Carrot, Apple & Chickpea Salad
Chickpeas, raw carrot ribbons, crisp apple wedges, and strips of dried apricot on a bed of mixed greens. The dressing pulls it together: olive oil, vinegar, honey, yellow mustard, and a pinch of curry powder whisked until it earns a spot on every plate this week.
The whole plate is 737 kcal with 23g of fiber from five different sources, and the prep is about as long as it takes to whisk the dressing. No cooking. No heat. Just assembly.
Chickpeas, raw carrot ribbons, crisp apple wedges, and strips of dried apricot on a bed of mixed greens. The dressing pulls it together: olive oil, vinegar, honey, yellow mustard, and a pinch of curry powder whisked until it earns a spot on every plate this week.
The whole plate is 737 kcal with 23g of fiber from five different sources, and the prep is about as long as it takes to whisk the dressing. No cooking. No heat. Just assembly.
Ingredients
- chickpeas 4 ounces
- carrot 1
- apple 1
- apricots, dried 4
- scallion 1
- mixed salad 1 handful
- olive oil 1.5 tablespoon
- vinegar 1 teaspoon
- yellow mustard 0.5 teaspoon
- honey 1 teaspoon
- curry powder 1 pinch
- bread, whole wheat 2 slices
Method
-
Rinse the chickpeas in a colander with cold water and let them drain.
-
Grate the carrot into thin strips using a peeler. Cut the apple into wedges, the apricots into strips and the scallion into rings.
-
Place the lettuce in a bowl and top it with the chickpeas, carrot, apple, apricots and scallion.
-
Make a dressing by whisking the oil, vinegar, mustard, honey and curry powder together in a small bowl with a fork.
-
Serve the salad with the dressing and the bread, toasted if you like.
Cut the apple last and toss the wedges straight into the dressing bowl. The vinegar and honey slow browning, so the apple stays crisp and pale even if you pack this salad for later.
Why This Works
Behind this recipe
Can I make this salad ahead for meal prep?
Yes. Keep the dressing separate and toss it just before eating. The apple won't brown as quickly once coated in the vinegar-honey mixture, but the mixed greens stay crispest when dressed fresh. Stored in a sealed container, the undressed salad keeps for a day in the fridge.
Is 18g of protein enough for a full meal?
The 18g comes entirely from chickpeas and whole wheat bread — both plant sources. In a 737 kcal meal, protein makes up about 9.8% of total energy, with the bulk coming from carbohydrates and fat. Studies on how much protein the body processes per meal found it can handle more at once than older guidelines assumed.
Read the full evidence reviewWhere does all the fiber come from?
Five ingredients contribute: chickpeas, whole wheat bread, carrot, apple, and dried apricots. Together they deliver 23g, which qualifies as high fiber by EU standards — above 3g per 100 kcal. The mix of soluble fiber from fruit and insoluble fiber from grains and legumes is a pattern that shows up consistently in research on fiber and body composition.
Read the full evidence review
