Looking for a cozy protein-packed salad that’s perfect for winter? Introducing this roasted red pepper salad with crispy chickpeas, quinoa, and a spicy lemon vinaigrette.
Lately, I feel like the obsession with “getting enough protein” has hit an all-time high. And while I do agree that protein is super important, I feel like it leaves other macronutrients overlooked and neglected. For instance, why is no one worried about getting enough fiber? It should be right up there with protein. Which is why I love this salad so much!
This chickpea and roasted red pepper salad has over 25g of plant protein and 20g of fiber per serve. Plus, it’s packed with micronutrients as well. It has everything you could need, which imo, makes this the best roasted red pepper salad ever!
P.S. This is a riff off of my classic roasted chickpea salad, but instead of using fresh veggies, I added in some roasted veggies for extra cozy vibes! So if you liked that salad, you’ll love this version!
Ingredients For This Roasted Red Pepper Salad
Here’s everything you’ll need to make this easy roasted red pepper salad.
- Quinoa: I shared further down the blog post exactly how I make my quinoa super fluffy and tender. Just click here.
- Mini red peppers: You can use regular bell peppers, but I highly recommend the mini red peppers as they pack a lot more flavor!
- Red onion
- Chickpeas
- Fresh dill
- Fresh parsley
- Olive oil
- Lemons
- Honey
- Kosher salt
- Spices: Including onion, garlic, cayenne and cumin.
- Feta cheese: Obviously, this isn’t vegan, but if you like you can add in a handful of crumbled feta for extra flavor!!
Method Behind This Salad
As with most of my salads, the method behind this salad is designed to save you time so you can prep ingredients in parallel.
While the quinoa cooks and the veggies roast, you can prepare the roasted red pepper salad dressing and mince the herbs. All in all, this salad takes about 45 minutes from start to finish, and most of that time is hands-off cooking time for the quinoa and veggies.
Quick Quinoa 101
My method for fluffy is a 1:2 ratio of quinoa to water. So for 3/4 cup of quinoa, use 1 1/2 cups water, along with a large pinch of salt.
Now, I’m sure you’ve heard that you HAVE to rinse your quinoa otherwise it’ll be bitter. The reason is that rinsing the quinoa helps remove quinoa’s natural coating (saponin), which can make it taste bitter. However, most quinoa you buy at the store is already pre-rinsed before its package, but you can rinse your quinoa just to be sure. I feel like it’s unnecessary, but you do you!
But back to my quinoa method.
Add the quinoa, water, and salt into a large pot. Place the pot on the stove, bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low, and partially cover the pot. Let the quinoa cook undisturbed for 10-12 minutes or until all the water is absorbed. This next step is key, turn the heat off, fully cover the pot with the lid, and let the quinoa sit for 10 minutes. The “sitting” helps the quinoa steam and cook off any excess water.
A Few Notes
- If you want to meal-prep any salad of mine, this is probably the most meal-prep friendly. Store the veggies and quinoa together in a glass tupperware, and the dressing in a glass jar in the fridge. I prefer to store the crispy chickpeas like granola; in a glass container with room to breathe in the pantry. They stay pretty crispy like this. If your chickpeas get a little soft, just reheat them on a parchment-lined baking sheet at 450°F for 8-10 minutes, they’ll crisp right up! This salad tastes best warm, so whenever you’re ready to eat this, just heat everything (except the herbs) at 450°F on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 8-10 minutes.
- Speaking of prepping this salad, it stores well for up to 4 days in a glass tupperware in the fridge. Just reheat it at 400°F on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 10 minutes.
Even More Cozy Salads
Print
Roasted Red Pepper Salad
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Roasted Red Pepper Salad
- 3/4 cup dry quinoa
- 8 mini red peppers, quartered, stems and seeds removed
- 1 small red onion, cut into wedges
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- Olive oil
- Kosher salt
- 1/4 cup roughly minced dill
- 1/4 cup roughly minced parsley
- Feta cheese, if not vegan
Spicy Lemon Vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1–2 tbsp honey
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt, plus more as needed
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/4 tsp garlic granules or 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/4 tsp cumin
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Or, line two medium trays with parchment paper.
- Make the quinoa. My method for fluffy is a 1:2 ratio of quinoa to water. So for 3/4 cup of quinoa, use 1 1/2 cups water, along with a large pinch of salt. Place the pot on the stove, bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low, and partially cover the pot. Let the quinoa cook undisturbed for 10-12 minutes or until all the water is absorbed. This next step is key, turn the heat off, fully cover the pot with the lid, and let the quinoa sit for 10 minutes. The “sitting” helps the quinoa steam and cook off any excess water.
- Roast the veggies and chickpeas. While the quinoa cooks, add the peppers, onion, and chickpeas to the prepared sheet pan(s). Drizzle generously with olive and salt and toss to combine. I like to keep the pepper, onion, and chickpeas separate on the same tray; just in case I need to remove the peppers before the chickpeas are done cooking (does that make sense?). Roast the veggies and chickpeas for 25-30 minutes or until the peppers and onion are slightly charred, and the chickpeas are golden brown and crispy.
- Prepare the dressing and herbs. While the quinoa and veggies roast, prep the dressing. Add all of the ingredients into a large jar and whisk well. Taste and adjust salt and honey as needed. I like the dressing with just 1 tbsp of honey but feel free to add 2 tbsp if you prefer the dressing on the sweeter side.
- Assemble the salad. At this point, both the quinoa and veggies should be done, and all that’s left to do is combine everything. Add the quinoa into a large serving bowl, followed by the roasted veggies, chickpeas, dill, and parsley. Pour over half the dressing and toss to combine. Taste and add more dressing and salt as needed. Serve immediately while the salad is still warm!
This is one of the most delicious warm salads I’ve ever had, and so simple to throw together on a weeknight. Thanks for sharing.
Blushing rn, thank you so much for leaving such a lovely review Rachel!!
Delicious. This makes one of my favorite salads ever. Thank you so much.
So happy you liked it Melissa!!
This salad is delicious. The crispy chickpeas added a nice texture, the flavors all worked so well together. This is be a staple salad for me.
Crispy chickpeas will forever be a favorite of mine, they make everything better! So so happy you like this salad Andrea! 🙂
Question, the recipe says 1/4 lemon juice. Is that 1/4 cup or teaspoon? This looks really good but I’m not a cook and need the exact measurements. Thanks.
Thank you so much for pointing that out, it should be 1/4 cup. So sorry about that!! 🙂
This recipe is delicious. However, I wasn’t really sure how much lemon to use for the dressing. Is 1/4 lemon a quarter of a cup, or Tbsp, or else? I would really appreciate your input, so I know how to do it next time.
Thank you so much!
Awww so happy to hear that! And thank you so much for pointing that out, it should be 1/4 cup lemon juice. So sorry about that!! 🙂
This recipe was published last week and I have already made it a second time. I can say without a doubt that this salad will be a part of my weekly rotation. My partner who does not like chickpeas or quinoa went for second helpings…both times!
Just finished making this. Wow. What a great salad! Just roasting all the veggies made the house smell amazing on this rainy California day! I did omit the dill as we aren’t fans of it here (though we all love dill pickles…weird!). But truly delicious. Hoping it’s good chilled as I didn’t realize until I’d started that it’s mean to be eaten warm!
Haha totally get the dill thing – so happy you liked it!!
I absolutely love this! I switched the quinoa to couscous (easier on my stomach) and it was the perfect meal prep for my lunches! Thanks for the recipe, I’ll be adding it to my regulars!
Oooh the couscous sounds so good, going to have to try that when I make this next! So happy you liked it Rachel!!
I added the feta and served it with an egg for dinner. This was so good and easy for a weeknight!
Yaaay, so happy you liked it (and that it was easy enough to whip on a weeknight)!!
This is an amazing salad, we enjoyed it so much! Thank you for this recipe, definitely will be making on repeat.
Amazing, so happy you liked it Barbara!
Do you have the calories per serving in this? I know you mentioned the protein and fiber but not calories.
Unfortunately I don’t, but you can plug the ingredients into MyFitness Pal or Cronometer!
This is so so good. I am in love. Thank you so much for your recipes Mariyah!
OMG BLUSHING RN! Thank you so much Eva, happy you’re enjoying the recipes 🙂
I hate beans, but I need some fiber. This salad was AMAZING. So amazing that we’ve been having it once a week either as lunch/dinner or I made one as a side salad (with very little quinoa). The only thing I did differently was grating my garlic for the dressing. My teen daughter and husband loves it too. It’s so filling and you don’t feel bloated after.
This salad is amazing! The dressing is so delicious, and the veggies are a great combination.
Yaaay, so happy you liked it Marisa!
Outstanding warm salad!!! And so easy … definitely going to be on rotation in my house.
So freakin happy you liked it Toni!!
This was delicious!!
I also chopped up sweet potato and added it to the sheet pan with the other ingredients. It was sooooo good! Thank you!
So happy you liked it Niamh, thank you so much for leaving a review!!
This is SO good! I can’t get over how good the peppers and onions are on their own, but all of this together is just magic. I add chicken for the teenager, and she eats it up!
So happy to hear this, legit made my day! Thank you so much for leaving a review Kara, appreciate it!!!
Made this doubling the recipe for meal prep and adding feta, chicken, and broccoli. I let the broccoli and peppers and onions mix and roast together and let chicken thighs bake on top of those. This is a wonderful warm salad!
Oooh the feta addition sounds so good – so happy you liked it Zoe!!
I’ve made this 3 times now and my whole family loves it!!
So good and easy!! I loved this salad! I appreciate that you recommended adding half of the dressing first to see how it coated.
So happy you liked it and good to know that was helpful to include!! Thank you so much for leaving a review, appreciate it!