I’m probably guilty of saying this every month, but can you believe its’ March already?! I love spring so I’m not sad about the changing seasons at all, I just wish time would slow down a bit! The fact that it’s March also means that it’s time for 30-Minute Thursday! Scroll to the bottom of the post for more delicious recipes from some of my favorite bloggers that can all be on your table in 30 minutes or less!
I was a little hesitant to do a salad for my 30-minute meal but this salad is packed with so much goodness that it’s super delicious and really filling, which makes it a perfect weeknight dinner option!
As much as I’m in love with the seasoned chickpeas in this salad, the best part might just be the avocado ranch dressing. Avocados are one of my favorite foods and I always try to incorporate them into my meals when I can.
I’m also in love with making my own salad dressings, so it seemed like a pretty good idea to make some avocado ranch dressing for this taco salad. It worked really well and I’ve now been putting it on pretty much everything else I’ve been eating this week! The recipe makes more than you would probably need for this salad, but trust me, you will want extra!
Seasoned Chickpea Taco Salad with Avocado Ranch Dressing
Prep Time: 15 mins- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Salad, Entree, Gluten Free, Vegan
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Pin RecipeDescription
A delicious and filling salad that is quick and easy to make!
Ingredients
- 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- Other optional salad ingredients (enough for 4 servings): Lettuce, corn, red onions, black olives, diced tomatoes, tortilla chips
Avocado Ranch Dressing:
- 2 large avocados
- 1 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice, or lemon
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoons granulated garlic
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste if needed
- 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Heat a large pan over medium heat and add the olive oil and chickpeas. Use a potato masher to slightly mash them up, you want to leave most of them whole. Next add the chopped walnuts and all the spices. Stir and cook until everything is heated through, 5-10 minutes.
- Make the Avocado Ranch Dressing by adding all ingredients to a blender and blending until a creamy dressing is formed, about 1 minute. You can add more water if you would like a thinner dressing, but you may also need to adjust the seasonings.
- Assemble the salads by splitting all salad ingredients and seasoned chickpeas into four bowls and topping with desired amount of avocado ranch dressing.
Notes
The Avocado Ranch Dressing recipe makes more than you may need for 4 salads but it is really delicious to use many other things!
Karen @ Seasonal Cravings says
March 3, 2016 at 6:17 amThis salad is so colorful and I’m loving the spiced chickpeas for a protein kick. Happy March!
She Likes Food says
March 5, 2016 at 9:33 pmThanks so much, Karen! Yah for spring 🙂
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice says
March 3, 2016 at 7:14 amOk you had me at chickpea taco salad! My stomach is growling just looking at all of this gorgeousness! Such a great idea to make a taco salad (my favorite) and add in chickpeas. And that dressing sounds SO good!
[email protected] says
March 3, 2016 at 8:07 amI love all those spices you used on the chickpeas!! This salad sounds amazing. I can never turn down taco anything! 🙂 haha Happy Thursday Izzy!!
grace says
March 3, 2016 at 9:09 amtalk about eating the rainbow! this is gorgeous!
Liz @ Floating Kitchen says
March 3, 2016 at 12:17 pmHa ha. I think almost everyone’s post today started with “I can’t believe it’s March!”. I also feel like I say that at the beginning of every single month. Time flies! This salad has my name written all over it. Love those spicy chickpeas!
marcie says
March 3, 2016 at 12:40 pmIzzy, this salad looks so insanely delicious! I love the sound of taco-spiced chick peas, and that avocado ranch is something I would love to drown everything in!
Sarah @ Making Thyme for Health says
March 3, 2016 at 1:08 pmI know, time is flying way too fast! I think it’s blogging that makes us feel this way, lol!
And I agree with you, I love chickpeas but that dressing is definitely the star of this salad. I love ranch and using avocados as a cream base is a brilliant idea!
Stacey @ Bake.Eat.Repeat. says
March 3, 2016 at 1:15 pmMmmm, avocado ranch is one of the best flavours for dressing! I love this taco salad, I always think salad is great as a main dish. I would eat salads for supper most nights and nothing else and be totally happy – but my family would likely revolt! 🙂 This looks fantastic!
Annie says
March 3, 2016 at 5:59 pmI love big loaded salads like this!! It looks amazing!
Cyndi - My Kitchen Craze says
March 7, 2016 at 4:52 pmMy post totally started with, “I can’t believe it’s March” too. I really can’t even fathom where the time is going. It’s just crazy. Izzy this salad looks gorgeous and delicious! I love chickpeas and all those colors on there have me drooling.
patti says
March 9, 2016 at 8:02 amLove the Colours in this bowl and so I got up early this morning and made all the ingredients for my lunch today (although it took me less than 20 minutes to make it all). The Chickpeas with the cumin and other spices have such a lovely flavour and I’m super excited about noshing on this at noon! : )
She Likes Food says
March 10, 2016 at 5:13 pmThat is so great to hear, Patti! I hope you thoroughly enjoyed it 🙂
Deryn @ Running on Real Food says
April 8, 2016 at 6:30 pmLove the seasoning on the chickpeas and taco salad is the best!! The ranch dressing sounds perfect too, gotta have lots of onion powder in there! Thanks for all the great links 🙂
She Likes Food says
April 14, 2016 at 3:12 pmI agree! Thanks so much 🙂
G says
August 13, 2016 at 2:26 pmI made this salad for lunch and it’s already one of my favorites! I did have a sweet potato that was starting to sprout, so cut it in small cubes and added it to the seasoned chick peas. The flavors of those spices were perfect for it, too! I subscribed to your blog because I love simple, healthy, and tasty recipes. Anxious to read your new posts.
★★★★★
She Likes Food says
August 17, 2016 at 1:55 pmI’m so glad you liked it!!
Laurie says
April 10, 2017 at 9:39 pmThis is one of our favorite new recipes— you got the taco seasonings for the chick pea/walnut mixture just right, and all of the sugested salad fixings are so fresh and flavorful! I’ve just been downloading a bunch more of your recipes— can’t wait to try them all!
Thanks!
★★★★★
She Likes Food says
April 12, 2017 at 6:12 pmThanks so much, Laurie!! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Michelle MErcier says
January 21, 2018 at 8:58 amIt would be nice if you would have an option on the oage where you can email the recipe instead of just print it or pin it.
She Likes Food says
January 24, 2018 at 11:26 pmIll look into it! 🙂
Allison says
February 22, 2018 at 6:50 pmHow long do you think the dressing will last in the fridge after making it?
She Likes Food says
February 23, 2018 at 11:09 pmHi Allison, it will last about 3-4 days 🙂
Jean says
April 6, 2018 at 10:40 amI am allergic to walnuts…can another nut be substituted? This looks delicious!
She Likes Food says
April 9, 2018 at 11:27 pmAny other nut you like would work great! You can also leave them out and it will still taste great 🙂
Jean says
April 10, 2018 at 2:13 pmThanks! Looking forward to trying this!
She Likes Food says
April 12, 2018 at 5:37 pmI hope you enjoy!
Rita says
April 16, 2018 at 9:37 pmLoved everything about it! Delicious taco “meat” and avocado dressing!
★★★★★
She Likes Food says
April 24, 2018 at 12:39 amYah!! So glad to hear you liked it!
Jay says
December 5, 2019 at 8:40 amThat’s a great idea to add cooked sweet potato to the dish
Judy Ameche-Kromschroder says
May 17, 2020 at 7:52 pmHi! Thanks for sharing … the recipe was delicious 😋
She Likes Food says
June 3, 2020 at 11:56 amSo glad you enjoyed it!