This Roasted Carrot and Chickpea Salad is perfect for a fresh and delicious meal prep lunch!
You know how you get back from vacation and then you just need another vacation? 🙂 We went on a quick trip to Flagstaff and Sedona, AZ and it was so much fun! I haven’t gone on a vacation in a really long time and it really does do the body good!
Although, I didn’t really follow my Weight Watchers diet while we were there and I came back feeling a little heavier than when I left, haha.
But, now I’m home and back at it and already feeling better! I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before, but meal prep has really helped me stay on track lately when it comes to eating healthy. It’s so easy to just grab my pre-made lunch out of the refrigerator and not to have to worry about what I’m going to eat.
I know some people have a hard time eating the same thing four days in a row for lunch, but I’m the complete opposite. If the lunch is tasty, I’ll happily eat it all week long! Today I made you a spring inspired Roasted Carrot and Chickpea Salad with Orange Ginger Cashew Dressing 🙂
It’s light, but also really filling from the chickpeas and quinoa. It has so much flavor from the orange ginger dressing and is loaded with veggies! I say, it’s a win-win vegan meal prep lunch 🙂 It can also easily be made as a big salad that would be great for a potluck or dinner salad. Enjoy!
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Roasted Carrot and Chickpea Salad with Orange Ginger Cashew Dressing {Meal Prep}
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
A delicious and fresh spring meal prep salad with tons of flavor!
Ingredients
- 4 cups diced carrots
- 2 cups cooked chickpeas
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- Garlic powder, to taste
- Cumin, to taste
- Paprika, to taste
- Salt, to taste
- Pepper, to taste
- 2 cups cooked quinoa, about 3/4 cup uncooked
- 4 cups baby arugula
Orange Ginger Cashew Dressing:
- 3 tablespoons cashew butter
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1/2 teaspoon orange zest
- 2 teaspoons tamari, or soy sauce (I like to use low sodium)
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 small clove garlic, minced or grated
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. Place the carrots on one side of a large sheet pan and the chickpeas on the other side. Drizzle with olive oil and desired amount of spices and gently toss until coated. Bake until carrots are tender and chickpeas are crispy, about 35 minutes.
- Add all dressing ingredients to a jar and either shake or whisk until creamy. Portion dressing out into 4 small containers.
- Assemble the bowls: in each bowl or airtight meal prep container add 1/2 cup cooked quinoa, 1/4 of the carrots, 1/4 of the chickpeas and about 1 cup of baby arugula.
- Salads will stay good in the refrigerator for 4 days. If you are worried about the arugula wilting, don’t put it in until the morning of. Pour dressing over salad just before enjoying.
Notes
This salad doesn’t have to be used for meal prep. You can also just mix everything together in a large bowl and serve.
Each serving has 6 Freestyle Weight Watchers Points (I used the juice of one orange rather than bottled orange juice to add less points)
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Category: Salad, Meal Prep, Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten Free
Hooray for vacation, Izzy! I’d love to visit Sedona, I’ve heard so many good things! Indeed, it’s tough to get back into work mode once back :/ . I guess it’s a great time of year to visit too.. before it gets too hot. Meal planning for lunches helps me eat better during the week, rather than grabbing something and snacking on things that aren’t in my best interest! haha! This would be an ideal salad for me! Delicious!
It was beautiful, Traci! It was spring break so it was really busy but I’d love to go back in a less busier season. I have such a problem snacking on unhealthy things if I don’t get food in front of my face fast enough haha. Thanks, Traci! 🙂
Ooh, love this salad Izzya, especially that cashew dressing. Now gotta get my hands on some cashew butter next week when I’m in the US!
It’s funny cause I wanted to use tahini but the store didn’t have any so I bought cashew butter instead and really loved how it turned out! Thanks, Katie 🙂
Love how this looks. One question-where did you get the cute rectangle containers? These would fit perfectly in my work bag. Thanks!
Hi Sherrie! I got them on Amazon, here is the link to them: https://amzn.to/2pMDuOX
yum! this sounds really good. i love your meal prep options!
Thanks so much! I hope you enjoy them 🙂
This recipe is just delicious – a really fantastic combo of ingredients and so healthy- leaves me feeling great all day after eating. We added sliced green onions on top which i really like.
★★★★★
Thank you so much for the kind words, Laura! I’m so glad you enjoyed it 🙂
I LOVE this recipe. It is one of my go to’s for lunch meal preps. The dressing is probably the best I’ve ever had in my life. Will continue to eat this regularly, thankyou.
★★★★★
Thank you so much!!
This is very delicious, just not sure how to get it in my app for points.
I’m not a fan of arugula Can you swap for like a bat romaine or is there another option ? Also are you supposed to use like bottled orange juice or juice from an orange?
Thanks
I used fresh orange juice but bottled would work too, just try to make sure you use one without a ton of added sugar. Yes, you can definitely use something besides arugula. Any of your favorite greens would work great!