The Best Chopped Salad With Chickpeas, Feta and Avocado
Your recipe collection needs this chopped salad with chickpeas, feta and avocado! This salad is quick and easy to make and tastes amazing. Made with chickpeas, avocado, feta cheese, red onion, tomatoes and Italian dressing, it’s the perfect summertime side dish or meal. Once you try this salad, you’ll never go back to making just plain ol’ lettuce salads again!
Ingredients
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil; 1 garlic clove, minced; 1⁄4 tsp. each kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper; 11⁄2 cups cooked chickpeas or one 15-oz. can, drained and rinsed; 1 large tomato (about 10 oz.), chopped medium; 1⁄2 cup feta cheese crumbles (2 oz.) or goat cheese or ricotta salata -crumbled into pieces (3⁄4 oz.
Recipe
Chop or break lettuce into bite-size pieces. In a large bowl, combine lettuce with chickpeas, feta cheese and avocado. Toss ingredients to combine. Drizzle with olive oil and vinegar of choice (we like red wine vinegar). Sprinkle olives on top for garnish, if desired. Enjoy!
How to eat it?
A chopped salad with chickpeas can be enjoyed as a whole meal or as a side. Drizzle with olive oil, add your favourite herbs (we recommend oregano and parsley) and you’re good to go! To make it more substantial you can add feta cheese and avocado on top. Although salads are not usually heavy meals, you can opt for having either brown rice or quinoa instead of white rice to make it a more balanced lunch/dinner meal.
Eating with your eyes
The chopped salad is an easy way to make your meal look more substantial and appetizing—and it might even help you eat less. According to researchers at Cornell University’s Food & Brand Lab, people who ate from a big pile of mixed greens consumed about 16 percent fewer calories than those who were given an equivalent amount of food in a single bowl. The reason? For one thing, it’s easier to fit more in your mouth when there are fewer pieces on your plate.
Tips
Start with a bed of romaine. Toss with chickpeas, feta cheese, chopped onion and avocado. Top with tomato wedges.