Color! Texture! Beautiful food in a bowl! That’s this Rainbow Power Salad.
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We just had this awesome salad for dinner! It’s just great and we’re definitely gonna have again it soon. Thanks for this delicious meal. Cheers!
There’s so much good going on here, guys. The carrots and zucchini get all ribboned up into shreds, and the chickpeas get roasted with a little spice, and just like that, the 5 minute Magic Green Sauce finds its place in the world. Well, or just one of its many places in the world because we already talked about how that sauce is a match for just about everything ever ever ever.
Also – I just need to say that I love naming recipes with words like “Rainbow” and “Power.” Like, how much more enjoyable is a pile of raw vegetables when they’re giving you a massive dose of Rainbow Power? I can’t even handle the good feelings I get from sitting down with this salad in front of me and thinking, Here I go again, getting my Rainbow Power on for the day! There’s a good chance I’m the only one who likes this sort of obscure, overly emotional naming, and also a good chance that I’m actually a unicorn.
Surprise!
Rainbow power for lyfe.
HOW TO MAKE OUR RAINBOW POWER SALAD:
It only made sense to name this Rainbow Power Salad, because this bowl-o-goodness is just that: a rainbow of veggies that gives you all the nutritious power of zucchini and carrots and fresh herbs and greens, tossed with a handful of crispy, spiced, roasted chickpeas and the ultimate flavor bomb of 2015 aka Magic Green Sauce.
Right now, late April, pre-summer is definitely the time for me to be eating a Rainbow Power Salad for lunch because confession –> I could use the healthy vegetable glow in my life to spruce up the summertime look, and sometimes I “eat healthy” while forgetting to eat vegetables.
Woops?
I don’t want to assume you guys are as vegetable-forgetful as me, but I’d feel sort of better if you were. Hallooh? Fellow forgetters of vegetables? Are you out there?
There are plenty of times when I will get to the end of the day feeling really good about everything I ate, and I’ll pause for a moment to count my vegetables for the day annnnnd, wait, did I even eat any today? Ehhrr, no, wait, can I count the ultimate chocolate granola?
Come ONNN.
This salad is packed with raw vegetable power that will bring on the healthy glow, inside and out. Whenever I eat this salad I feel like I should be getting two gold medal emojis – one for the enjoyment of such a seriously delicious salad, and one for all the rainbow power I just put into my unicorn body.
And knowing that summer is coming? That makes this salad my friend in a very big way.
More veggies! More summer produce! More reason to visit the farmers market!
More glow for the skin! More nutrient power! More Magic Green Sauce!
AND MORE UNICORN VIBES.
Just… I don’t even know sometimes.
Rainbow Power Salad with Roasted Chickpeas
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 2-4 1x
Description
Rainbow Power Salad with Roasted Chickpeas – SO FRESH and SO GOOD! Zucchini, carrots, fresh basil, crispy spiced chickpeas. Vegan.
Ingredients
- 5 Minute Magic Green Sauce for dressing
- 3 large tri-color carrots (I used one orange, one red, and one yellow)
- 1 medium zucchini
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, cut into ribbons
- 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- generous sprinkling of salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Pat the chickpeas dry with paper towels and toss with the olive oil, chili powder, cumin, and salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes, stirring or shaking the pan every once in a while to prevent over browning. The chickpeas are done when they are crispy and golden brown.
- Shred the vegetables into very thin ribbons or slices using a grater, peeler, mandoline, or spiralizer. It’s sort of up to you how you want the shape of the vegetables to be. After shreddng, press the zucchini lightly with paper towels to remove excess moisture. Toss the vegetables with the basil and set aside.
- Toss the vegetables with a scoop of Magic Green Sauce – start out with about 1/2 cup and add more if needed. Add the roasted chickpeas and toss gently to combine. Arrange the salad into bowls and serve immediately.
Notes
This salad does not keep well once tossed with the sauce. Keep all ingredients separate until ready to serve.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: salad with chickpeas, power salad, vegetarian salad
Nutrition information is for 2 servings of salad without any sauce (check this post for the separate nutrition information on the sauce).
I used my spiralizer for super easy veggie shreds/noodles in this recipe! For more spiralizer ideas, check out this post:
8 Life-Changing Ways To Use a Spiralizer
One More Thing!
This recipe is part of our best healthy summer salads page. Check it out!
This looks amazing! I love rainbow recipes, too. I have all the ingredients for that awesome sauce. Unicorns FTW!!!
Hahaha yes! Living the unicorn life and loving it.
Colour and vegetables like this make me so happy!! Plus, I need to make that sauce and pour it on everything.
This looks like a delicious way to get all your veggies! Can’t wait to give this a try!
Anything that uses lots of basil is alright in my book. It is my favorite herb ever and once the weather gets warm it’s such an amazing smell in the kitchen. Bring on the pesto!!
Agree! A good friend of mine is allergic to fresh basil! 🙁 it makes me so sad for her!
Isn’t it amazing how beautiful food just begs to be eaten.
Thank you so much! I really appreciate that Karen 🙂
I love this salad! I was going to use your magic sauce on a sandwich, i’m adding this salad to the list too!
MORE MAGIC SAUCE! 😀
I’ve been waiting to try out the Magic Green Sauce and I guess its time to do just that! I’m such a big fan of roasted chickpeas. We kinda use it as an in-between meal snack here in India but I can imagine how much crunch it would add to the salad.
Yeah I’m new to roasting chickpeas but I sure love them!
It’s a beautiful sunny day here in the UK (!!!). And this looks like the just super quick dinner recipe that I need! Thanks.
That’s great Debs! Hope you like it!
I love your recipes. I HATE your ads with sound.
Thanks for the feedback Sara! We’re working on it. I hate them, too…
This is my lunch next week! Oh my gosh, looks so delicious! 🙂
Yay, so awesome! I hope you like it Erica!
I love the pics!! Colors are amazing.
Thank you Vicente!
You are not alone! I can definitely be a vegetable-forgetter, but that’s why you have to keep recipes like these close, so it feels like fun! This looks insanely delicious. I’m so on board!
Awesome! I hope you like it S Lauren!
Stunning! I love rainbows and unicorns… so had to hop in. So does the 2 girls at home. It’s beautiful Lindsay:)
Thanks Ishita! Team Unicorn! 🙂
Your recipes always sound sooo good! and your photos look always amazing!
“Rainbow power!” I think we should start a club with that name. Not exactly sure what we would do (eat salads with roasted chickpeas all day? Yes!) , but we’d have a cool name at least 😉
Laughed out loud in that ugly-snorting kind of way at…”also a good chance that I’m actually a unicorn.”
This looks like all the good things in the world. A salad that won’t make me miss cheese?! I’m in!
I love this! Chickpeas in salad are the bomb! You’ve inspired my salads for this week 😀 What do you use to thinly slice your veges? xx
A really great salad recipe, that’s if it makes it to the plate, hubby is one end of kitchen keep nibbling the roasted chickpeas. I couldn’t find the cumin in my spices so substituted Lebanese spice mix as well as Biryani spice, a great success. I am down the other end of kitchen constantly tasting the sauce to make sure it’s okay, between us I think we’ve consumed a half share of our salad already! I can’t get tricolour carrots here, other than at Farmers Markets, but no prob. Will be serving the salad with some grilled steak. The sauce really is totally delish,. Was thinking of making another batch during week and serving it mixed in with fried chicken tenderloins and bow tie pasta. A very versatile sauce.
yumm so many colours in here!! looks delicious
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This salad looks amazing! Eating a pile of vibrantly colored vegetables definitely does feel like imbibing a rainbow of power. I used to get a rainbow salad from a coop in Seattle that this reminds me of. Serious power food! And it looks like you found yet another use for the spiralizer. I am on the fence about getting one, but it does seem like a great excuse to eat more veggies. Will have to think about it.
Thanks for another great post!
So…I’ve never had a chickpea before (gasp, right!?!). Buuut, this recipe kinda makes me wanna. Thanks Lindsay for encouraging me to try something new. All excited here in Franklin, TN!!
I am drooling… Colorful, healthy and delicious. Can’t ask for much more!
I am currently living in South Korea, and one of the things I find myself missing most is salad! I love me some fresh veggies 🙂 I saw your recipe for the “Magic Green Sauce” and am so intent on making it soon. Only problem is avocados are ridiculously expensive here. Womp womp.
Thanks for sharing your beautiful recipes!
Fabulous & right on time. Sharing this with my 21-Day Fix group today! Thanks Lindsay – oh, and we are loving your posts that involve Sage – keep ’em (or “her” coming)! 🙂
So many pretty colors! During the week I am more disciplined about eating veggies and I enjoy it. But this weekend somehow I got to the end of Saturday realizing I hadn’t had a veg. Those peppers never tasted so good!
Eating rainbows makes it easier to get others to enjoy veg as much as I do. Thanks!
Excellent spiralizing, my unicorn friend.