This awesome vegetarian BBQ Chickpea Salad is easy to make, loaded with veggies, and delivers a delicious barbecue sauced high-five to the tastebuds!
With the lazy days of Summer winding down, I’ve been on the hunt for quick and easy recipes I can throw together without fussing too much in the kitchen.
This baller BBQ Chickpea Salad is fuss-free with so. much. flavor!
For the ultimate texture I gave my chickpeas a little roast before saucing them.
The result was a crispy exterior and tender center with sweet and smoky flavor from the barbecue sauce.
It’s the same technique I use for my Buffalo Chickpea Salad and I love it so!
These crispy little chickpeas are the perfect topper for a fresh leafy green salad sprinkled with veggies and topped with a drizzle of cool and creamy ranch dressing.
special diets and swaps
All I had on hand for today’s photo shoot was a bag of spring mix salad greens but you can 100% use your favorite leafy greens here!
I have it on pretty good authority that this salad is amazing on crisp romaine lettuce, fancy leaf lettuce, and massaged kale too! Choose your favorite and have fun with it.
The salad mix-ins are also super customizable. You can add red onion, scallions, chopped/sliced avocado, cucumber, and/or shredded carrots for extra veggie action!
As written this salad is vegetarian and gluten-free but can also be made vegan simply by choosing your favorite store-bought or homemade vegan ranch dressing.
BBQ Chickpea Salad
This rockin’ recipe yields 4 side salad sized servings or 2 extra-large meal sized salads. Feel free to halve or double the recipe as needed!
BBQ Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
- 15 oz can of chickpeas
- 1 TBSP avocado oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4-1/3 cup barbecue sauce
- 1-2 ears fresh corn or 1-2 cups steamed corn
- 5 oz bag of salad greens
- 1-2 cup chopped tomatoes cherry, grape, roma
- plus all your favorite extras see list in notes
- 4-8 TBSP ranch dressing to taste (vegan or regular)
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Drain the chickpeas in a colander or sieve and rinse well. Pat the chickpeas very dry with a clean dishtowel or paper towels.
- Toss chickpeas with oil and season with salt and pepper. Arrange in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil or parchment for easy clean-up.
- Roast on the center rack for 20-25 minutes until crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. Toss with warmed barbecue sauce before serving and mix until coated. Taste-test and adjust seasoning to taste. I usually end up scarfing a few spoonfulls of saucy chickpeas at this point, oops!
- While your chickpeas roast, cook corn via your favorite method (I boiled my ears of corn but grilling works great too!) and use a knife to remove the kernals. Frozen corn may also be used here. Simply steam or sauté.
- Use this roasting time to prep your salad greens and chop your tomatoes and any other veggies you'd like to add to this salad.
- Ready to eat? Pour your saucy and scrumptious chickpeas over the salad, add a drizzle or so of ranch dressing, and dig in!
Notes
Nutrition
I used my favorite store bought smoky, sweet, and spicy barbecue sauce for this salad but feel free to use a homemade BBQ sauce if you have a recipe you love! Add a Pinch has a homemade bbq sauce that looks fantastic!
If you get a chance to try this tasty vegetarian BBQ Chickpea Salad recipe, let me know!
Leave some love in the comment form below or tag your photos with @peasandcrayons on Instagram so I can happy dance over your creation. I can’t wait to see what you whip up!
Crazy for Chickpeas?
Check out my post on 21 recipes to make with a can of chickpeas. Here are some of my favs:
- Thai Chickpea Salad with Spicy Peanut Dressing
- NEW! Chickpea Cobb Salad
- Buffalo Chickpea Tacos
- READER FAVORITE: Garden Veggie Chickpea Salad Sandwich
Never thought to put sauce on chickpeas, GENIUS!!! This was delicious! My kids liked the play on words with the salad. not “BBQ Chicken Salad”, but “BBQ ChickPEA salad” 🙂
This looks so yummy and fresh! YUMMY! Can’t wait to try it!
So super stoked for you to try it, Sydnie!
This is a great way to switch up our chickpea game! My daughter loves to take this for a healthy lunch!
Yay!! Thank you!