Green Salad with Chickpeas and Spicy Honey Tahini Dressing
on Jan 11, 2021, Updated Jul 30, 2025
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Bright, crunchy greens meets hearty chickpeas and a totally addictive spicy honey tahini dressing in this green salad. It’s the kind of no-fuss, make-ahead dish that feels light yet satisfying. Perfect for lunches, weeknight dinners, or toting along to potluck gatherings.
A salad that’s hearty enough to feel like a meal, but light enough to eat every day? That’s the dream, and this green salad with chickpeas and spicy honey tahini dressing is exactly that. Crisp greens, sturdy protein-packed chickpeas (or garbanzo beans), and a creamy-spicy-sweet dressing that you could drizzle on everything. It comes together in minutes, holds up in the fridge for leftovers, and plays beautifully with any protein or flatbread.
Also, check out Mixed Green Salad with Creamy Sesame Dressing and Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Salad with Tahini Dressing.
What's In This Post?
- What Is Tahini?
- Ingredients
- How to Make Green Salad with Spicy Tahini Dressing
- Tips for Making Salad with Tahini Dressing
- How to Make Toasted Sesame Seeds
- What to Serve With Green Salad and Tahini Dressing
- Green Salad with Chickpeas and Spicy Honey Tahini Dressing Recipe
- More Salad Recipes With Chickpea Beans
Green Salad with Chickpeas and Spicy Honey Tahini Dressing: A crunchy salad studded with chickpeas is tossed with a creamy slightly sweet dressing with a tiny kick of heat.
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What Is Tahini?
Tahini is a wonderful ingredient, a thick sauce or paste made from sesame seeds. It’s used often in Middle Eastern cooking to add richness and nuttiness to different dishes, and it’s one of the core ingredients in hummus. (However, you can make hummus without tahini if you don’t have it on hand.) In this recipe, it is used as the base of a smooth, creamy dressing for a salad with chickpeas and greens.
Ingredients
For the Spicy Tahini Dressing:
This spicy honey tahini dressing is the kind of thing you’ll want to keep in a jar in your fridge all summer (and maybe winter, too?). Creamy and nutty from tahini (but nut-free!), with a gentle kick of heat and a touch of sweetness from the honey, it transforms a humble bowl of greens and chickpeas into something special. Bonus: it’s dairy-free, vegan-adaptable, gluten-free, and doubles as a great dip, or a drizzle for grilled vegetables.
- Tahini – Adds a nutty flavor as well as creaminess and substance to the dressing.
- Olive oil
- Lemon juice
- Honey – Feel free to swap for agave if you want a vegan salad.
- Harissa – A North African chili pepper paste, which also makes appearances in other cuisines, such as Middle Eastern food, Israeli, in particular. You can buy it at well-stocked markets, or make your own harissa sauce! Use another hot sauce or red pepper flakes if you don’t have harissa.
- Minced garlic – You want to make sure it blends into the tahini dressing, and a few tips on how to mince garlic will surely help.
For the Salad:
- Baby arugula – The pepperiness of the arugula adds a little bite to the salad.
- Baby spinach – A nice, soft lettuce to serve as the base for this flavorful salad.
- Chickpeas – Or garbanzo beans, if you prefer, add protein and toothsome texture.
- Red onion – Provide color and a spicy bite.
- Cucumbers – Offer a fresh crunch to this salad.
- Sesame seeds – The toasted sesame seeds are optional, but they add a toasty layer of flavor and are really easy to make, and help the salad feel very polished.
How to Make Green Salad with Spicy Tahini Dressing
- Make the dressing.
- Assemble the salad: Toss together the arugula, spinach, chickpeas, red onion, and cucumbers. Add the dressing and toss again to combine. Sprinkle over the toasted sesame seeds (if using) before serving.
Tips for Making Salad with Tahini Dressing
Absolutely. The tahini dressing keeps well in the fridge for up to 5 days. Give it a stir or a shake before using, as it might thicken or separate a bit as it sits.
If you’re meal-prepping, store the dressing separately and toss the salad just before serving. The chickpeas hold up well, but leafy greens are happier when they haven’t been sitting in dressing for hours.
Of course! This is a choose-your-own-adventure salad (as most are). Arugula brings a peppery note, and spinach is another great choice. Think about tossing in some chopped cucumbers, shredded carrots, or sliced radishes. It’s very forgiving — and you’re the boss of the bowl.
Grilled chicken, salmon, or tofu are all amazing with this flavor-packed dressing. You can also serve it as a side with a simple main course.
Just enough. The honey balances the heat, but if spice isn’t your thing, pull back on the hot sauce. If you do love spice, you know what to do.
How to Make Toasted Sesame Seeds
Heat a dry skillet over medium heat. Add a couple of tablespoons of raw sesame seeds and cook, stirring or shaking the pan occasionally, for 3 to 5 minutes, until they start to turn a deeper golden brown and smell nutty.
Watch carefully, as sesame seeds go from toasted to burned fairly quickly. Take them from the heat as soon as you get them to the color you like, and remove them from the pan.
What to Serve With Green Salad and Tahini Dressing
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Green Salad with Chickpeas and Spicy Honey Tahini Dressing
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Spicy Tahini Dressing
- ½ cup tahini
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon harissa (or more to taste; sub in another hot sauce if desired)
- 1 clove minced garlic
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
For the Salad
- 4 cups baby arugula
- 4 cups baby spinach
- 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas (rinsed and drained)
- 1 small red onion (halved and thinly sliced)
- 1 cup sliced cucumbers
- Toasted sesame seeds (optional; see Note)
Instructions
- Make the Dressing: Place the tahini, water, olive oil, lemon juice, honey, harissa, garlic, salt, and black pepper into a food processor or blender and process until smooth.
- In a large bowl, place the arugula, spinach, chickpeas, red onion, and cucumbers. Drizzle over the dressing and toss to combine well.
How long does this last in the ‘fridge?
if you don’t dress it a couple of days – if you dress it, and then refrigerate leftovers it will get a bit soggy, but I would still eat it the next day!