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!
{ 42 comments… read them below or add one }
I LOVE the way this looks! Yum! With cilantro and lime… sigh.
Yes! I love this salad! Chickpeas and cilantro are a match made in heaven.
This sounds SO good. I think I am going to make a batch to have over the weekend!
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!
I LOVE cilantro. Love it. This looks great!!
Yum, I love chickpea salads.
I love cilantro!! I love the way it smells! That salad looks delicious
This sounds incredible – I have never strayed from cilantro or lime. Love them. I’m definitely making this for my Memorial day BBQ!
Love this flavor combo with chickpeas – totally refreshing.
I feel like a guy’s dream girl is one that smells like food. Especially bacon.
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!
What a great idea! Cilantro is my absolute favorite. Actually, it comes in a close tie with basil.
I love cilantro! I’m always looking for new side dishes. This looks perfect!
Nom nom nom…yummy!
Love your presentation! The colors are gorgeous!
I have to make that salad. I love cilantro and chick peas!
This looks and sounds divine! If I had spinach in the house I would be making this right now.
Love meals like this for summer. And I’m a huge lover of cilantro.
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 it! Great story too! I might add corn to mine
or green tomato Ohhh!
Making this asap!!!! YUM! Thanks heather!
This is SO GOOD!!!!!
fabulous for Memorial Day!
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
That looks so fresh and appetizing, love it!
Cilantro and lime-you can’t go wrong!
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!
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
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 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!
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 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!!
Very tasty!
Instead of chopping the onion, I added processed it along with the garlic & the rest of the dressing ingredients.
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!
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
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 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!
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!
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