The Best Healthy Cobb Salad with Chickpeas
I love cobb salad but haven’t had one since I stopped eating meat a few years ago. (I’ve since reintroduced meat into my diet, so I need to make a full-on southern cobb salad too.)
Earlier this year, I ordered many unique beans from Rancho Gordo. One of the beans I ordered was black chickpeas, and as soon as I tried them, I thought, “These would be PERFECT in a cobb salad!”
Southern Cobb Salad with Chickpeas
My favorite meal for lunch and dinner is salad during the hot summer! We crave salads because they are light, fresh, and full of water for hydration. But eating the same salads over and over again can quickly get boring.
This salad is so far from boring; it’s made with fresh romaine, boiled eggs, black chickpeas, fresh red onion, and juicy tomatoes. I also threw in some vegan feta cheese for more flavor. Blue cheese or regular feta are both great in this recipe, though. For a vegan option, you can simply replace the egg with avocado.
As most readers know, I’m not a vegan, but I develop many vegan recipes for our blog. So yes, I do eat eggs. You can read more about gut health and plant-based eating in this blog: A New and Improved Food Pyramid for Gut Health.
The other great thing about this salad is that it pairs wonderfully with various dressings!
Jalapeño Lime Southern Cobb Salad Dressing
I made a jalapeño lime vinaigrette for the dressing using jalapeños and brine from our seasonal Cultured Guru Fermented Jalapeños.
It’s a slightly spicy and citrusy dressing that pairs perfectly with all the fresh vegetables in the salad. I whisk the salad dressing together by hand, but if you have a small blender cup, that works well for mixing the dressing, also.
Other Healthy Recipes to Try
- Simple Summer Salad with Mango, Tomatoes, and Cucumbers
- Fall Harvest Salad with Maple Dijon Dressing
- Black Pepper Chickpea Caesar Salad with Vegan Parmesan
Chickpea Southern Cobb Salad with Jalapeño Lime Vinaigrette
This chickpea southern cobb salad with jalapeno lime vinaigrette is made with fresh romaine, boiled eggs, black chickpeas, fresh red onion, juicy tomatoes, and vegan feta cheese. It’s topped off with a tangy and slightly spicy jalapeno vinaigrette for a delicious summer salad you won’t get enough of!
- Prep: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 large head of romaine lettuce, washed and chopped
- 2 Roma tomatoes, sliced
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced
- 2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
- 1 cup chickpeas, cooked until tender
- 1 small red onion, sliced
- 1/4 cup feta, blue cheese, or vegan feta cheese
Dressing
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
- 1/4 cup fermented jalapeños, finely minced
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- juice of 1 lime
- 1/2 cup olive oil
Instructions
- If you haven’t already, cook the black chickpeas in a pressure cooker according to the package directions. (or sub canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed)
- Prepare the salad by combining all of the salad ingredients in a large bowl.
- Toss to combine and add to serving bowls.
- Alternately: you can prepare the salad by the individual serving bowl for a fancier presentation. Add the lettuce to the bottom of the bowl, and top with the remaining ingredients.
- To prepare the dressing, whisk all of the dressing ingredients together until combined. You can also use a small blender cup to combine the dressing fully.
- Top the salad with the desired amount of dressing and enjoy!
Notes
- If whisking the dressing together by hand, the oil may separate from the mixture.
- You can sub the black chickpeas for a can of regular chickpeas, or try it with roasted chicken
