This summery Chickpea Salad with the creamiest lemon basil avocado dressing is packed with protein and veggies. Instant Pot Chickpea Salad is vegetarian, gluten-free and can easily be made ahead. It is perfect for occasions such as 4th of July BBQs, potlucks or cookouts.
Green Chickpea and Kale Salad with Avocado
Chickpeas, cooling and crunchy cucumber, shredded kale, peas, and lambs lettuce are dressed in an avocado, cashew and Greek yogurt. It’s packed with flavour and texture making it the perfect summer salad! It is a wonderful plant-based nutritious side salad or light lunch just like this Lentil Salad or Zucchini Ribbon Salad with green beans, apples and basil sauce. I love taking this salad with me for lunch because the veggies do not wilt and the avocado dressing remains vibrant even the next day. You can make Black Chickpea salad and Indian Chickpea Salad too which requires Indian spices and herbs.
Why you should make this chickpea salad:
Suitable for vegetarians – no egg, meat or fish is used in this recipe (many vegetarians especially from India do not consume eggs or fish)
Complete meal – this chickpea salad is complete meal which is lower in fat, high in protein and incredibly delicious! Just count this salad as Superfood that is super satisfying.
Easily made vegan – one simple substitution and this can be a vegan chickpea salad with avocado
No mayo chickpea salad – no mayo is needed for this recipe thanks to the light yet creamy avocado dressing
Gluten-free and diabetic friendly
Great served at potlucks, summer BBQs, picnics or as a healthy lunch
The ingredients you’ll need for the Instant Pot Chickpea Salad:
Full ingredients with measurements are available in the recipe card below at the end of this post
Chickpeas – chickpeas are also known as garbanzo beans in many parts of the world. We are using white chickpeas in this salad recipe. For this recipe, I soaked dried chickpeas overnight and cooked them in the Instant Pot before adding to the salad.
Cucumber – I have used English cucumber and doesn’t required peeling or deseeding. Baby cucumbers (also known as Persian cucumber) also work great.
Kale – I have used curly kale here. This variety is widely available everywhere. If you can get your hands on baby kale, use it in this recipe.
Red onion – Raw red onions are milder than the brown variety and are crisp and fragrant, good for fresh eating. They also enhances to look and colour of the salad too. You could use green onion instead.
Avocado – Avocado adds great creamy taste and texture to the salad. I have used ripe hash avocado for this recipe.
Lamb’s Lettuce – skip totally to make salads without lettuce and you can add arugula (In UK known as Rocket)
Green Peas – Green peas are naturally in sweet with a slight crunch, making them the highlight of this salad. You can use fresh, frozen or canned green peas. Only use canned green peas if the other two options are not available as fresh or frozen definitely taste better!
Optional:
This chickpea salad is made without tomatoes but you can add halved cherry or plum tomatoes if you wish To add carbs, why not add halved baby potatoes like our Instant Pot Vegan Potato Salad Add orzo to make this a chickpea pasta salad. It will be similar to our Instant Pot Mediterranean Orzo Pasta Salad Love potatoes? Have a look at my Best Pesto Potato Salad that to made in Instant Pot. Try this Mango, Avocado, Black Beans and Corn Salad with Lime Dressing now before mango season disappears.
Ingredients for the creamy avocado salad dressing:
Avocado – use a ripe avocado that has some give when you press the skin. Mashed avocado are a great substitute for mayonnaise, they not only add creaminess to the dish but good source of healthy fats too.
Love avocados? Don’t miss out on these Air fryer Avocado Fries
Greek yogurt – to give the dressing some tang and make it extra creamy, I have used Greek style yogurt. You can use a higher fat percentage Greek yogurt if you wish. To make this salad vegan, use vegan Greek yogurt. As an alternative, you can use sour cream.
Cashews – cashews add creaminess and bulk to the dressing. For recipes where I will be blending the cashews into a paste, I try to use broken cashew as they are cheaper. You can add other nuts if you prefer.
Lemon – I have added freshly squeezed lemon juice but you can add bottled also. Use lime as an alternative
Basil – a cupful of gorgeously fragrant fresh basil is so good in this dressing. It makes the green dressing pop and helps it taste incredible.
Agave – use either agave or blue agave to add a little sweetness to the dressing. You can also add honey or sugar.
Nutritional yeast – nutritional yeast is a vegan’s best friend. It lends a nutty, cheesy flavour and ramps up the nutritional value.
Garlic – a garlic clove gives warming flavours
Olive oil – I have used extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper – to taste
Optional:
Green chillies – I have added one small green chilli which adds a hint of spice without making the dressing spicy. You can of course, leave the chilli out totally.
This avocado greek yogurt dressing can also be used for:
pasta salads
taco salads
coleslaw
dunking into with tortilla chips
Instant Pot Chickpea Salad
I have cooked dried chickpeas in the Instant Pot before using in this salad. Usually when we cook chickpeas in the Instant pot , we cook in large/big batches as it saves time and energy. You can either freeze the cooked chickpeas or use in: Chickpea Rice (chana rice) Tandoori Cauliflower and Chickpea Tacos Hummus (we have a eight variety of unique hummus recipes for you to try) Chickpea and coconut curry – also includes instant pot method
Canned Chickpea Salad
You can also used canned or tinned chickpeas for this recipe. Ensure to rinse and drain them before adding as they are preserved in salt water. Don’t throw away the water but instead make vegan meringues like in our Vegan Eaton Mess
What goes good with Instant Pot Chickpea Salad
You can eat this salad on its own as a filling protein packed meal but you could also serve it alongside some carbohydrates for a balanced meal. Why not prepare it alongside Yogurt and Herb Sandwich You can serve it with burgers, grilled vegetables or chips.
How to make Creamy Avocado Dressing
I like to use a jug blender for large quantities. Place all of the dressing ingredients into the blender and blend until smooth and creamy. If you need water to loosen the dressing a little, use chilled water. If the chickpeas are freshly cooked from the instant pot, wait until they cool before tossing with the dressing and other salad veggies or else the salad may go limp. Don’t like green peas?, you may crush the peas into the the creamy avocado dressing.
Tips and Suggestions
Massage the kale with your fingers for 2-3 minutes with little oil to reduce the bitterness and soften the kale. If using baby kale, it don’t need to be massaged.
Don’t like the taste of green peas? Replace green peas with sweet corn or edamame beans.
Chickpeas can be substitute with other beans such as white kidney beans, red kidney beans or black beans.
If using fresh peas, they don’t need cooking. Fresh or raw peas are safe to eat, however not in large quantity.
You don’t need to cook frozen peas as frozen vegetables are already blanched before freezing. Just thaw them under the running cold water.
Cut an avocado by removing the seed and cutting the flesh into squares right in the skin. Use a spoon to easily scoop the cubes into a bowl.
Lemon juice adds flavor to the salad and keeps the avocado from turning brown. If you’re making this ahead of time, you could leave out the avocado until serving but I have discovered that the salad keeps pretty well with the avocado included.
Serving Suggestions
Enjoy this salad as it is or serve as a side dish or try these variations
Spoon into lettuce cups – a healthy and delicious light lunch or snack Use as a sandwich filling or sandwich between two toasted wholemeal bread Serve in tortilla with tomato salsa and make a wrap
Storage
Cover the bowl with a cling film or store in the suitable air tight container in the fridge. Remember not to leave your salad for too long in the hot weather (Don’t keep out for more than 2 hours at room temperature) If there are any leftovers, keep it in an air tight container, in the fridge it stays good for 2 days. Best to be eaten by next day. I don’t recommend freezing this salad.
Other Instant Pot Recipes
As always if you make this recipe, be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe and tag me on Instagram @jcookingodyssey or #jcookingodyssey. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations! Don’t forget to follow me on social media using the buttons below – I can’t wait to see you all there!
Instagram Facebook Pinterest YouTube
Instagram Facebook Pinterest YouTube
