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An easy Moroccan chickpea quinoa salad made with Sunkist® Cara Cara oranges, pistachios, golden raisins, and an aromatic Sunkist® Navel orange dressing. It’s a quick and healthy vegetarian recipe, perfect for meal prep! 

moroccan chickpea quinoa salad

Some of the best recipes come together when you get creative with the ingredients you have on hand. While I planned out this recipe, it was done with the intention of putting your pantry staples to good use and in a creative way. By layering flavors and textures, you can create a flavorful (and maybe even unexpected) meal with just a few ingredients.

I hope this recipe inspires you to get creative with what you have in your fridge and pantry, try new flavor combinations, and maybe even give this recipe a try!

Moroccan Chickpea Quinoa Salad

This Moroccan chickpea quinoa salad is the perfect example of how to make a well-stocked pantry can work in your favor. Common pantry staple ingredients like quinoa and chickpeas come together with a variety of spices, and longer-lasting produce like oranges and carrots to create a flavorful citrus-infused quinoa salad.

Most of the flavor comes from the dressing that’s made from a freshly squeezed Sunkist® Navel orange and a blend of olive oil, turmeric, cumin, and cinnamon. The quinoa soaks of the dressing, giving the salad a burst of flavor in every bite. The salad is finished off with golden raisins, pistachios, parsley, and segmented Sunkist® Cara Cara oranges. This creates an irresistible sweet and savory flavor combination. You won’t be able to get enough of it!

How to Serve This Quinoa Salad

In general, quinoa salads are great for meal prep. The flavors also intensify the longer they sit, making this salad even better the next day. Enjoy this salad straight from the fridge or reheat it if you wish. While this salad is naturally vegan and makes for a healthy lunch or dinner, feel free to serve it along with a protein of your choice. Wild-caught salmon or shrimp would be delicious.

Common Substitutions

While this recipe is delicious as written, it’s a flexible recipe that can be altered based on what you have on hand or your taste preference. You can easily substitute the golden raisins, pistachios, and parsley for other dried fruits, nuts or seeds, and herbs you have on hand or are more accessible. Below are some common substitutions for these ingredients but feel free to get creative.

Golden Raisins – substitute chopped dates, dried cranberries, dried Bing cherries, currants or regular raisins

Pistachios – toasted almonds or pine nuts lend more to the traditional Moroccan flavors, but any nuts or seeds will work. Chopped cashews, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, etc.

Parsley – substituting mint for the parsley works well with the flavors in this recipe. If you have fresh herbs on hand, use them. But also don’t worry if you don’t. This recipe will still be delicious without them If you’re not a fan of parsley or mint you can always add in chopped spinach or arugula for some extra greens.

moroccan chickpea quinoa salad
Hands holding bowl of moroccan chickpea quinoa salad
moroccan chickpea quinoa salad

Nourished by Nutrition Facts:

Cara Cara Oranges

While Cara Cara oranges may look like Navel oranges on the outside, cut into one and you’ll immediately notice its bright pink flesh. This beautiful pink hue comes from the naturally occurring lycopene. Lycopene is an antioxidant that can help protect your body from damage caused by free radicals. Excess free radicals in the body can create oxidative stress in your body. Research shows that the antioxidant properties of lycopene can help keep levels of free radical levels in check, protecting your body against some health conditions associated with elevated oxidative stress. (1)

Cara Cara oranges are also an excellent source of vitamin C. While all oranges contain vitamin C, Cara Cara oranges contain the most vitamin C out of all Sunkist® citrus varieties. One medium Cara Cara orange contains 100% of your daily vitamin C requirement. Aside from vitamin C, Cara Cara oranges, are a good source of fiber, folate and vitamin A. (2) It’s no wonder Sunkist calls this variety The Power Orange. This amazing citrus variety is available from December through May.

moroccan chickpea quinoa saladmoroccan chickpea quinoa salad

IF YOU LOVE THIS Moroccan chickpea quinoa salad, YOU’LL ALSO enjoy these citrus recipes…

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Moroccan Chickpea and Quinoa Salad

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An easy Moroccan chickpea quinoa salad made with Sunkist® Cara Cara oranges, pistachios, golden raisins, and an aromatic Sunkist® Navel orange dressing.

Ingredients

Scale

For the Salad

1 cup uncooked quinoa

2 cups water

½ teaspoon salt

1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

2 Sunkist® Cara Cara oranges, supremed

½ cup grated carrots

⅓ cup chopped pistachios

⅓ cup golden raisins

⅓ cup chopped parsley

For the Dressing

1 Sunkist® Navel orange (¼ cup orange juice)

2 tbsp olive oil

½ teaspoon minced garlic

½ tsp ground turmeric

½ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp sea salt

¼ teaspoon fresh black pepper

Instructions

Add water and quinoa to a medium pot and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce to a simmer. Let the quinoa cook for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and fluff with a fork. Let quinoa cool for 5-10 minutes. 

Meanwhile, make the dressing. Add the orange juice, olive oil, spices, salt and pepper to a mason jar. Put on the lid and shake vigorously until the dressing is combined. 

To segment the Sunkist® Cara Cara orange, use a sharp knife to carefully slice off the top and bottom of the orange. Lay the orange cut side down. Use downward strokes along the sides of the orange to slice the skin away from the flesh. Discard the peel and remove any remaining white pith with the knife. Slice between one of the segments and the connective membrane until you reach the middle of the orange. Once both sides of the segment are sliced, remove the segment. Continue with each remaining segment.

Pour the dressing on to the quinoa and mix together. Gently stir in chickpeas, golden raisins, pistachios, Cara Cara orange segments, and parsley to the quinoa and mix until well-combined. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper, if necessary. 

Serve warm or cold. Garnish with extra pistachios, oranges slices, and parsley, if desired. 

Store leftover salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Enjoy cold out of the fridge or reheated.

Notes

Substitutions: Feel free to swap out the golden raisins, pistachios and parsley with what you have on hand or per your taste preference. Dried cranberries, chopped dates, toasted almonds, and mint would be delicious.

 

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?

I’d love to hear how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #nourishedbynutriton and #MySunkistTable. You can also find this recipe on Sunkist.com/recipes/moroccan-chickpea-and-quinoa-salad/

This post was created in partnership with Sunkist®. As always, I only partner with brands I love and use. I share them because I want you to love them as much as I do. Thank you so much for supporting the sponsors that keep Nourished by Nutrition going!