Chickpea Salad with Carrots and Dill
My favorite chickpea salad recipe, made with grated carrots, chopped celery, fresh dill, and lots of chickpeas. Easy to make and packs well for lunch!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
First recipe of 2017: My new favorite chickpea salad. It’s crisp and fresh, with lots of zip. I’ve been eating it straight from the bowl, and even used it as a protein-rich topping for some cheesy nachos the other night. That’s what I like to call a balanced meal.
I’m so glad I finally moved to a better kitchen. Now that I have an open, light-filled cooking space, I’ve found myself spontaneously creating recipes at dinnertime again. Stay tuned for more salads and soups soon. I’m so close to having an organized office space and a more regular posting schedule again.
I can’t take full credit for this one, though. I was immediately smitten with the original concept on Serious Eats. Loads of fresh dill? Say no more. I tinkered with their recipe quite a bit, like I do, to make it a delicious lunch or side made with canned chickpeas. Mine has chopped celery, green onions, and extra carrots.
I grated the carrots in my food processor, which reminded me—I recently learned that the sharp metal blade on my beloved food processor (and the machine that I have recommended for years) is at risk for breaking into pieces. Kinda dangerous. If you have a Cuisinart food processor, you can get a replacement blade here.
Chickpea Salad with Carrots and Dill
My favorite chickpea salad recipe, made with grated carrots, chopped celery, fresh dill, and lots of chickpeas. This protein-rich salad is perfect for potlucks, packs well for lunch, and it’s easy to make! Recipe yields 4 side servings.
Ingredients
- 2 cans chickpeas (15 ounces each), rinsed and drained, or 3 cups cooked chickpeas
- 2 cups grated carrots (about ¾ pound or 5 to 6 medium carrots, peeled and grated on the large holes of a box grater or in a food processor fitted with a grating attachment)
- ⅔ cup chopped celery (about 2 long stalks)
- ½ cup thinly sliced green onions (about 4)
- ½ cup chopped fresh dill leaves (I used one 0.75 ounce package)
- ½ cup pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds)
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 to 3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
- 1 medium-to-large clove garlic, pressed or minced
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a medium serving bowl, combine the chickpeas, carrots, celery, green onions, and dill. Set aside.
- Toast the pepitas in a small skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until they are starting to turn golden and make little popping noises, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
- To prepare the vinaigrette, in a liquid measuring cup or small bowl, combine the olive oil, 2 tablespoons of the vinegar, garlic, salt, and about ten twists of pepper. Whisk until blended and pour all of the dressing over the chickpea mixture. Add the toasted pepitas to the bowl and stir to combine.
- Taste, and add additional vinegar (for more zing, I usually add another tablespoon) and/or salt (for more flavor overall, add another pinch). For the best flavor, let the salad marinate for 30 minutes or even overnight in the refrigerator.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Serious Eats.
Change it up: Instead of dill, I think you could use chopped cilantro and/or parsley, whichever you prefer. For more of a punch, try adding thinly sliced Kalamata olives and/or crumbled feta cheese. You can also serve this salad over fresh greens with extra oil and vinegar, make a wrap out of it with hummus, etc.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Dear Kate,
Just want to say that i’m reading your blog about 2 weeks and I really LOVE it.. I’ve just made this salad,just added cucumber and red bell pepper to it , and also served it with Lemon dressing(which you added to your Lemony Lentil and Chickpea Salad with Radish and Herbs) and it’s delicious. Thank you so much for inspiring me. Keep making and posting.
Regards, Lily.
Thank you, Lily! So thoughtful and kind of you. I’m happy you found my blog!
Love this recipe! It is great for meal prepping and easily doubles or triples. I make one big container full and it lasts my husband and I all week. I use fresh dill PLUS dill infused olive oil instead of regular olive oil. It is such an inexpensive meal to make and totally beats the store bought salads or fast food for lunches. Thanks again for another fantastic recipe.
Thank you so much, Marie! Delighted to hear it. P.s. Your dill-infused olive oil sounds AMAZING.
I’ve just made this salad to take to work tomorrow (if I manage to not eat it all tonight that is…). It’s amazingly delicious and easy to throw together. Plus, cheap and healthy. Can’t ask for more. I didn’t have celery, but used a bit more carrots. For the dressing I used tahini, olive oil, garlic and fresh lime juice. The dill is amazing. I used frozen, which worked fine. Thanks for your great recipes. I get lots of inspiration from your web site.
Perfect! Thanks, Barbara.
This looks delicious! I have gotten into a nice routine of making five salads in a mason jar on Sundays, and then bringing them to work each day that week, Monday-Friday.
I can easily tweak the ingredient amounts to make five servings instead of four, but my question is: Do you think if I make this salad on Sunday, it would still be good to eat at the end of the week on Friday?
What a great routine, Dylan, I wish I could be that consistent! I think if you’ve got the salad in a tightly-closed mason jar in the fridge, it should be a-ok. I think this is actually better after marinating in the fridge for a bit, so you might like it even better a couple days in!
I wanted to follownup and let you know that these worked GREAT prepped on Sunday in a mason jar.
Here is what I did:
– I made the dressing first, and divided that up amongst the jars.
– Then, instead of mixing the ingredients together, I layered them in the jars. I put the vegetables in first (I also added some bell pepper to the veggies!), then the chickpeas.
– On top of that that, I added some baby’s spinach and avocado, too! Worked great. Then I added the pepitas.
– So that is what I assembled on Sunday, for the entire week.
– Then, each morning when I was getting my things put together before work, I would turn the jar over and give it a good shake. At work, I would leave it upside down in the refrigerator, until I was ready to eat. That gave each jar salad about 6 hours to settle, but also allows you to make them all on Sunday.
Just wanted to let you know!
Found this recipe on Pinterest…IT IS SO GOOD!!!
I used what I had (thinly sliced radishes instead of celery and balsamic instead of sherry.) I will make this often. Thank you.
Awesome! I’m glad the balsamic and radishes worked out so well, Jennifer. I’ll have to try that variation!
I’ve been eyeing this recipe for weeks. Just made it (finally) and it’s just fabulous! I made with cilantro and cucumbers because I didn’t have celery or dill on hand. But it’s a super versatile recipe which I LOVE! My kids loved it which is a major success!!! Thanks Kate!
Btw-Gave you cookbook to my daughter’s teacher as an end of year gift! She was SO excited…yay!!!
Making this weekend with fennel fronds instead of dill. If you are a fan of fennel, and have an abundance of fronds in the frig like I do, give it a try.
Yum! I’ll have to experiment with the fennel.
I had some leftover dill and was looking for a recipe to use it up and discovered this delicious salad. I think the toasted pepitas are the perfect addition to the salad. I always love your dressings and this one didn’t disappoint. Thanks!
You’re welcome, Kimberly! I love this dressing, too.
Delicious! I also added some finely chopped kale. Will definitely make this again.
Yum! Sounds great, Karen.
I have made this salad now twice and love it even more the second time around. I squeezed a bit of lemon juice over this as well which is a bit of my personal preference for my summer salads. Thank you for this addition to my go to salads!
You’re welcome, Stella!
Thank you for informing about the Cuisinart food processor riveted blade recall. Mine was one on their list. I love my food processor and have had no trouble with it. I’m thankful I read your entry carefully and found out about the recall. Sorry, I haven’t had time to make the salad yet.
You are welcome! Happy to help. Once you make the salad Marilyn, let me know what you think!
This is one of my new favorites for lunches at work; the flavors are perfect!
It does make great leftovers! Thank you for sharing, Nancy.
Though I didn’t have green onions or celery on hand, I put some shallots to use and made this delicious salad. I had some leftover quinoa so I added that. I also added a handful of cilantro leaves and stems I had around to the dill, and added some raw honey to the vinaigrette. Thank you so much for this great summer salad. Bonus: used my Instant Pot to take dried chickpeas to delish in under an hour!
I’m happy it still worked well with your substitutions. Thanks for your comment and review!
I’m trying to eat healthier and trying to find new and delicious things to eat, this looks wonderful and easy to make.ill be making this tonight
What did you think, Lillian? I appreciate the review.
Wow, this was great! That dill was strong and delicious!! I will be making this again this week. I always try to make a recipe exactly as shown the first time. I couldn’t find sherry vinegar though – just the cheap cooking wine. And we have a lot of big stores here. So I used some De Nigris white wine vinegar. It’s high quality with a tiny bit of sweetness, so I think it was an ok substitute. I don’t think I would use the store brand of white wine vinegar for this. It didn’t conflict with the taste of the dill. I’ll keep looking for the sherry vinegar.Next time I might try half dill and half cilantro!
Thanks for sharing, Tina! Let me know what you think of the split herb ratio. I appreciate the review!
The flavor on this salad is incredible. Thank you!!
Great to hear you think so, Ashley!
Hi,
I love your vegetarian Sweet Potato chili! I am looking for a salad to serve with the chili. My friend who is coming to dinner cannot eat vinegar, so I am having a problem with the dressing. Can you recommend a replacement for vinegar? Thanks
Mary
Hmmm.. you could try lemon juice? Let me know what you think!
is it really 444 calories per 1 side serving?
Hey Christina, I just double-checked and yes, it is. In hindsight, those four side servings are quite large, so maybe 6 to 8 side servings is more like it.
Hi there! Love all your stuff! Wondering if you have ever put together a chickpea salad sandwich recipe? I’m sure you would have a great take!
Hi Margaret! Check out my recipes with chickpeas. Maybe you will find something you like here: https://capital-fly.pro/search/?q=chickpea
I do have a wrap/pita that has chickpeas in it.
Thank you!!!
Absolutely delicious! I love the simplicity of your ingredients Kate! Real food that tastes fantastic :)
Thank you, Kelly!
Love this salad, as it’s good for making ahead and having it for lunch throughout the week! I added some dijon mustard to the dressing and used 1/4 cup olive oil instead of 1/3, and both alterations turned out nicely.
Thanks for your review, Isabel!
I made this for Easter Brunch, did it the night before. I wish I had mixed the pepitas in just before serving, however, only thought about this after the fact, they were soggy by the next day.
Also, possibly I missed this, but what is a serving size? It seems like 1/4 of the recipe is way too large a serving.
I’m sorry they were soggy! If you find the serving size too big, you can always adjust. That way it goes farther, right!
So good! I enjoyed this salad over a bed of greens.
I recommend squeezing about a tbsp. of lemon juice right before serving.
Sounds delicious! Thanks, Kathryn.
Great recipe! Just got home from a work trip, and the refrigerator was empty except for a few carrots and celery. Had fresh dill in the garden, so this was perfect!
I love when that happens! Thanks for sharing, Val.
It was DA BOMB! I have a feeling that I will make it A LOT this summer. :)
I’m glad you loved it, Sani!
I think this is going to replace my daily boring lunchtime salads for the foreseeable future. Made it last night and couldn’t stop eating it!
I’m happy to hear that, Johnston! I appreciate your review.
This salad is weirdly addictive. Though I made it exactly to the recipe but found I had to make a few tweaks to my tastes. As recommended I added an extra splash of sherry vinegar, and also added maybe 1/4 tsp cane sugar, extra salt, and about 2 tbsp mayo to round out the flavours. End result was very good I hope my family will enjoy it tomorrow!
I love that! I agree with you, too. It’s crazy good! I appreciate your review, Hilary.
I just made this with a couple substitutions. Very packed 1/2 c cilantro instead of dill, like suggested, and red wine vinegar intead of Sherry– I did use 3 tablespoons as well. It’s what I had on hand. I omitted the celery (just not a fan). Extra salt, extra garlic, always. It’s my new favorite chickpea salad, very versatile. Thanks for a new staple!
Hooray! Thanks, Amy. I’m glad to hear it’s a staple.
Another winner. This is really wonderful. I can always trust that your dressing measurements are just right — no over-dressed salad with a pool at the bottom.
Thanks for sharing, Jean!
Delicious! I searched for a recipe using dill since I had received a bunch In my veggie box delivery and found this one. It’s a winner and I will definitely make it again. There were carrots and celery in the box as well so this recipe was absolutely perfect. So easy to put together also which of course made it even better. And no cooking involved either. The flavors were so good together. And the crunchy celery was just perfect with the soft chickpeas and the grated carrots. Perfection in a salad. The only change I made was using pomegranate balsamic vinegar instead of sherry vinegar since I didn’t have any at home.It was even better the next day. I took it to work for lunch several days and it was so good. I might even make again this weekend already. That’s how good it was.
I’m glad you made this one, Annika! Thanks for your review. I appreciate it.
This was so yummy and came together in less than 10 minutes! It’s so fresh and bright, and so good for you!
So simple yet so delicious. I’m a huge fan of the sharpness of the celery in contrast to the vague sweetness of the chickpeas. Fantastic :)
Thank you for sharing, Gerogia!
Love this salad! The fresh dill makes all the difference. The first time I made it with dried dill and it was very bland. Next time I will try with mint and a yogurt dressing blend.
Thank you for sharing, Kellie! I’m happy you enjoyed it.
OMG, so good. Was looking for a way to use some fresh dill from the garden and OF COURSE you had the perfect/easy recipe. It’s the first cold bean salad I truly love, and the fella went nuts for it. I find myself returning to your recipes on the regular, so (relatively) easy and healthy, and though I don’t normally comment on blogs , was finally impelled to express my unbridled admiration and gratitude for you and your recipes! Thank You!!
Wonderful, Susan! I’m happy you loved this one.
This is seriously so good! I’m about to make it for the 3rd time since discovering it 2 weeks ago. I sub finely chopped broccoli for the celery since I always have broccoli on hand. The fresh dill is amazing with the carrots and chickpeas!
LOVED this recipe, Kate! (As I love all your recipes!) I’d picked a bunch of fresh dill from my garden this morning that was close to flowering, and as soon as I looked up ‘vegan dill recipe’ and saw yours – I knew it was fate! Also pulled up a bunch of carrots I’ve been growing to use too, and had some chickpeas in the fridge that I’d batch cooked earlier in the week from scratch. Felt wonderful to put my own produce to use, and this was DELICIOUS. Safe to say, I’ll be making it for the rest of the week. It’s 31 degrees here in the UK (87f), and this was delightfully light and filling.
* Note – will definitely try adding olives next time, and I used red wine vinegar instead, plus a drizzle of maple syrup in the dressing to sweeten slightly.
Thank you again, Kate!
I’m so happy you loved it! Thank you for sharing, Bethan.
We made a few changes but this was absolutely fantastic. I was out of Sherry vin so substituted red wine vinegar and also sunflower seeds instead of pepitas. I didn’t toast them but just threw them in and I have to say it was a big hit. We actually threw in more dill and more garlic but I can’t thank you enough for this recipe. So, so good.
I made this for lunch on this warm July day and it was a big hit, just the kind of salad that’s both light and filling at the same time. I used dill since I had it fresh from the garden and it seemed perfect. Thank you for this recipe.
I made this with carrots, celery and dill from my CSA box. I didn’t have any scallions. It was a perfect summer meal. I will definitely make this again.
I made this for lunch today and wow, it was addictive! So fresh and tasty…super easy to make. Kate does it again!!! Thank you.
I like your recipes. your chick pea recipe looks good
Thank you a new recipe idea…
I made this with some modifications based on what I had on hand, and it still turned out delicious! I swapped cucumber for the celery and apple cider vinegar for the sherry vinegar. This is such a great fresh salad and perfect for meal prepping! It tasted just as good the next day, I would highly recommend.
Such a good salad! Made it last night and it was great. Had it for lunch today and it was even better! Topped it with some avo. Thanks so much – you’re my go to girl for delicious food!
This is amazing! I love the flavors and how healthy it is. We make it at least once a week at my house. Even the non-vegans in the family like it. Your recipes are some of my favorites!
Super easy and tasty. Work lunches for this week covered! My boss had a taste and he is now obsessed (sent him the link to the recipe).
I’m saving the rest of the dill in the freezer for my next round of this salad!
I’m glad it was such a hit, Clare! I appreciate your review.
Just made this recipe, but made the dressing several hours earlier to let all of the ingredients marinate.
Good recipe. I just think there was was too much dill. And I only used .50.
A good base recipe for sure.
Thank you Kate! I made this for lunch today and it was delicious!!! I didn’t have sherry vinegar on hand so I used red wine vinegar and it worked well.
Love, love, loved this recipe! Didn’t have sherry vinegar, so used red wine vinegar we had on hand and it was still yummy.
Wonderful, Kelly!
I just made this recipe and it was the perfect thing for dinner tonight. It’s the day after Easter and I’m tired of cooking, but this was really easy to throw together. Ten minutes tops. I love how I didn’t need to buy a whole bunch of ingredients for this because I already had some of them from making Easter dinner (carrots, green onion, celery) and the rest just sitting in the pantry. The only thing I did different was I boiled the chickpeas until soft, because I prefer them that way. I think it’s delicious. Serving it with leftover ham and rolls. Perfect.
Thank you for sharing, Shannon! I’m happy you enjoyed it.