This Roasted Chickpea Greek Salad with Cashew Dressing will be your next favorite salad. It’s filled with delicious fresh veggies, oven-roasted super crispy chickpeas, creamy crumbled feta and a cashew dressing that it’s packed with flavour. If you’re like me and you love cashews, you’ll use this sauce on everything! In addition to that, the crispy, a little smoky chickpeas add a really nice crunch. You can also try my Winter Citrus Salad with Lemon Garlic Chicken.
All about the Cashew Dressing
Cashews are my favourite kind of nuts – So why not make a salad dressing from cashews? This sauce is creamy, tangy and with intense flavours of cashews. You can also use this as a dip or a delicious sauce to serve with your chicken.
Ingredients used
You only need 5 ingredients to make this impressive salad dressing.
- Cashews: I used raw cashews, but you could also use salted and roasted cashews. Add salt only if needed.
- Lemon Juice: Adds a little bit of tang and freshness.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: Makes it tangy.
- Sour cream: For extra creaminess. You can skip it to make it entirely vegan.
- Dijon Mustard: To add more that tangy complex taste.
For extra crunchiness and double the fun, you can add roasted, salted cashews (or you can substitute the crispy chickpeas). Also, avocado and black olives would be amazing add-ons.
How to prepare cashew dressing
- You need to soak your cashews if you don’t have a powerful blender, to help them soften and can be easily mixed. Let them soak in water for at least 4 hours, overnight is best.
- Rinse the soaked cashews until the water runs clear.
- Add cashews, water, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, sour cream, Dijon mustard and salt in a blender.
- Blend until smooth, about 2-3 minutes.
- Slowly add more water to thin the sauce if necessary.
- Serve immediately or chill in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
How to assemble this roasted chickpea greek salad
- Bake the drained and rinsed chickpeas with olive oil and spices for 20 minutes or until crispy, turning them halfway through. Set them aside.
- Roughly chop the iceberg lettuce, halve the cherry tomatoes and slice the radishes.
- Add them to a large bowl with the baby spinach and crispy chickpeas and toss to coat.
- When it’s time to serve, crumble feta cheese, add the dressing and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper. If you add the dressing before serving, the salad will become soggy.
Roasted Chickpea Greek Salad with Cashew Dressing
Ingredients
For the cashew dressing
- 1 cup raw cashews soaked
- ½ cup water
- 1-2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- ¼ tsp Dijon mustard
- 1-2 tbsp sour cream
- ⅓ tsp salt
For the crispy chickpeas
- 1 (14 oz) can chickpeas drained, rinsed
- 1 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- salt
- black pepper freshly ground
For the salad
- ½ head iceberg lettuce roughly chopped
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 4-5 radishes thinly sliced
- 4 oz feta cheee crumbled or diced
Instructions
Prepare the cashew dressing
- Soak cashews in water for at least 4 hours to be easier to blend. Rinse until the water runs clean.
- Add all the ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth, about 2-3 minutes. For a thinner consistency, slowly add more water.
- Taste and add more lemon juice to make it more tangy, or salt to intensify the flavours. Serve immediately or set aside in the refrigerator.
Prepare the roasted chickpeas
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas, then pat dry with a kitchen towel.
- Transfer to the baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and season with smoked paprika, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir to coat.
- Arrange them in a single layer and bake for 20 minutes, stirring them halfway through.
Prepare the salad
- In a large bowl, add chopped iceberg lettuce, baby spinach, sliced radishes, halved tomatoes, crumbled feta cheese and roasted chickpeas.
- Add cashew dressing right before serving and toss to coat. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper.