We’ve got another easy, make-ahead lunch recipe for you today! A chickpea + quinoa based veggie salad with an orange soy & sesame dressing. This is a great recipe to prep ahead of time and eat throughout the week, at home or in packed lunches. Enjoy a big bowl or treat it as a side dish, it’s up to you! These are the kinds of recipes that makes healthy eating convenient and totally do-able.
This hearty salad is absolutely loaded with good-for-you ingredients like chickpeas, quinoa, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, hemp seeds, kale, nutritional yeast, garlic, ginger, red and green bell peppers (just to name a few!) You can make this salad with quinoa or couscous. Quinoa has slightly more protein and quite a bit more fibre than couscous, but couscous is easier to prepare and cooks more quickly.
This recipe, along with the easy chickpea curry soup I posted the other day, will be appearing in a back-to-school healthy packed lunch post featuring 4 easy, make-ahead lunch recipes and 10 simple snack ideas (5 savoury/5 sweet) that’s going up tomorrow! I hope you’re excited for that post because it’s a BIG one. Happy Cooking!
Ingredients :
- 1 navel orange, juiced
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp canola oil
- 1 tbsp agave syrup
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2” chunk ginger, minced
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- 3 cups quinoa, cooked (cook in broth for best flavour)
- 1 (540ml/19 fl. oz.) can chickpeas, drained (approx. 2 cups cooked)
- 2/3 cup chopped kale (stems removed, packed)
- 1/2 cup chopped red and green bell pepper
- 1/4 cup chopped green onion
- 1/4 raw pumpkin seeds
- 2–4 tbsp hemp hearts
Instructions :
- Combine all ingredients. Mix well and set aside.
- If not already chilled, refrigerate cooked quinoa.
- While the quinoa chills, combine kale with orange soy & sesame dressing. Set aside.
- Combine room temperature (or cooler) quinoa, kale, dressing, and all remaining ingredients.
- Refrigerate until chilled before serving.