This summery Chickpea Salad with the creamiest lemon basil avocado dressing is packed with flavours and veggies.
Instant Pot Chickpea Salad is vegetarian, gluten-free and can easily be made ahead. It is perfect for occasions such as 4th of July BBQs, potlucks or cookouts.
- Green Chickpea and Kale Salad with Avocado
- Why you should make this chickpea salad:
- The ingredients you’ll need for the Instant Pot Chickpea Salad:
- Ingredients for the creamy avocado salad dressing:
- Instant Pot Chickpea Salad
- Canned Chickpea Salad
- What goes good with Instant Pot Chickpea Salad
- How to make Creamy Avocado Dressing
- FAQS
- Tips and Suggestions
- Serving Suggestions
- Storage
- Other Instant Pot Recipes
Green Chickpea and Kale Salad with Avocado
Chickpeas, cooling and crunchy cucumber, shredded kale, peas, and lambs lettuce are dressed in an avocado, cashew and Greek yogurt. It’s packed with flavour and texture making it the perfect summer salad!
It is a wonderful plant-based nutritious side salad or light lunch just like this Lentil Salad or Zucchini Ribbon Salad with green beans, apples and basil sauce .
I love taking this salad with me for lunch because the veggies do not wilt and the avocado dressing remains vibrant even the next day.
You can make Black Chickpea salad and Indian Chickpea Salad too which requires Indian spices and herbs.
Suitable for vegetarians – no egg, meat or fish is used in this recipe (many vegetarians especially from India do not consume eggs or fish).
Easily made vegan – one simple substitution and this can be a vegan chickpea salad with avocado.
No mayo chickpea salad – no mayo is needed for this recipe thanks to the light yet creamy avocado dressing.
Great served at potlucks, summer BBQs, picnics or as a healthy lunch.
Full ingredients with measurements are available in the recipe card below at the end of this post
Chickpeas – chickpeas are also known as garbanzo beans in many parts of the world. We are using white chickpeas in this salad recipe. For this recipe, I soaked dried chickpeas overnight and cooked them in the Instant Pot before adding to the salad.
Cucumber – I have used English cucumber and doesn’t required peeling or deseeding. Baby cucumbers (also known as Persian cucumber) also work great.
Kale – I have used curly kale here. This variety is widely available everywhere. If you can get your hands on baby kale, use it in this recipe.
Red onion – Raw red onions are milder than the brown variety and are crisp and fragrant, good for fresh eating. They also enhances to look and colour of the salad too. You could use green onion instead.
Avocado – Avocado adds great creamy taste and texture to the salad. I have used ripe hash avocado for this recipe.
Lamb’s Lettuce – skip totally to make salads without lettuce and you can add arugula (In UK known as Rocket)
Green Peas – Green peas are naturally in sweet with a slight crunch, making them the highlight of this salad. You can use fresh, frozen or canned green peas. Only use canned green peas if the other two options are not available as fresh or frozen definitely taste better!
Optional :
This chickpea salad is made without tomatoes but you can add halved cherry or plum tomatoes if you wish
To add carbs, why not add halved baby potatoes like our Instant Pot Vegan Potato Salad
Add orzo to make this a chickpea pasta salad. It will be similar to our Instant Pot Mediterranean Orzo Pasta Salad
Love potatoes? Have a look at my Best Pesto Potato Salad that to made in Instant Pot.
Try this Mango, Avocado, Black Beans and Corn Salad with Lime Dressing now before mango season disappears.
Ingredients for the creamy avocado salad dressing:
Avocado – use a ripe avocado that has some give when you press the skin. Mashed avocado are a great substitute for mayonnaise, they not only add creaminess to the dish but good source of healthy fats too.
Love avocados? Don’t miss out on these Air fryer Avocado Fries
Greek yogurt – to give the dressing some tang and make it extra creamy, I have used Greek style yogurt. You can use a higher fat percentage Greek yogurt if you wish. To make this salad vegan, use vegan Greek yogurt. As an alternative, you can use sour cream.
Cashews – cashews add creaminess and bulk to the dressing. For recipes where I will be blending the cashews into a paste, I try to use broken cashew as they are cheaper. You can add other nuts if you prefer.
Lemon – I have added freshly squeezed lemon juice but you can add bottled also. Use lime as an alternative
Basil – a cupful of gorgeously fragrant fresh basil is so good in this dressing. It makes the green dressing pop and helps it taste incredible.
Agave – use either agave or blue agave to add a little sweetness to the dressing. You can also add honey or sugar.
Nutritional yeast – nutritional yeast is a vegan’s best friend. It lends a nutty, cheesy flavour and ramps up the nutritional value.
Garlic – a garlic clove gives warming flavours
Olive oil – I have used extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper – to taste
Optional:
Green chillies – I have added one small green chilli which adds a hint of spice without making the dressing spicy. You can of course, leave the chilli out totally.
This avocado greek yogurt dressing can also be used for:
pasta salads
taco salads
coleslaw
dunking into with tortilla chips
Instant Pot Chickpea Salad
I have cooked dried chickpeas in the Instant Pot before using in this salad.
Usually when we cook chickpeas in the Instant pot , we cook in large/big batches as it saves time and energy. You can either freeze the cooked chickpeas or use in:
Chickpea Rice (chana rice)
Tandoori Cauliflower and Chickpea Tacos
Hummus (we have a eight variety of unique hummus recipes for you to try)
Chickpea and coconut curry – also includes instant pot method
Canned Chickpea Salad
You can also used canned or tinned chickpeas for this recipe.
Ensure to rinse and drain them before adding as they are preserved in salt water. Don’t throw away the water but instead make vegan meringues like in our Vegan Eaton Mess
What goes good with Instant Pot Chickpea Salad
You can eat this salad on its own but you could also serve it alongside some bread.
Why not prepare it alongside Yogurt and Herb Sandwich
You can serve it with burgers, grilled vegetables or chips.
How to make Creamy Avocado Dressing
I like to use a jug blender for large quantities. Place all of the dressing ingredients into the blender and blend until smooth and creamy.
If you need water to loosen the dressing a little, use chilled water.
If the chickpeas are freshly cooked from the instant pot, wait until they cool before tossing with the dressing and other salad veggies or else the salad may go limp.
Don’t like green peas?, you may crush the peas into the the creamy avocado dressing.
No the dressing is not spicy, the chilli only adds flavour.
Baby spinach or escarole (slightly bitter). You can also buy a packet of ready prepared salad for ease.
Yes. You can add cashews, pine nuts, almonds. The choice is yours. You can either toast the nuts for flavour or add them directly.
To this question, my answer is yes! If you don’t like the taste of red onion, skip it totally. For milder taste use spring onion.
Yes, you can. Simply omit the nutritional yeast. No alternative is required
Yes, you can make this salad with many other dressings such as lemon vinaigrette or saffron vinaigrette.
Chickpeas are not keto friendly. Carbs in chickpeas or garbanzo peas are too high to incorporate into a keto lifestyle.
If you are using an English or Persian (baby cucumber) cucumber, you do not need to peel them.
Tips and Suggestions
Massage the kale with your fingers for 2-3 minutes with little oil to reduce the bitterness and soften the kale. If using baby kale, it don’t need to be massaged.
Don’t like the taste of green peas? Replace green peas with sweet corn or edamame beans.
Chickpeas can be substitute with other beans such as white kidney beans, red kidney beans or black beans.
If using fresh peas, they don’t need cooking. Fresh or raw peas are safe to eat, however not in large quantity.
You don’t need to cook frozen peas as frozen vegetables are already blanched before freezing. Just thaw them under the running cold water.
Cut an avocado by removing the seed and cutting the flesh into squares right in the skin. Use a spoon to easily scoop the cubes into a bowl.
Lemon juice adds flavor to the salad and keeps the avocado from turning brown. If you’re making this ahead of time, you could leave out the avocado until serving but I have discovered that the salad keeps pretty well with the avocado included.
Serving Suggestions
Enjoy this salad as it is or serve as a side dish or try these variations
- Spoon into lettuce cups – a healthy and delicious light lunch or snack
- Use as a sandwich filling or sandwich between two toasted wholemeal bread
- Serve in tortilla with tomato salsa and make a wrap
Storage
Cover the bowl with a cling film or store in the suitable air tight container in the fridge.
Remember not to leave your salad for too long in the hot weather (Don’t keep out for more than 2 hours at room temperature)
If there are any leftovers, keep it in an air tight container, in the fridge it stays good for 2 days. Best to be eaten by next day.
I don’t recommend freezing this salad.
Other Instant Pot Recipes
- Vegetable Chow-Mein
- Bao Buns
- Strawberry and Rhubarb Jam
- Afghan Lubya
- Eggless Mango Cheesecake
- White Bean Panzanella (Cannellini Beans cooked in Instant Pot)
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Chickpea Salad with Avocado Dressing
Equipment
- 1 Chopping board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Blender
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Salad spoon
Ingredients
Chickpea Salad
- 2 cup chickpeas cooked
- ¾ cup kale
- ½ cup avocado peeled and cubed
- ½ cup green peas
- ½ cup cucumber cubed
- ½ cup lamb’s lettuce
- ½ cup red onion chopped
Creamy Avocado Dressing
- ½ avocado peeled and stone removed
- 3 tablespoon cashew nuts broken
- 4 tablespoon yogurt
- 3 tablespoon basil leaves fresh
- 2 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin
- 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 4 tablespoon lemon juice fresh
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 small chilli green (optional)
- 1 tablespoon agave syrup optional
- salt
- pepper
- water
Instructions
Avocado Dressing
- Puree all the ingredients of avocado dressing in a high speed blender until you get smooth sauce. 1/2 avocado, 3 tablespoon cashew nuts, 4 tablespoon yogurt, 3 tablespoon basil leaves, 2 tablespoon olive oil, 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast, 4 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 clove garlic, 1 small chilli, 1 tablespoon agave syrup, salt, pepper
- You may need to add a couple of tablespoons water if the sauce is very thick, so blender works smoothly. water
- In a big mixing or salad bowl add all the salad ingredients. 2 cup chickpeas, 3/4 cup kale, 1/2 cup avocado, 1/2 cup green peas, 1/2 cup cucumber, 1/2 cup lamb’s lettuce, 1/2 cup red onion
- Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine, check the seasoning if needed add extra salt and pepper.
- Serve immediately or chill in the fridge for 3-4 hours.
Notes
Nutrition
PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.
Chickpea Salad with Avocado Dressing
Equipment
- 1 Chopping board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Blender
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Salad spoon
Ingredients
Chickpea Salad
- 2 cup chickpeas cooked
- ¾ cup kale
- ½ cup avocado peeled and cubed
- ½ cup green peas
- ½ cup cucumber cubed
- ½ cup lamb’s lettuce
- ½ cup red onion chopped
Creamy Avocado Dressing
- ½ avocado peeled and stone removed
- 3 tablespoon cashew nuts broken
- 4 tablespoon yogurt
- 3 tablespoon basil leaves fresh
- 2 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin
- 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 4 tablespoon lemon juice fresh
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 small chilli green (optional)
- 1 tablespoon agave syrup optional
- salt
- pepper
- water
Instructions
Avocado Dressing
- Puree all the ingredients of avocado dressing in a high speed blender until you get smooth sauce. 1/2 avocado, 3 tablespoon cashew nuts, 4 tablespoon yogurt, 3 tablespoon basil leaves, 2 tablespoon olive oil, 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast, 4 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 clove garlic, 1 small chilli, 1 tablespoon agave syrup, salt, pepper
- You may need to add a couple of tablespoons water if the sauce is very thick, so blender works smoothly. water
- In a big mixing or salad bowl add all the salad ingredients. 2 cup chickpeas, 3/4 cup kale, 1/2 cup avocado, 1/2 cup green peas, 1/2 cup cucumber, 1/2 cup lamb’s lettuce, 1/2 cup red onion
- Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine, check the seasoning if needed add extra salt and pepper.
- Serve immediately or chill in the fridge for 3-4 hours.
Notes
Nutrition
PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.
This authentic Indian Onion Salad recipe is so quick and easy to make yet gives you the best results. The recipe is a copycat of the raw onion salad served in restaurants with poppadoms and green chutney.
You can make this easy Indian salad in under 5 minutes with a few simple/easy to find ingredients.
- BEST Indian Onion Salad for Poppadoms
- What is an Indian Onion Salad
- Why you will love this recipe:
- What goes in Indian Onion Salad
- How to serve Onion Salad Indian Takeaway style
- British Indian Restaurant Style Onion Salad
- Indian Onion Salad with Mint Sauce
- Tomato Onion Salad
- Indian Onion Cucumber Salad
- Sarlas/Challas
- Tandoori Onion Salad
- Sirke Wale Pyaaz
- Onion Salad with Oil
- How to make Indian Onion Salad To soak or not to soak… that is the question
- What to do with leftover Onion Salad
- FAQs
- Other Onion Recipes
BEST Indian Onion Salad for Poppadoms
A basket of poppadoms alongside a trio of onion salad and two chutneys signals the start of your Indian feast in any Indian restaurant!
Onion salads provide texture and bite and enhance the flavour of the Indian mains.
If you’re looking for a quick side dish to accompany your homemade Indian meal, then this is the salad that you need to try!
This particular style of raw onion ring salad is served with fried poppadoms , Indian mint sauce or curries but is versatile enough to be added to burgers, wraps and other recipes that ask for onions.
What is an Indian Onion Salad
Indian Onion Salad or Lachha Pyaaz is a raw onion salad recipe that is served as a side to an Indian meal and is made from raw onion rings or slices, lemon juice, fresh herbs and spices.
It is also known as pyaaz salad or lachha pyaaz ka kachumber in Hindi. Pyaaz, Piyaz or pyaj are the hindi words for all kinds of onions available.
The salad is naturally vegan, gluten-free and is no-cook.
Why you will love this recipe:
- So quick and easy – it’s a great everyday salad
- No cook recipe – no cooking is required for these recipe
- Suitable for all dietary needs – the salad is plant based, suitable for vegans and vegetarians, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, nut-free and keto-friendly.
- Easy to scale up or down
- Easy to find ingredients
- Budget friendly
What goes in Indian Onion Salad
Full ingredients with measurements are available in the recipe card below at the end of this post
- Onion – you can make this salad with white, red or sweet onions such as sweet vindalia. You can either slice the onions into rings or into half slices. The onions then need prepping in ice water.
In the UK, sweet onion varieties include Ailsa Craig Onions
Lemon/Lime juice – use freshly squeezed where possible
Red chilli powder or green chilli – you can optionally add a pinch of spice powders like red chilli powder or finely chopped green chilli.
Chaat Masala – chaat masala is a tangy spice blend (not spicy at all). It has a very distinct and recognizable taste and is heavily used in Indian street food items such as smashed potato chaat , surprisingly it was soooo good in this chaat masala hummus too.
If you don’t have any on hand, use mango powder, dried pomegranate powder or black salt (kala namak) or you may get away with using a pinch of garam masala or Madras curry powder
Roasted Cumin Powder – (optional) also known as jeera powder . If you can not find chaat masala use this.
Herbs – fresh coriander (cilantro) and mint leaves are the herbs used in Indian onion salad
Salt – to taste (if using black salt, go easy on this)
How to serve Onion Salad Indian Takeaway style
How you serve this onion salad depends on whether you want to serve like Indian restaurants or British Indian Restaurant.
If you are serving it North Indian restaurant style, then it will go great with curries such as matar paneer , daal makhani , Bhindi Bhaji and garlic and coriander naan
If you are serving it British Indian restaurant style then prepare it finely chopped and serve with fried poppadoms and poppadom dips like mango chutney and mint yogurt chutney .
I prefer to make this salad fresh on the day rather than store it in the fridge.
Pair this salad with your everyday Indian vegetarian meal. I love to make a thali consisting of Multigrain flour roti/chapatti , easy spinach and chana dal and cabbage and potato curry
In Gujarat, India, thinly cut onion slices (without any spices powders) are served with Daal Vada (split moong lentils fritters) along with fried green chillies.
Also Finely chopped onions added on top of the Pani Puri (Indian street food) by roadside vendors in India.
I love to add on Instant Pot Afghan Lubya and Red Kidney Bean and Coconut Curry too
British Indian Restaurant Style Onion Salad
A variation of this Indian Onion Salad is served in the UK in British Curry Houses and Indian takeaways.
Before the starter appears, customers are served finely sliced onion salad with poppadoms, green mint yogurt chutney and mango chutney.
The onion salad is made with finely chopped white onion and finely chopped coriander. The salad sometimes includes very small pieces of cucumber and tomato. In some restaurants, the onion is mildly spiced with Indian masala the same as this recipe.
Finely diced onion is easy to scoop up with poppadom and load up with dips/chutney.
Honestly, I end up making a meal of this and fill up before the starter has even arrived!
Indian Onion Salad with Mint Sauce
For an alternative British Indian Restaurant (BIR) onion salad, you can toss these onions in jarred mint sauce.
British mint sauce is a refreshing condiment that adds tang and zingy flavours.
Tomato Onion Salad
Add thinly sliced tomato rounds to this salad, it tastes absolutely delicious and adds nutritional value too.
Indian Onion Cucumber Salad
You can add chopped cucumber to this salad along with the onion.
Kachumber salad
Kachumber is a wonderful Indian salad consisting of finely chopped onion, tomato, cucumber and coriander. It is finished with a squeeze of lemon juice.
Sarlas/Challas
This recipe hails from Kerala India. Sliced onions and cut green chillies are served as an onion salad
Tandoori Onion Salad
This onion salad is sometimes called tandoori onion salad as it is served with tandoori style dishes.
Sirke Wale Pyaaz
This Indian style pickled onion salad is made by pickling small red onions in vinegar then served alongside meals.
Onion Salad with Oil
In Himachal Pradesh, an area in India, some add a teaspoon of mustard oil to this salad.
How to make Indian Onion Salad
Make this Indian Onion Salad in just a two steps before you are going to serve your Indian meal.
Peel the skin of the onions, and wash it under the running water.
Slice using a sharp knife in to rings or dice them ( to serve with papad and chutney ). Slice as thin as possible.
If you wish, wear cut-resistant gloves to protect your hands (better safe than sorry!)
Separate the onion rings using your index finger and thumb. You can use all the rings, even the small ones.
To soak or not to soak… that is the question
It all depends on your preference of flavour and/or the time you have available.
Soaking the onion first will mellow and tone down the strong flavour. Some people aren’t a fan, and some don’t mind it.
If you want to make this onion salad in less than 5 minutes , then I suggest not soaking the onions.
If you have soaked the onions, after 20 minutes remove them and pat dry with a kitchen paper towel to get rid of all the extra moisture.
In a separate mixing bowl toss the onion rings with all the spice powders (which ever you’d like to use). Mix it and sprinkle with herbs.
What to do with leftover Onion Salad
Add them to the plain yogurt to make onion raita or pan fry with a little oil until light brown and use as a topping for burgers or hot dogs.
If you have sliced them thick, make onion rings by dipping them in to the batter and either deep fry or air fry. Or make world famous Onion Bhaji 🙂
Chill the onions in the freezer for 10 minutes prior to cutting or use a good sharp knife
Place the raw onion in an ice water bath for 15-20 minutes minutes. The onion will remain crunchy, but the flavour will mellow.
Get rid of the strong taste of onions by soaking onion slices in ice cold water for at least 20-30 minutes or by sprinkling them with white vinegar. With this both methods onions will loose strong taste and becomes sweeter, however onions soaked in ice water will get crispy while those in vinegar will soften a bit.
White, yellow, brown and red onions can be used for salads
Cilantro/coriander and mint are the most common herbs used.
For Indian onion salad I suggest you must cilantro/coriander and mint, if you can’t find coriander then you can just get away using a flat leaf parsley.
Jain and Swaminarayan faiths will not eat onion or garlic.
Onions are rich in sulphur and eating raw onion in some people can lead to heartburn, bloating and abdominal discomfort. Serving this salad alongside a meal can reduce these symptoms.
Keep them away from the potatoes to prevent going them bad. Store them in the fridge and use in making curry, meat dishes, or pizza or casseroles. You can freeze onion in the freezer for up to six months. Simply, peel and chop and store in the zip lock bag or an air tight container.
I do not recommend storing this salad or making ahead of time as the strong flavour of the onion intensifies as it sits and does not taste fresh when eaten the next day. I suggest make small batches prior to serving instead.
Other Onion Recipes
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Spring Onion Kadhi (spicy soup)
Pyaz ke Parathe
Do Pyaza Baingan (eggplant)
As always if you make this recipe, be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe and tag me on Instagram @jcookingodyssey or #jcookingodyssey. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!
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Indian Onion Salad
Equipment
- 1 Chopping board
- 1 Sharp knife
- 1 Bowl
Ingredients
- 2 medium red onion
- ¼ teaspoon chilli powder red
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice fresh
- 1 teaspoon chaat masala or roasted ground cumin
- 2 tablespoon cilantro/mint
- salt
Instructions
- Peel the skin of the onions. 2 medium red onion
- Using a sharp knife cut the onions in to thin slices.
- Soak the slices in ice bath for 10-12 minutes
- Discard the water, pat dry the onions using a clean kitchen paper (tissue paper)
- Add salt, chilli powder, lemon juce, chaat masala and cilantro. 1/4 teaspoon chilli powder, 2 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon chaat masala, 2 tablespoon cilantro/mint, salt
- Toss everything together.
- Serve
Video
Notes
Nutrition
PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.
