This flavorful Moroccan roasted chickpea kale salad, with seasoned roasted chickpeas, bell pepper, raisins, almonds, and feta is anything but boring! It's a great make-ahead salad for lunches or a delicious side dish. (gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan and dairy-free option)
Say goodbye to boring salads. You're about to have your world changed by this roasted chickpea kale salad full of Middle Eastern flavors and tons of interesting tastes and textures that just work together.
Why You'll Love This Roasted Chickpea Kale Salad
This super flavorful, nutrition-packed salad will blow your taste buds. Once you make the 4-Ingredient Moroccan seasoning that's similar to ras el hanout, you get to use it on everything else going forward, so it's a double win! Crunchy Moroccan roasted chickpeas are the star of the show here, and they go beautifully with the subtle sweetness of raisins and bell pepper. Add some crunchy almonds, savory feta and a hint of lemon juice, and you've got one tasty, nutritious salad! If you want to take it over the top even more, drizzle it with my favorite tahini dressing!
Is This Kale Salad Healthy?
While meatless, this delicious Moroccan chickpea kale salad is hearty enough to be the main dish. It's full of plant protein from chickpeas, almonds and feta (which is technically not a plant protein, but it does add a lot of flavor and a little heft! But it can also be left out if you're vegan or dairy-free). It is also loaded with fiber, so it's extra filling. You can eat it for a meatless main dish, or serve it with the protein of your choice for a balanced meal.
The Secret(s) To Kale Salads That Don't Suck
Not all kale is created equal, in my opinion. I like to use either baby kale or dinosaur kale (also called lacinato kale) the best because they tend to be sweeter and more tender. Curly kale is honestly not very good in salads so I only buy it if that's the only thing available. Also make sure you wash it thoroughly to remove any dirt that might be stuck on those leaves. Crunchy grains of sand do not make for a tasty salad.
Massaging your kale is a must if you want tender kale that's easier to chew and digest. Massaging kale with a bit of olive oil or dressing with your hands helps to break down a little bit of the toughness for a much better kale experience. Simply drizzle olive oil or the dressing you're using over chopped kale in a bowl and gently rub with your hands until it starts to soften. Then continue with the recipe!
How To Make Moroccan Roasted Chickpea Kale Salad
- Rinse the chickpeas and dry them well. Toss them with the Moroccan seasoning and oil.
- Spread the chickpeas on a lined baking sheet and roast for 35-40 minutes, stirring halfway.
- Massage the kale with olive oil and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add the peppers, onions, raisins, almonds, feta, and roasted chickpeas.
- Serve as-is or with a drizzle of tahini dressing (highly recommended!).
Can This Salad Be Made In Advance?
What I love about this salad is that it's great for meal prep. Kale holds up nicely for a few days in the refrigerator, so you can portion this salad into containers to take to work. The flavors blend even more as the salad sits in the fridge, and you don't have to worry about wilted greens.
Have a load of kale? Try these other Kale Salads That Don't Suck!
If you made this recipe, please leave a star rating in the comments!
PrintMoroccan Roasted Chickpea Kale Salad
This flavorful Moroccan chickpea kale salad, with seasoned roasted chickpeas, bell pepper, raisins, almonds, and feta is anything but boring! It's a great make-ahead salad for lunches or a delicious side dish. (gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan and dairy-free option)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 2-4 servings 1x
- Category: salad
- Method: roasted
- Cuisine: African
Ingredients
- 1 cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 2 tsp Moroccan Seasoning
- 1 small bunch dinosaur kale, chopped (about 4 cups)
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- Pinch coarse sea salt
- Pinch freshly cracked pepper
- ¼ cup sweet yellow onion, thinly sliced
- ½ cup red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup Marcona almonds
- ¼ cup raisins
- ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese
- Tahini Dressing (optional)
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat.
- Use paper towels to get chickpeas as dry as you can. Add to a bowl with 1 tbsp of olive oil and Moroccan seasoning. Toss well to coat. Spread chickpeas on prepared baking sheet. Roast 35-40 minutes, stirring halfway through.
- Place chopped kale in a large bowl. Add remaining 1 tbsp olive oil and lemon juice. Gently message oil and lemon into kale, Season with salt and pepper.
- Add onion, bell pepper, almonds, raisins and feta to kale. Once chickpeas are done, add them to the salad. Toss to coat.
- If desired, drizzle with dressing.
- Serve immediately, or refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
- If you don't want to make the Moroccan seasoning, you can substitute ras el hanout if you happen to have it.
- Omit cheese for dairy-free and vegan option.
- I like dinosaur kale the best, but any kind of kale works fine!
- If you can't find Marcona almonds, you can use regular almonds. Try toasting them for 5-10 minutes!
- I originally didn't use any dressing in this salad. I love the addition of tahini dressing, but you can definitely skip it if you'd like. Or use any kind of dressing you prefer.
Keywords: Moroccan roasted chickpeas, Moroccan kale salad with chickpeas, kale salad with roasted chickpeas
I’m too lazy to chop kale into really small pieces, so I chopped the kale in my food processor quite fine. I used the entire bunch of kale and a full can of chickpeas, and increased the rest of the ingredients a bit. I didn’t roast the chickpeas. The salad was delicious and still good the next day. Thanks for the recipe.
★★★★★
Hi Pam,
I'm so glad you liked the recipe. Thanks for the kale chopping tip!
Calories/nutrition information?
I don't provide nutrition information on my recipes. You can read more about that here: https://livelytable.com/resources/faq/.
This looks delicious, but I am not a fan of kale. Any substitute green that you could recommend?
Any that you like will work! I'd go with baby spinach or spring mix probably.