Pea shoots make a great addition to salads! This Chickpea and Pea Shoot Salad is light, fresh, and tasty. It has a homemade Basil Lime Vinaigrette dressing and it is bursting with flavor and crunch.
Farmer's market pea shoots
One of my favorite vendors at the local farmer's market is the guy selling microgreens, and last week he had pea shoots. He gave me a sample to try and I loved their fresh, bright, flavor. I bought a bunch and experimented with a few different pea shoot recipes.
Fresh, green pea shoots
What do pea shoots taste like?
Pea shoots have a lovely crunch to them, and taste very subtly like peas. Because of their stringy texture, they have a similar texture to dill or other herbs. Pea shoots are great in salads after they've been chopped up into smaller pieces, so you don't end up chewing on a long piece of pea shoot.
If using pea shoots in a salad, it's great to combine them with other ingredients that are not greens to add some variety to texture. Pea shoots are great in a salad with chickpeas and chopped veggies. They would not be as great in a salad with lettuce or spinach because there wouldn't be enough contrast between the pea shoots and the other salad ingredients.
Related recipe: Chickpea Salad with Feta
Can you eat pea shoots raw?
Pea shoots can be eaten raw or lightly sauteed. If you're eating raw pea shoots, make sure they're fresh so that they are "crunchy" and not tough to chew.
I chose to go with raw pea shoots for this salad - I wanted to keep all their nutrients and keep the salad as fresh as possible. To use the pea shoots in a salad, just trim off the tougher end parts (the 'bottom' if you think of them growing from the ground) and then chop the rest up into 1-2 inch pieces.
Related recipe: Spiralized Zucchini Salad with Feta
Are pea shoots healthy?
Yes, pea shoots are healthy!! All microgreens are loaded with nutrients. In fact, there are more nutrients in microgreens because all the nutrients are concentrated in a small plant shoot. Adding microgreens, such as pea shoots, to salads is a great way to make them more nutritious without feeling like you have to eat more and more vegetables. (Source)
Pea shoot substitutions
If you can't find fresh pea shoots, you can use any microgreens in this recipe! Broccoli or spinach shoots are great, and mustard greens shoots add a nice spiciness to this salad.
If you can't find pea shoots or microgreens, it is SO EASY to grow your own!! Here is a kit to grow pea shots, and here is a great kit to grow all kinds of microgreens. Have fun!!
Related recipe: Grilled Asparagus Salad with White Beans
Ingredients
For the pea shoot salad:
- 1 14-oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 large cucumber (about 8 inches, or ½ lb), seeds removed and diced
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
- ½ small red onion, diced (or try using a scallion or two)
- 2 cups pea shoots, stems chopped off and discarded
For the basil lime vinaigrette:
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, diced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- Juice of ½ lime (1 tablespoon) - use fresh lime juice! It's so much better than the bottled stuff. I love using this citrus squeezer to squeeze half a lime or lemon easily.
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon sugar (or use honey or agave)
- ¼ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper (or to taste)
Related recipe: Cucumber Salad with Sesame Dressing
Instructions:
Step 1: Prepare the dressing: in a large bowl, combine the chopped basil leaves and minced garlic. Add the lime juice and apple cider vinegar. Add the olive oil, salt, sugar, and pepper. Allow to sit while preparing the salad.
Step 2: Add the chickpeas, diced cucumber, diced carrots, and diced red onion to the bowl, and stir well. Add the pea shoots and stir again. Serve immediately or chill in the refrigerator up to 24 hours before serving.
How long will this salad last?
This salad will keep in the fridge for up to two days, and then the pea shoots and the cucumber get too wilted for my liking. I try to eat the salad within the first 2 days. I do like making it in advance and letting the flavors meld a little in the fridge (about 2-4 hours) before eating this, but that's not necessary.
Related recipe: Chickpea and Chicken Salad
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Chickpea and Pea Shoot Salad
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons basil leaves - diced
- 1 garlic clove - minced
- Juice of 1/2 lime - (about 1 tablespoon)
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt - (or to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper - (or to taste)
- 1 14-oz can chickpeas - drained and rinsed
- 1 large cucumber (about 8 inches, or 1/2 lb) - seeds removed and diced
- 2 medium carrots - peeled and diced
- ½ small red onion - diced (or use 1-2 chopped scallions instead)
- 2 cups pea shoots - stems chopped off and discarded
Instructions
- Prepare the dressing: in a large bowl, combine the chopped basil leaves and minced garlic. Add the lime juice and apple cider vinegar. Add the olive oil, salt, sugar, and pepper. Allow to sit while preparing the salad.
- Add the chickpeas, diced cucumber, diced carrots, and diced red onion to the bowl and stir together with the dressing. Add the pea shoots, and stir again. Serve immediately or chill in the refrigerator up to 24 hours before serving. Garnish with fresh basil leaves.
Notes
- This recipe will make 4 larger servings or 6 smaller side salad servings.
- You don't need to measure the exact amount of pea shoots - just grab a large handful.
- You should have roughly the same amount of chickpeas, chopped cucumber, and chopped carrot.
- You can buy pea shoots at a farmer's market or in "healthy" grocery stores, such as Whole Foods.
- You can substitute other microgreens instead of pea shoots, if you can't find pea shoots.
- If you can't find pea shoots around you, you can easily grow your own! Here's a great kit to grow pea shots, and here is a great kit to grow all kinds of microgreens.
Nutrition
The nutritional information displayed is an estimate and not to be used as dietary or nutritional advice. Consult a nutritionist or dietician for nutritional info based on the exact ingredients you use.
Have you ever had pea shoots before?? If so, please leave a comment below and tell me how you cooked them!