Spinach Salad With Roasted Vegetables and Spiced Chickpeas

Name: Spinach Salad With Roasted Vegetables and Spiced Chickpeas
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed; 2 large sweet potatoes (1 1/4 pounds), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes; 2 medium carrots (1/2 pound), peeled and sliced 1/4-inch thick; 8 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, more as needed; Black pepper, as needed; 2 thyme sprigs; 1/2 teaspoon chile powder; 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin; 1 clove garlic, minced; 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt; 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice; 5 ounces spinach (6 cups); 2 tablespoons thinly sliced shallot

By Melissa Clark

Total Time: 1 hour
Rating: 5(476)
Notes: Read community notes

The best main-course salads are precariously balanced things, requiring planning and forethought to come out well. You need to make sure that your mix of vegetables, proteins and starches hits all the requisite flavor and textural notes — sweet, salty, tangy, fresh, crisp, soft and rich. In the end, a main-course salad should feel virtuous and a little decadent, and eminently satisfying. This recipe works on all those levels. It has crunchy, salty chickpeas imbued with spice. There are sweet potatoes and carrots roasted until exquisitely tender. The creamy Greek yogurt dressing spiked with garlic is creamy and rich. And finally, there’s the spinach, which is earthy and fresh.

Featured in: A Main-Course Salad With Spinach and Chickpeas

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

115-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2large sweet potatoes (1¼ pounds), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
2medium carrots (½ pound), peeled and sliced ¼-inch thick
8tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
¾teaspoon kosher salt, more as needed
Black pepper, as needed
2thyme sprigs
½teaspoon chile powder
½teaspoon ground cumin
1clove garlic, minced
⅓cup plain Greek yogurt
2teaspoons fresh lemon juice
5ounces spinach (6 cups)
2tablespoons thinly sliced shallot

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with a clean dishtowel or several layers of paper towels and spread drained chickpeas evenly on top. Pat dry with another dishtowel or paper towels.
Step 2
Toss sweet potato and carrots with 2 tablespoons oil and season with ¾ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Spread on a large rimmed baking sheet and top with thyme sprigs. Roast, tossing occasionally, until golden-brown and very tender, 40 to 50 minutes.
Step 3
While vegetables are roasting, toss chickpeas with 2 tablespoons oil, chile powder, cumin and a large pinch of salt. Spread on another rimmed baking sheet. Transfer to the oven 10 minutes after you’ve put in the potatoes and carrots; roast until crisp and golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes.
Step 4
Using the flat side of a knife or a mortar and pestle, mash the garlic with a large pinch of salt until it forms a paste. Add it to a small bowl and whisk in yogurt and lemon juice. Slowly whisk in remaining 4 tablespoons (¼ cup) oil. Season with salt and pepper.
Step 5
In a large bowl, combine spinach, roasted vegetables, chickpeas and shallot. Toss with enough dressing to lightly coat vegetables and greens and serve at once.

Ratings

5 out of 5

476 user ratings

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Cooking Notes

jmee6 years ago

Goodness Chad. No need to judge.

Memphis girl6 years ago

I cannot lie - I roasted the chickpeas and the carrots/sweet potato, and they never made it to the top of the salad. We ate them as-is, and they were very flavorful.

Lisa6 years ago

This is a fantastic vegetarian main course salad - really flavorful and satisfying! It was great with a fried egg on top!

jmee6 years ago

Oh so good. I added a few pieces of chopped bacon crisped up with the shallots. Also took Lisa's trip and topped with a fried egg. It was a very satisfying and filling main dish and was requested to be added to our regular rotation. Melissa Clark strikes again!

Claire M6 years ago

We made a similar salad for Christmas (we eat a variation of this all summer long). Spinach, roasted spiced butternut, fetta and pine nuts with a similar creamy dressing.

daniel6 years ago

Can roast potatoes, carrots, and chickpeas together from the beginning. Go very easy on the garlic.

Chad6 years ago

The beauty of this recipe is that it's a wholesome vegetarian dish. Bacon ruins the delicate flavors in this dish. If you're so unwilling to go without meat for a single dish, then why make this dish at all?

Christa6 years ago

Since I had a bunch of Lacinato kale from Whole Foods' $1-a-bunch sale, I shredded a bunch and massaged it with 2 tablespoons of the dressing and let it and the shallots soften and macerate while the vegetables and chickpeas roasted. Purple carrots offered a colorful and healthy contrast. Sweet potatoes from the farmstand and chickpeas made myself from scratch--well worth the effort, and really not much effort. Lovely autumn dinner and flavors with leftovers for lunch during the week.

Delise6 years ago

This was a really good salad! The textures and flavors worked beautifully together. I added additional spices to the chickpeas - cayenne, onion and garlic powder. I had a few thin slices of prosciutto left over from another recipe, so I added them to the salad for that extra note of salty to contrast w/ the sweetness of the carrot and sweet potato. Really easy prep, too. This salad will go into my regular rotation, for sure.

Elli5 years ago

Pilón works great too, and is easier to clean than a press.

lewkosama5 years ago

Garlic through press saves effort.

lewkosama5 years ago

Best way to make garlic paste is a press.

lewkosama5 years ago

Best way to make garlic paste is with a press.

lewkosama5 years ago

Garlic paste is best made with a press!

kjohns6 years ago

I liked this salad but wasn’t thrilled with how the chickpeas came out. I put them back in the oven longer but still wasn’t excited by them. I think I might have liked dried cranberries better.

Christa6 years ago

Dan6 years ago

chickpeas cook faster than expected

daniel6 years ago

Can roast potatoes, carrots, and chickpeas together from the beginning. Go very easy on the garlic.

jmee6 years ago

Chad6 years ago

jmee6 years ago

Goodness Chad. No need to judge.

Delise6 years ago

Lisa6 years ago

This is a fantastic vegetarian main course salad - really flavorful and satisfying! It was great with a fried egg on top!

Isabelle6 years ago

This was delicious and warming for a cold winter night; we will definitely make this again. We doubled the roasted veggies part and kept everything else the same. (Oh, we also halved the amount of oil in the dressing). To die for.

Claire M6 years ago

We made a similar salad for Christmas (we eat a variation of this all summer long). Spinach, roasted spiced butternut, fetta and pine nuts with a similar creamy dressing.

Laurel6 years ago

This was terrific. Roasting times were shorter than specified. We used less spinach. Great meal.

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