Category: salads

This is my favorite chickpea salad bowl! Loaded with arugula greens, crunchy dill croutons, chickpeas, feta, avocado, cucumbers and tomatoes, this salad tossed in a red wine vinaigrette is a satisfying meal that everyone will love.

You’re going to want to dive right into this bowl!

My favorite chickpea salad bowl is loaded with crunchy croutons, avocado, tomato, cucumbers, feta cheese and piles of arugula greens. Drizzled with a fabulous red wine dressing, it’s tart and delicious and crunchy and everything you want a good salad to be! 

This salad is inspired by one at our local cafe, Mediterra – it’s their chickpea bowl – and they pretty much have the best food ever. Plus enough cheese that you can get lost in the cheese counter. 

It has texture and crunch and the dressing is incredible – and I sound like a broken record but there are really only so many ways you can describe a salad that is very simple but tastes amazing at the same time. 

However, I do something a little fun in the salad bowl. 

Croutons!!

The croutons are made with sourdough bread and dill and baked until super golden and toasty. 

They make this entire salad, if I do say so myself.

The croutons are savory and crisp and really make the whole bowl very special. You wouldn’t think that putting dill on bread and toasting it is anything special, but add some salt and olive oil to that sourdough, let it get crunchy and it adds a whole new element to your salad bowl. You must try it. 

There is so, so, so much other goodness in this salad too.

We have: 

An assortment of greens, like arugula or butter lettuce or romaine. 

Chickpeas. You can also use roasted chickpeas! 

Avocado.

Crumbled feta cheese.

Cucumbers.

Tomatoes. 

Fresh herbs, likely parsley. 

The crunchiest salty, dill croutons.

And the most delicious dressing ever! A killer red wine vinaigrette that you will want to make for just about every salad for the rest of your life. 

I make red wine vinaigrette all the time, but this is an extra special version. If you made my bruschetta pasta salad this summer, then you’re probably familiar with that wonderful, syrupy balsamic dressing that coats every bit of the salad.

This is like that, but with a red wine vinaigrette! It’s slightly thicker than traditional red wine vinaigrettes and clings to every bit of the lettuce, croutons and chickpeas. So darn good. 

And that’s that!

No fancy way of combining. You can make this a tiny chopped salad or a traditional tossed salad. Whatever you like! And of course, add any other ingredients you love. Maybe some banana peppers. Pickled onions. Nuts or seeds. 

The great thing about it is that it’s incredibly satisfying and filling. You can also prep the ingredients ahead of time, and even combine the chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumbers, and feta, then combine them with the greens, avocado and croutons when it’s time to eat. 

Winning all around!  (more…)

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