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Berry Spinach Salad with Maple Cinnamon Roasted Chickpeas and Balsamic Dressing

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We found salad in a hopeless place. We found salad in a hoooopelesssss place.

Berry Spinach Salad with Maple Cinnamon Chickpeas and Balsamic Dressing // Hummusapien.com

As I said in yesterday’s What I Ate Wednesday post, I’m not one to whip up a salad for lunch, or any meal for that matter. I blame it partially on my laziness, partially on lack of creativity, and partially on the difficulty of packing a salad in my lunchbox. Now that grad school is basically over, I’ve been treating myself to lunches at home. Like on an actual plate. Oh Tupperware, how I don’t miss thee.

Lunching at home opens up a whole world of possibilities. I can make scrambled eggs! Salad! Smoothies! It’s the little things in life.

I also blame this ensalada on berries being $1.99 this week. Since I buy enough produce to feed a family of four, I obviously bought three packages. The weird part is that I only eat the berries either on oatmeal or just by the handful. I actually prefer frozen berries reheated in the microwave on my oatmeal since the juiciness makes the oatmeal naturally sweeter, so lately I’ve just been shoving fresh berries in my face like it’s nobody’s biznass.

Berry Spinach Salad with Maple Cinnamon Chickpeas and Balsamic Dressing // Hummusapien.com

But this salad. This salad is your biznass.

I’ve eaten it every day for lunch for the past three days. Like I get excited to come home and eat it. It’s that good. If it’s just you at home or if you don’t want to share, you can easily adjust this to one serving by just adding however many berries and almond you like. Keep the dressing in the fridge for future salading and the chickpeas in the pantry for snackities.

Can we talk about the chickpeas for a sec. Maple cinnamon roasted chickpeas > croutons. I mean they just killllllll it.

Maple Cinnamon Roasted Chickpeas // Hummusapien.com

I feel like this salad would be the perfect picnic salad. I’ve never been on a picnic. I want to go on a picnic and eat almond butter and jelly sammies. All I want is a cute boy to ask me to go on a picnic.

I mean I would totally bring this salad and seal the deal, ya know?

Berry Spinach Salad with Maple Cinnamon Chickpeas and Balsamic Dressing // Hummusapien.com

P.S. I may or may not be jamming to Classic by MKTO while I write this post…I don’t hate it.

I wanna kiss you like Prince!

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Berry Spinach Salad with Maple Cinnamon Roasted Chickpeas and Balsamic Dressing

★★★★★ 5 from 2 reviews
  • Author: Alexis
  • Prep Time: 15 mins
  • Cook Time: 35 mins
  • Total Time: 50 mins
  • Yield: 4 1x
  • Category: Salad
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Description

The perfect spring spinach salad studded with fresh berries, crunchy maple cinnamon roasted chickpeas and homemade balsamic.

Scale

Ingredients

Maple Cinnamon Roasted Chickpeas:

  • 1–15oz can chickpeas, drained, rinsed and patted dry
  • 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
  • 1 tsp grapeseed oil (or coconut oil, melted)
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Dressing:

  • 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
  • 1 1/2 tbsp pure maple syrup
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Salad:

  • 8 cups of spinach
  • 1–6oz package raspberries
  • 1–6oz package blackberries
  • 1/2 cup roasted and salted almonds, chopped
  • 1 ripe avocado, cubed

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with a silipat or parchment paper. Drain and rinse chickpeas and then roll them around in a paper towel until they’re very dry. The more dry, the more crunchy. The more skin that comes off the chickpeas, the better!
  2. In a medium bowl, stir together chickpeas, maple syrup, oil, cinnamon and salt.
  3. Pour onto prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, tossing around with a spatula every 15 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, whisk together all the dressing ingredients in a medium bowl. I like to add all the ingredients to a mason jar and just shake it until combined.
  5. Place the salad ingredients in a large serving bowl. Toss everything together to combine. Pour dressing over top just prior to serving and stir to combine. Garnish with a few roasted almonds.
  6. Store any extra roasted chickpeas in an air-tight container. They will get less crunchy over time.

 

Comments

  1. I’m super lazy about making salads too; although, I really do love them! I really just need to take the time to do it because I absolutely love the sound of this one. It’s so different, but looks amazing! And, by the way, raspberries just so happen to be my most favorite berry ever! ;-)

    Reply

  2. Well no thanks to you I am now reliving my Calvin Harris days in my head aka Davs the rave queen in NYC who thrived off Cosi Salads. I’ve come a long way thank G! So long I discovered the greatness that is roasted chickpeas and I ain’t ever going back. Chickpeas were .99 cents so I bought enough to feed the Duggar family for 3 years. Long lost soul sistassss

    Reply

    • Bahhaah Davs the rave queen. Totes your new name. OMG when chickpeas are on sale I fill my cart with SO many and get a million and five weird looks. Long hair don’t care!

      Reply

  3. Love your stuff! I am GF, cancer survivor (yeah yeah yeah!!!) and LOVE your recipes to help keep me healthy!!!

    Reply

  4. I love a good salad so this is one to add to the list. I have never put berries on a salad… I don’t think dried cranberry’s count… or do they?

    Reply

  6. Lunches at home… on a plate?!? Jealous. ;) I love making big batches of salads to take to work with me during the week. One of my favorite combos is berrie/spinach. I’m going to have to try those chickpeas though… they look amazing!!

    Reply

  8. Hi Alexis, Great looking salad, love roasted chickpeas, but with maple and cinnamon….All I can think is that it sounds perfect with the spinach, great combination of flavors.

    Reply

  11. Okay…You’ve done it.

    I’m going to battle the chickpeas. Only because it’s maple cinnamon roasted. They sound like something worth the physical pains.

    If you wanted to bring a salad in tupperware, just save those costco sized boxes for baby spinach.

    MKTO do NOT thank you.

    Reply

    • The chickpea battle is SO on. Seriously, these are another kind of addicting! Bahah I can’t even imagine the looks I’d get if I packed salad in those costco salad containers. Actually, people prob wouldn’t even be surprised.

      Reply

  12. I’m so ridiculously addicted to roasted chickpeas — it’s not even funny. I love the idea of tossing them in a salad, but mine don’t usually last long enough to make that happen! :lol: Going to have to exercise some willpower and try to save them!

    Reply

  14. I’m on a chickpea kick…in a big way. I feel like roasting ’em up is going to throw that kick out the park- I can’t wait to try this out!! I feel you on not eating out of the tupperware- one of my favorite things about working from work may or may not be the plethora of lunch options and eating out of a freakin’ plate..oh its the little things!

    Reply

  15. Dang – berries are $1.99 in your neck of the woods? Clearly I NEED to move!
    Yay for leaving-the-tupperware-on-the-shelf-and-eating-from-a-plate lunches! This salad is such a wonderful blend of flavors and textures AND colors!!

    Reply

  19. Those chickpeas sound phenomenal! I’ve never put crunchy chickpeas on a salad, but just on principle I have to agree >> croutons. Berries have been going on crazy sale here lately and I (for some reason) don’t like just snacking on them, but still buy crazy amounts. This salad is the perfect solution!

    Reply

  20. My life is seriously just looking for new salad recipes… I need to get over my fear of roasting chickpeas… they are so delicious. And I ALWAYS need a little crunch in my salad but constantly lack it. Pinning now!

    Reply

  22. I can hardly wait for these chickpeas to finish roasting! They smell amazing! I’m going to tryyyyy to save some for my salads this week :) I can’t wait to get this salad in my belly! Love the blog! So glad I found it!

    Reply

      • First off, I have to give props to your photography skills. I took 2 jillion pictures of the salad to send my husband (since I’ve been blabbing about this salad since I saw it on Pinterest 5 days ago) and none of them did this gorgeous salad justice, as your pictures did. Although I did end up licking my phone screen, that was only because I spilled some dressing on it :) Looooooved it!

        ★★★★★

        Reply

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