This vibrant Mandarin and Chickpea Salad with Halloumi is full of flavours and textures: chickpeas, rocket, avocado, mandarins and walnuts. Top with halloumi for a complete meal in a salad bowl!
What do you do when your sister turns up with a bag full of freshly picked mandarins? You spend the week making seasonal, citrus-forward main meals!
This one-bowl salad – provided you choose a big enough bowl from the start – is simple but satisfying, and serves 2 generously as a main.
Why you’ll love this Mandarin and Chickpea Salad with Halloumi
- Very little mess. The dressing for this salad comes together right in the bowl
- Make it a meal. Adding halloumi makes it a complete meal
- It’s easy to make. The most difficult and time-consuming part of this recipe is peeling away all the strands of white pith, or albedo!
Cook with Me
Mandarin and Chickpea Salad with Halloumi Recipe Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this quick and easy salad recipe:
- The base. Filling and tasty, chickpeas make a great base for a main meal salad.
- The dressing. Olive oil, lemon juice, rosemary, Aleppo pepper flakes, mustard, honey and salt and pepper to taste make up the very simple by tasty salad dressing.
- The fresh ingredients. It’s not a salad without fresh produce, and it’s not a mandarin salad without mandarins! A handful of rocket and some avocado slices round it out.
- The cheese. Bulk up the salad to main meal status by adding salty halloumi, which pairs surprisingly well with mandarins!
- The crunch. Chopped walnuts are not only tasty but offer some crunch.
Find the exact quantities in the recipe card below.
How to Make this Mandarin and Chickpea Salad with Halloumi
- Make the dressing. Empty the drained and rinsed chickpeas into your salad bowl, add the dressing ingredients and mix it all together right there in the bowl.
- Prep and cook. Prep the mandarins and avocado while you cook the halloumi until golden brown on both sides.
- Assemble the salad. Arrange the rocket, avocado, mandarin segments and halloumi on top of the chickpeas, scatter over the walnuts and serve. Easy!
This Mandarin and Chickpea Salad with Halloumi is delicious served on its own for a light meal, or served as a side paired with salmon or chicken.
Love main meal salads? Try these ones too:
Have you made this Mandarin and Chickpea Salad with Halloumi yet? Be sure to leave a comment and let me know. Did you serve it as a main or a side? Or tag me over on Instagram, I love seeing what you guys are making from the blog!
Mandarin and Chickpea Salad with Halloumi
Ingredients
- 400 g tin chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- Juice from half a lemon
- 1 tablespoon rosemary, very finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper
- 1 teaspoon mustard
- 1 teaspoon honey
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 100 g rocket, about a handful
- 180 g halloumi
- ½ avocado, sliced
- 2 mandarins, peeled and segmented
- ¼ cup walnuts, roughly chopped
Instructions
- In a large salad bowl, add the drained chickpeas. Make the salad dressing directly in the salad bowl by adding 2 tablespoons of olive oil, lemon juice, the rosemary, Aleppo pepper and mustard. Add salt and pepper to taste and then mix well. Add the rocket, mix again, and set aside at room temperature until ready to assemble and serve the salad.400 g tin chickpeas, 3 tablespoons olive oil, Juice from half a lemon, 1 tablespoon rosemary, 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper, 1 teaspoon mustard, 1 teaspoon honey, Salt and pepper to taste, 100 g rocket
- Just before serving, heat the remaining oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Slice the halloumi into six thick slices and fry, turning, until both sides are golden brown, around 3-4 minutes per side.180 g halloumi
- To assemble the salad, add the avocado slices and mandarin segments to the chickpeas. Top with the warm halloumi and scatter walnuts over the top. Serve while the halloumi is still warm.½ avocado, 2 mandarins, ¼ cup walnuts
