When people ask me if I “miss” any foods being a vegetarian, I always say the same few things: buffalo chicken cheesesteaks, Italian hoagies, and BBQ of any kind. HOWEVER, I do have a bunch of meatless recipes in my repertoire that more than satisfy these cravings. Generally, when I crave foods (like those listed above), I’m not really craving the meat. It’s the sauce and seasonings that I miss. I’m a hot sauce fanatic, so when I am craving buffalo chicken, it’s not the chicken I want, it’s really the sauce. The same goes for BBQ sauce (with the Italian hoagie, it’s the oil/vinegar and raw onions). I made up this salad recipe one night when I was really in the mood for barbeque sauce. I had seen BBQ chickpeas before on Pinterest and it looked delicious, so I decided to whip up this BBQ Chickpea and Roasted Vegetable Salad with Avocado Ranch Dressing. YUM. I wanted the salad to have a cowboy-esque feel to it, so I paired the barbeque Chickpeas with roasted sweet potatoes, red bell pepper, red onion, and corn. This salad is loaded with protein, veggies, and healthy fats. The recipe makes 2 dinner-sized servings, or 3-4 smaller servings for lunch. I love to double the roasted veggies portion of the recipe and keep it in the fridge so that they are ready to go whenever I want this salad (which is often). Side note: I’m obsessed with this Vegan Avocado Ranch dressing and kind of want to put it on everything all the time. It’s so creamy and flavorful and it pairs really well with the BBQ chickpeas.
Active Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
For the Salad: 1 small sweet potato 1 red bell pepper ¼ cup red onion 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil salt and pepper, to taste 6 cups chopped romaine lettuce 1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained ½ cup BBQ sauce ¼ cup corn
chopped scallions, for serving
For the dressing: 1 avocado 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon onion powder 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar 1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
salt, to taste
Directions:
For the salad: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with foil. Set aside. Peel sweet potato and dice potato, bell pepper, and onion into ½ inch pieces. Transfer diced veggies to the baking sheet and toss with olive oil, salt & pepper. Bake for 20 minutes, remove from the oven and flip with a spatula, and bake 20 minutes more, until vegetables are slightly charred and soft. While the veggies are roasting, combine garbanzo beans and BBQ sauce in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir frequently for 5-10 minutes, until sauce thickens slightly. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Chop romaine lettuce and place in a large salad bowl. Add corn, BBQ chickpeas, and roasted vegetables. Top with Avocado Ranch Dressing.
For the dressing: Combine all ingredients in a food processor or high speed blender. Blend until combined.
Nutrition Information per serving:
Calories: 421 Fat: 16g Carbs: 63g Protein: 11g Sodium: 1103mg Sugar: 17g
*Nutrition information is based on the products I used personally in this recipe. Different products may yield slightly different information.
