A satisfying summer spinach salad with an umami-packed, crisp chickpea olive crumble, lots of fresh, crunchy veggies, and creamy, vibrant tahini lemon dressing is a perfect hot weather dinner. (gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free, high protein)

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 20 minutes
  • Total time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 3
  • Category: dinner, lunch, Main, Main Course
  • Cuisine: Mediterranean

Ingredients

For the Chickpea Olive Crumble

  • 2 tablespoons sun dried tomato (dry or packed in olive oil)
  • 15 oz can chickpeas (drained, or [adjustable]1½ cups[/adjustable] cooked chickpeas or white beans)
  • ½ cup Kalamata olives
  • 3 tablespoons hemp seeds
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano (or a mix of oregano, thyme, and basil)
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (use more or less to preference)
  • 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil (divided, or oil from your oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes)

For the Salad Bowl

  • 6 to 7 ounces greens of choice (such as a mix of chopped romaine lettuce and baby spinach)
  • 1 cup chopped cucumber
  • 1 cup sliced cherry tomatoes (or more)

For the Dressing

  • 3 tablespoons tahini
  • 3 tablespoons non-dairy yogurt (use soy-free and/or nut-free, if needed)
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon oregano (or dill, or a mix of herbs of choice)
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons fresh herbs (such as parsley, cilantro, or green onion)

For Garnish

  • lemon zest, vegan Parmesan, black pepper
  • sprouts or microgreens

Method

Make the chickpea crumble.

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (205° C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. To a food processor, add the sun-dried tomato and pulse until chopped into a coarse mixture. Then add the rest of the crumble ingredients, but only 1 teaspoon of the oil, and pulse for about 5 seconds, then stop and pulse again until the mixture becomes a coarse meal. Everything should be chopped but not a pasty mix
  2. Transfer the mixture to the parchment-lined baking sheet, and spread it out. If it’s pretty chunky, break it into smaller chunks. Drizzle the remaining teaspoon of oil over the mixture. Bake for 15 minutes, then move the mixture around on the pan, Move the center pieces to the outer edges and the pieces from the edges to the center of the pan. Continue baking for another 5 to 10 minutes, depending on your texture preference. If you like it really crisp, bake longer, but some of the smaller crumbs can get over roasted. Remove from the oven.

Meanwhile, assemble the salad and make the dressing.

  1. Chop your greens, cucumber, and tomatoes, if you haven’t already, and add them to a bowl.
  2. Add all the dressing ingredients to a small bowl and mix really well for half a min. Add water, as needed, to make a pourable dressing. Depending on the consistency of your tahini and non-dairy yogurt, you might need 1 to 3 tablespoons of water. Taste and adjust flavor, adding more salt if needed. You want it to be on the saltier side, since there is no salt on the greens and the veggies.
  3. Drizzle about 2/3 of the dressing into the salad bowl and toss well. Top the salad with the warm chickpea crumbles. Add sprouts on top, if you want, then drizzle the remaining dressing on top. Garnish with lemon zest, black pepper, and vegan Parmesan, and it’s ready to serve. You can serve the salad as-is or toss everything together before serving. I like to keep the crumbles on top, so they stay crisp, especially if I’m serving for a get-together or lunch.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.