AVOCADO CHICKPEA SALAD
This avocado chickpea salad is beyond delicious, beyond easy, and particularly meaningful to me because it will always remind me of our trip to Zimbabwe.
One of the most difficult parts of traveling to southern Africa was that we couldn’t drink tap water and, therefore, we were highly encouraged to avoid any raw fruits and vegetables without a skin since they’d likely be washed with tap water. As a healthy produce lover, this was really hard for me.
I started craving lettuce and salads just a few days in. It sounds crazy, but sometimes you just want to eat lighter when traveling (usually after way too much dessert for me) and I couldn’t.
Luckily, there were tons of options for vegetable side dishes that were all so tasty. Even basic things liked roasted butternut squash were easily found on every menu. One of my favorite side dishes was a salad we enjoyed at The Hide on safari…
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Avocado Chickpea Salad
Menus in Zimbabwe and South Africa were filled with meats and other items that were new to me, but there were also plenty of vegetable options that were more new combinations rather than new ingredients.
I absolutely love avocado and beans, so I grabbed a big scoop of this salad. With some fresh herbs and a light olive oil dressing, the dish was so good and I couldn’t resist getting more.
Now that I’m back home and trying to eat healthy while still enjoying that vacation glow, I decided to try my hand at recreating the dish. It took less than five minutes to throw together and it’s so tasty!
What White Beans Are Used?
My avocado chickpea salad recipe here calls for garbanzo beans (chickpeas) and great northern or butter beans. Cannellini beans would actually also be tasty (see cannellini beans in this asparagus crostini and these veggie game day appetizers)!
The combination of beans doesn’t matter, and they don’t all even have to be white. This recipe for a red bean salad includes chickpeas (garbanzo beans) and kidney beans – and the combination is tasty. Mixed with avocado, you’d be happy with the results!
What’s Considered a Good Olive oil?
Every dish begins with good olive oil in my book (yes, even my infused olive oils)! My go to olive oils are extra virgin olive oils from California. Brands that always hit the spot are Lucini and California Olive Ranch.
Local to Sacramento (though the above aren’t far either) is Seka Hills , which offers a great selection of delectable oils -great for cooking, drizzling, and dipping.
AVOCADO CHICKPEA SALAD
Ingredients
- 1-15.5 oz. can garbanzo beans drained and rinsed
- 1-15.5 oz. can great northern OR butter beans drained and rinsed
- 11 oz. steamed black eyed peas drained and rinsed
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- 3 tablespoons chives
- 2 avocados cut into 1″ pieces
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- salt + fresh pepper
- chili flakes optional
Instructions
- Using rubber spatula, gently combine beans in a large bowl. Add herbs and lemon juice. Mix until well combined.
- Add avocado and olive oil. Gently fold ingredients together.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. Top with chili flakes if desired.
Yes! This is an amazing salad with amazing flavor! Thank you!
I love this simple avocado and three-bean salad. It makes for a really great side dish or even makes a great lunch option.
This is a tasty salad. Avocados–YUM!
Loved all the thyme and chives! So so good. Will look forward to the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
You had me at avocado and I love it with white beans any day of the week. Excellent blend of flavors too! Love this recipe. Thanks for sharing!