Mango Chickpea Salad
This hearty bean salad features chickpeas, sweet mango, fresh veggies, and sweet roasted corn in a cumin lime toasted chili oil dressing. Mango chickpea salad is a perfect, one-bowl summer lunch! (gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free with oil-free option)
Servings: 4
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 15- ounce can chickpeas or 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
- 2 to 3 ears corn on the cob or about 1 cup frozen corn
- 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
- 3/4 cups chopped tomato
- 3/4 cup finely chopped red onion
- 1 to 2 ripe mangoes chopped small
- 1 hot green chili such as serrano or Indian chili, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro or more, to taste
For the Dressing
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
For the Spiced Oil
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Prep all the veggies if you haven’t already. Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Chop up the bell pepper, tomato, red onion, mango, green chili, and cilantro. If the corn still has the husk, shuck it.
- To cook the corn, place the cobs directly on a medium-high gas flame on your stove. Use tongs to turn the corn every minute or so until it begins to blacken. Once it starts getting nicely charred, start flipping it every 10 to 15 seconds until most of the kernels have black spots. Let the corn cool for a few minutes, then use a knife to remove the kernels from the cob. If you’re using frozen corn, toast it in a skillet over medium-high heat until you start to see golden brown spots, about 4 to 6 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- To make the dressing, mix all the dry ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. Don’t add the lime juice yet. We will do that later.
- For the spiced oil, heat a small skillet over medium-low heat, and add the oil. Once the oil is hot, lower the heat to low, add the pepper flakes, stir, and turn off the heat. The pepper flakes will toast in the hot oil and infuse it with heat and a smoky flavor.
- When ready to serve, add the chickpeas, chopped vegetables, corn, green chili, and cilantro to a large bowl. Sprinkle the dry dressing ingredients and add the lime juice and spiced oil. Toss everything thoroughly to coat. Serve immediately, or let the salad sit for up to an hour, so the flavors can meld. Serve with pita chips, indian papri/crackers or toasted pita bread.
Video
Notes
Mango chickpea salad is naturally gluten-free, nut-free, and soy-free.
I prefer white or bi-color corn on the cob for this recipe, but if you can only find yellow corn, it will work, as well.
If you’re not sure how to chop the mango, see the video for how I do it.
The flavors will intensify as the salad sits, but all the chopped vegetables will also begin to soften. It's best to make the salad about an hour before serving. To store for longer, keep the dressing separately and mix it into the salad just before serving.
Variations: Use different beans such as black beans, white beans, or lentils. You can also make this into more of a dense bean salad by using two types of beans, like chickpeas and black beans. Use more of the spices and dressing, depending on the volume of the beans.
Nutrition
Calories: 293kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 352mg | Potassium: 706mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 1762IU | Vitamin C: 57mg | Calcium: 79mg | Iron: 4mg