Crowd-pleasing chickpea and carrot salad (Lunch)

Crowd-pleasing chickpea and carrot salad (from Canada's food guide)

This flavourful, colourful salad can be enjoyed any time of year. It's sure to be an instant hit at any picnic or potluck. Pack the salad and dressing separately. Toss together just before digging in.

Prep time: 10 min

Cook time: 0 min

Servings: 6

Vegetarian

Ingredients

• 1 English cucumber, chopped

• 15 mL (1 tbsp) chopped fresh dill or 2 mL (½ tsp) dried dill weed

• 2 carrots, peeled and grated

• 1 can (540 mL/19 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed

• 500 mL (1 pint) grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise

• 60 mL (¼ cup) chopped fresh basil

• 45 mL (3 tbsp) balsamic vinegar

• 15 mL (1 tbsp) basil pesto

• 10 mL (2 tsp) extra virgin olive oil

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 1 mL (¼ tsp) fresh ground pepper

Directions

1. In a deep 1.5 L (6 cup) bowl, toss cucumber with dill and spread out over bottom of the bowl. Layer with carrots, chickpeas and tomatoes. Sprinkle basil over top. Cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, pesto, oil, garlic and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve salad.

3. Just before serving, drizzle dressing over salad and toss to combine and coat.

Tips

• Little chefs can help assemble the layers of vegetables for this salad.

• Switch up your legumes. Replace the chickpeas for kidney or black beans.

• Mix it up. Experiment with different veggies. Ask your family to choose their favourite ones.

• Make this salad ahead of time, and you'll have a satisfying lunch filled with protein and fibre.

• Try using less of the ingredients that are high in added sodium, sugars or saturated fat. Adding salt or sugars directly to your recipe? Remember, a little often goes a long way.

Recipe developed by Emily Richards, P.H. Ec. for Health Canada and the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

Source: © All rights reserved. Canada’s Food Guide: Recipes. Health Canada. Reproduced with permission from the Minister of Health, 2022.