Honey Mustard Chickpea Salad Recipe

Spanish recipes offer a wide range of flavors, textures, and colors in just one dish, providing the essence of Andalusian culinary tradition with every bite.

The honey mustard chickpea salad is one of the best examples of this, showcasing tangy, sweet, and savory flavors, with pops of color and the crunchy texture of the raw vegetables and chickpeas.

Read this article and you will learn how to make Spanish salad, with some helpful tips to store, serve, and customize the ingredients.

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Pssst…!!?? You can’t get enough of Spanish salad recipes? Have a look at my other posts: 

• Spanish chickpea salad

• Spanish Chicken Salad

• Spanish potato salad with tuna

Background of the Dish

The honey mustard chickpea salad is a contemporary recipe that highlights Andalusian ingredients, while also providing a light appetizer or a hearty main dish.

This stands among other traditional Spanish salads because it doesn’t have the traditional regional dressing, as it calls for a delicious honey mustard vinaigrette.

Nowadays it shines bright in Southern Spain restaurants along with other dishes like the Cuban garbanzo bean soup, but if you follow this recipe you will be able to enjoy it in the comfort of your home.

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Things You’ll Need for Honey Mustard Chickpea Salad

To prepare this delicious honey mustard chickpea salad you will need canned and cooked chickpeas, honey, Dijon mustard, olive oil, vinegar, bell peppers, red onion, and chicken.

Ingredients

• 2 cans (400gr each) cooked chickpeas
• 1 chicken breast
• 200gr lettuce leaves 
• 1 red onion
• 1 green bell pepper
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 cup (180gr) cherry tomatoes
• 1 carrot
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 teaspoons Dijon Mustard
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• Salt and pepper (to taste)

How to Make Honey Mustard Chickpea Salad – Step by Step Guide

1. First, grab a pan or a skillet, pour a bit of olive oil, and cook the chicken breast seasoned with salt and pepper for about 8 minutes per side or until fully cooked. Let them cool and chop them into bite-sized pieces.

2. To continue with this Spanish chickpea salad recipe, drain and rinse the cooked canned chickpeas under cold water. Set them aside.

3. Now, cut the bell peppers in half, discard the seeds, and cut them into small pieces. Peel and chop the carrot and red onion into small squares. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half. Set them aside.

4. To prepare the Spanish salad dressing, grab a small bowl and mix the olive oil and vinegar with the honey and Dijon mustard until combined. 

5. After that, clean the lettuce leaves and place them at the bottom of a salad bowl (or large deep plate). Put the other ingredients, and season the Spanish salad with salt and pepper.

6. For the final step in this Spanish salad recipe, add the dressing and toss to cover all of the ingredients. Taste to adjust the seasoning, and add an extra drizzle of honey if desired. Serve the honey mustard chickpea salad right away or let it cool for 30 minutes.

Substitution of Ingredients

The honey mustard chickpea salad only calls for a few main ingredients (chickpeas, honey, mustard, and chicken), but you can play with the others that surround them.

For example, you can copy the classic potaje de vigilia and use that type of green veggie instead of lettuce (or try others like kale or arugula).

If you can’t find good-quality cherry tomatoes, then prepare this summer chickpea salad with ripe and extra fresh tomatoes, and simply cut them into small pieces.

This is a pretty healthy honey mustard chicken salad, but you can go on a different route by including ingredients like crispy bacon bits, crumbled blue cheese, a drizzle of creamy Spanish garlic sauce, etc.

Lastly, feel free to play with the main protein that you use for the honey mustard chickpea salad, experimenting with others that you can find in different Spanish salad recipes like the ensalada de salmon or the Spanish seafood salad.

Tips on Serving Honey Mustard Chickpea Salad

The honey and mustard chicken salad can be served as a main dish (you would have about 3 servings) or as the perfect appetizer (yielding about 6 to 8 servings).

First, you can draw inspiration from different garbanzo salad recipes, like the chickpea and chorizo salad, and add some chopped chorizo, slices of Serrano ham, or bacon bits to complement the ingredients of the salad.

Besides that, you can serve the honey mustard chickpea salad in a large Spanish salad bowl or in smaller portions for individual servings, optionally garnished with fresh herbs like cilantro or parsley.

Similar to the chilled bean salad or the mixed bean salad you can add more texture by including toppings like bread croutons or chopped toasted nuts.

There are more easy Spanish salad recipes that are perfect to be served during hot summer days, such as the ensalada de zanahoria, the ensalada campera and the Spanish summer salad.

How to Store Honey Mustard Chickpea Salad

If you are planning on storing the honey mustard chickpea salad, then follow the recipe and mix all of the ingredients but don’t add the dressing until minutes before serving.

This way, you will be able to store the honey mustard sauce salad for up to 24 hours in the fridge,  and you will get to enjoy it chilled, perfect for a hot day.

Before serving it, be sure to taste the best garbanzo bean salad, and if the texture or flavor of the ingredients seems off, then it is better to avoid consuming it.

Apart from Spanish salads recipes, there are more that you can make and store for a longer amount of time, such as the garbanzo bean soup with ham, the Spanish soup with chickpeas, and the Spanish chickpea stew.

Recipe Card: Honey Mustard Chickpea Salad

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