When Nate and I met for the first time I smelled like a burrito.
Although I’m not proud to admit it, I will say it was because I was dragged to a party with one of my best friends after working an open-to-close shift at a local burrito restaurant in college. I was tired. I was cranky. I was very very smelly. And I met the man of my dreams and he stuck around.
Dreams do come true!
One of the things that I learned to love while working at Cilantro’s Burrito Grill was to enjoy cilantro. I’ll admit it’s a hard herb to love, but once you come to really enjoy the verdant flavor and smell you’ll never stray away again. I love it in rice and pico and it’s an essential component to great salsa and guacamole. And on that fateful night when I met Nate it just happened to be smeared all over my shirt, shorts, and my legs.
Hey, my man likes food. Makes sense that he would marry a girl who smells like it! The good news is that on our first real date I showered and put on make-up. High class I tell you, high class.
CILANTRO LIME CHICKPEA SALAD
- 2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 4 loosely packed cups fresh spinach
- 1/2 onion, chopped small
- juice from 4 limes
- 1 bunch of cilantro (about loosely packed cup)
- 3 Tbsp sugar
- 2 Tbsp dijon mustard
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced or grated on a microplane
- 1/2 Tbsp chili powder
- 1/2 cup olive oil
Chop the spinach very finely (feel free to use a food processor and pulse 3-4 times). Add the chickpeas, onion, and spinach to a large bowl. In the same food processor add the lime juice, cilantro, sugar, mustard, garlic, chili powder, and olive oil. Process til it comes together into a dressing, about 30-45 seconds. Pour over the chickpea mixture and stir to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let sit for about 10 minutes on the counter or overnight in the fridge to let the flavors marry. Enjoy!
I love that this salad is so bright and filling, full of great flavor and the perfect accompaniment to a summer picnic, party, or the next kismet moment in your life. Eat up!
Oh my gosh, this was delicious! Thank you!
So glad you liked it!!! Thank you!
I couldn’t resist commenting. Very well written!
I love the recipe. I love limes over lemons because of its sweeter taste. I love the pungent taste of cilantro, and chickpeas are my favorite legume. Plus chickpeas are super healthy and easy on the digestive system. I love the combination of tastes.
i’ve just made iit….and Love it!!… Thank You!!….
YAY! So glad you like it Charis – We love it too!
Cilantro is becoming my favorite herb! Will try this recipe right now!
Your website is beautiful and soooo easy to navigate! I’m in my 70’s
so I really appreciate it when you young people make it easy for
me to print recipes!
Thank you again, Dee
You’re welcome Dee! Cilantro grew on me too, and now I love it! Thanks for stopping by!
OMG. Have made this twice now and both my boyfriend and I are LOVVVVVING it. Thanks so much!!!! Will keep this as a favourite for bbq’s in the summer!!! The dressing alone could be used on any given salad, would be a great dip for cucumbers and veggies as well. (add strawberries and tastes amazing!!!)
Yay! I’m so glad you like this salad – the strawberry idea is genius!!!
Love this recipe and so does the boyfriend !! After 47 years married it is always good to find an exciting ,easy, scrumptious “new” something to serve them !! THANKS xx. We love it xx
YAY! 🙂
My friend made this – A.MAZ.ING! I had not wholly embraced cilantro until I had this!!! Just wondering if you think it would freeze well? Would love to make up a big batch to pull out any time we have a picnic or rushed dinner.
hey laura! i’m so glad you liked it…it took me a while to warm up to cilantro too, but now that i have i adore it!
i don’t know if you could freeze it – mainly because i don’t know how the chickpeas would stand being frozen and what the texture would be like when they thaw, but it’s certainly worth a try! if you do it let me know how it turns out – i’ll have to make a big batch and stick it in my freezer if it works!
i stumbled across this recipe a few weeks ago and it has become my go to chickpea salad. it is just too good. there is almost always a tub of it in my refrigerator .
i’m so thrilled you like it brenda! we love it around here too 😉
Thank you for this recipe!!!!! I am addicted to this salad and make it every week!
that’s great! thanks samantha 🙂
I’m surprised to have gotten all the way through your comments without seeing even one about subbing an equal amount of basil and mint for the cilantro! You’ll not go wrong, I promise you.
This salad is on the menu for next weekend’s family BBQ, and I’m certain our vegetarian niece will love it. Thanks!
Oh I love the basil/mint idea! Yummmmm 🙂
I’m surprised to have gotten all the way through your comments without seeing even one about subbing an equal amount of basil and mint! You’ll not go wrong, I promise you.
This salad is on the menu for next weekend’s family BBQ, and I’m certain our vegetarian niece will love it. Thanks!
(Sorry, I wasn’t clear on what I was suggesting the substitution was for! I re-replied below.) k
Made this tonight as a side dish with chicken fajitas. Seriously great dish. So earthy with the cilantro. My husband is not a big cilantro fan and he loved it. I’ll be making this again. Might add some cherry tomatoes and peg corn for fun.
thanks mary! i’m so glad you liked it – and i think the tomatoes/corn idea sounds fantastic! i’m thinking i’ll have to try that next week with fajitas 🙂
I made this tonight and it’s fabulous!!!! So full of flavor.
that’s great! it’s still a big favorite around here too 🙂 so glad you liked it!
Thank you so much for this! I came home to a crockpot full of chickpeas, and no ideas. Luckily I found your recipe. I had no spinach on hand and substituted extra cilantro and some diced cucumber, and served it on a bed of baby lettuces with diced avocado. Delicious!
LOVE the dressing! Somehow when I made it there was way too much of it, and my chick peas and spinach drowned. Next time I’ll either use 4 cans for a large crowd or halve the dressing recipe. Absolutely delicious- thank you for sharing!
This was so tasty, we ate it up yum!
This is absolutely incredilbe. I had to make myself put down the fork to allow it to marinate. Delicious!!!!!
I had a half bag of baby spinach leftover when I made this salad (omg it was good), so I threw it into the pot with the Pea and Mint Gazpacho I was making yesterday. Drop my drawers and spank me into Heaven…that soup was a good as it was green! https://blairopolis.wordpress.com/2012/06/05/its-easy-being-green/
ha! i’ll have to try that out…the greener the better 🙂
This salad is really good and fresh! All my guests loved it! Thanks for sharing!
that’s great! i’m glad everyone loved it! it’s definitely a staple in our house 🙂
So very tasty looking! This does look perfect for a picnic.
Going to make this for a dinner party and needed to know what kind of chili powder you used?
Thanks,
Susanne
Just regular mccormicks’s chili powder 🙂
Hi Heather. What size canned chickpeas? Big or small? I’m looking at a 7.75 oz can (shorter than Campbell’s soup) and I know there are medium and large options out there. The quantity of chickpeas would directly affect proportion of sugar, oil and other seasonings. I’d like to test this tonight for weekend-long potential and your guidance would be much appreciated. Thanks!
I used 15-oz cans 🙂 let me know how you like it!
This sounds so delicious but have you considered cutting the sugar, adding tahini and turning it into a super serious hummus? I think I may have some experimenting to do! Great blog!
i haven’t thought about the hummus idea but it sounds great! you’ll have to let me know if/when you try it and how it turns out!
Just made this and I love it! It was just as delicious as I imagined it would be. I would probably use 1tbsp of sugar rather than 3 next time, but I’m still loving it and will definitely make it again!
^ I made a TON of extra dressing too that will be really good on salad, although I do think leaving a little “excess” in the salad helps balance out the dryness of the chickpeas.
I am currently eating this for lunch and just had to send the recipe to my boss because she loved it too! THanks!
I made this last night to have for lunch today. I really loved the dressing but might use less olive oil and more lime juice or ramp up the spices next time to increase the punch since I used it as a main dish instead of a side. For me, the recipe produced excess dressing, so I’m excited to toss the rest in an arugula salad tomorrow. I think this dish would make a great stuffing for pita pockets along with some spinach leaves, onion slices, tomato, and maybe a little crumbled feta or a spreading of strained yogurt. Probably the best chickpea salad I’ve ever had.
i’m so glad you liked it! i like a lot of dressing, but your adjustments sound good too!
I was thinking that feta would make a great addition and maybe even a little avocado. I love love love arugula, too, so great idea Duxor!
Ohhhh feta WOULD be good!
Just wanted you to know that I made this salad and LOVED it! I paired it with some Chicken Soft Tacos and wrote about it on my blog. I linked back to your blog and this recipe. I originally pinned it from Pinterest. I appreciate you sharing it 🙂
OMG – this sounds totally yummy. I’d reduce the sugar considerably, and in doing so, it would become a very healthy balanced vegan dish. I would also substitute chickweed growing wild in my greens bed, for the spinach just because it’s free and wild! Cilantro is one of my fave herbs. When I first tasted it in a Greek lady’s salad, I thought the oil must be rancid. Learned to love it. It’s the perfect sprinkle for any legumes… and we even put it in our morning fresh juice! Thanks!
Very tasty!
Instead of chopping the onion, I added processed it along with the garlic & the rest of the dressing ingredients.
I just wanted to say that I made this for Memorial Day and it has quickly become my go-to entertaining dish! So easy, yet flavorful and impressive and filling to guests. Thanks for such an awesome recipe!!
I just made this for lunch. Fantastic! I subbed a little agave for the sugar because that’s what I had on hand. I’m glad no one is home today because I’ll have it all to myself. :O) Great recipe!!!
i made this the other night & whoa…SUPER delish! definitely will be making it lots this summer…so fantastic. thank you so much for sharing the recipe!
For some reason my salad turned out very sweet and no one ended up eating it 🙁
hmmm…i’m sorry it turned out too sweet! i would definitely encourage you to try it again but cut back to 1 Tbsp or no sugar if the original was too sweet for your tastes. thanks for the feedback!
I made a version of this salad tonight and I have to tell you that it was AMAZING!! Thanks so much for this fabulous recipe, my sister and I truly enjoyed it and will definitely be making it again this summer! 🙂
great! i loved it too…i don’t know if i’ll be able to stop myself from making it a weekly dish 🙂
I made this for Memorial Day, and it was delicious! Everyone loved it. Thanks for the recipe!
that’s fantastic! i’m so glad you liked it!
Cilantro and lime-you can’t go wrong!
That looks so fresh and appetizing, love it!
This would make a GREAT summer picnic side!! I can’t say I’ve wholly embraced cilantro yet, but I do love it in small doses 🙂
fabulous for Memorial Day!
Making this asap!!!! YUM! Thanks heather!
This is SO GOOD!!!!!
Love it! Great story too! I might add corn to mine 🙂 or green tomato Ohhh!
I want this!! I love everything about it. And hey, guys love food, so it makes sense to wear it as a way to get their attention. haha!
Love meals like this for summer. And I’m a huge lover of cilantro.
This looks and sounds divine! If I had spinach in the house I would be making this right now. 🙂
I have to make that salad. I love cilantro and chick peas!
Nom nom nom…yummy!
Love your presentation! The colors are gorgeous!
I love cilantro! I’m always looking for new side dishes. This looks perfect!
What a great idea! Cilantro is my absolute favorite. Actually, it comes in a close tie with basil. 🙂
okay, this is too crazy…but my bro was good friends with Justin Bernard, and worked at Cilantros in college too! He went to Tech! His name is Steve Davis….do you know him???
How funny! I don’t know Steve but Justin sang at out wedding. Small world!
that’s crazy! love it! it is a small world indeed! Did you ever meet Shane? We used to go down to DBU when they would do Monday night worship…sooo good!
Love this flavor combo with chickpeas – totally refreshing.
I feel like a guy’s dream girl is one that smells like food. Especially bacon.
This sounds incredible – I have never strayed from cilantro or lime. Love them. I’m definitely making this for my Memorial day BBQ!
I love cilantro!! I love the way it smells! That salad looks delicious 🙂
Yum, I love chickpea salads.
I LOVE cilantro. Love it. This looks great!!
omg this looks sooo good! I’m making Brandon dinner tonight (congratulations on going over to switzerland) and I think I’m going to use this as a side dish!
This sounds SO good. I think I am going to make a batch to have over the weekend!
Yes! I love this salad! Chickpeas and cilantro are a match made in heaven. 🙂
I LOVE the way this looks! Yum! With cilantro and lime… sigh.