeas, it’s packed with healthy protein and is filling enough to be a main dish. Leave out the eggs and it’s safe at room temperature for several hours – great when you’re on the go. 

Another tip for packing a picnic lunch – choose lightweight wood or bamboo dishes for your meal. They look great and you can pack them up in a ziplock bag when you’re done eating and wash them at home – meaning less garbage.

Oh, and looking for a wine to drink with this chickpea salad? Try a light rosé. It’s the perfect outdoor wine.

Recipes notes: This healthy chickpea salad is gluten-free. Leave out the eggs and it’s also vegetarian and vegan. Chickpea salad should last 3-4 days in the fridge and it actually tastes better the second day as the ingredients have time to mellow.

Thanks so much for reading! For more Sweet in your life, you can find me on Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube, or subscribe to receive a weekly email with new posts and musings from me.

Healthy Chickpea Salad with Golden Beets & Radish

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A healthy chickpea salad recipe with beets, celery, radishes, and red onions. It’s gluten free and a vegan option is provided. Makes a great picnic or BBQ recipe!

• Author: Kelly Egan - A Side of Sweet
• Prep Time: 45 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 min
• Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings 1x
• Category: Main Dish
• Method: Stove
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

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Chickpea salad ingredients:

• 1 pound golden beets, peeled
• 1 head celery (about 8 stalks)
• 8 radishes, thinly sliced.
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cups (16 ounces) dried chickpeas, soaked and cooked or 4 cans of chickpeas
• 2 cups micro greens or arugula
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 4 hard-boiled eggs, sliced (optional)

Special equipment:

• Food Processor or Mandoline Slicer

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Instructions

Boil the beets:

1. Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil. Add beets and cook for 30-45 minutes, until fork tender. Remove from water, let cool until safe to handle and slice.

Make chickpea salad:

1. Thinly slice the celery, radishes, and red onion. Make this easier by using a mandoline slicer or the blade attachment of a food processor.
2. Add the beets, celery, chickpeas, red onion, microgreens, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper to a large bowl and toss to combine. Let rest about 30 minutes before eating to let the flavors mellow. Serve with hard-boiled egg (optional)

Notes

This healthy chickpea salad is gluten-free. Leave out the eggs and it’s also vegetarian and vegan. Chickpea salad should last 3-4 days in the fridge and it actually tastes better the second day as the ingredients have time to mellow.