This salad has so many tasty things. Tender, flaky salmon with bbq glaze, spicy arugula, crunchy roasted chickpeas, herbs, and homemade ranch. Yummy! This a super fast to put together if you have roasted the chickpeas ahead of time.
Does anyone else love roasted chickpeas as much as I do? Their texture is so satisfying. My favorite way to roast them is with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and then a sprinkling of parmesan when they come out of the oven. You can roast these ahead of time. They stay crunchy for about a day. It takes about 30 minutes to roast them.
You can use store bought or homemade bbq sauce for the salmon. If I have any, I use my favorite homemade bbq sauce, but if not we love sweet baby ray’s from the grocery store. The salmon is also rubbed with a mixture of brown sugar, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder and salt and pepper, which all goes well with the bbq glaze.
If you don’t like arugula you can sub out lettuce or spinach or any green here. You can also add additional veggies like cherry tomatoes, cucumber, or corn. They all go well in this. I like to add some green onions if I have them.
I highly suggest homemade dressing for this, because it is so yummy, but you can also use store bought ranch or any other flavor dressing too if you prefer.
BBQ Salmon Salad with Roasted Chickpeas and Ranch
Ingredients
For the Salmon:
- 1 1/2 lbs salmon cut into 4-5 pieces
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/4 cup bbq sauce
For the chickpeas:
- 1 can chickpeas drained, rinsed and dried
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1/4 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp grated parm
For the salad:
- 8 cups arugula or other greens
- sliced scallions
- roasted chickpeas
- chopped herbs cilantro and chives are good
For the dressing:
- 3 tbsp sour cream or light sour cream
- 3 tbsp mayo or light mayo
- a few tbsp parsley, dill, chives either fresh or dried
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp vinegar
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
For the chickpeas:
- Heat the oven to 425 and line a baking sheet with parchment or foil and spray with some oil.
- Place the chickpeas on the baking sheet and drizzle with the oil and sprinkle the spices over. Mix everything well.
- Bake for 15 minutes, stir and flip, and bake 15 minutes more.
- Remove and let cool, then sprinkle with grated parm.
For the dressing:
- Combine everything in a bowl and whisk to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning.
For the salmon:
- Combine the sugar, salt, pepper and spices. Rub over the salmon filets. Preheat the oven to 400.
- Place the fish on a foil lined baking sheet and place in the oven for 10 minutes. Brush with bbq sauce and bake for another 5-10 minutes until the fish is cooked to your liking. I like the bbq sauce to caramelize a bit, so I turn on the broiler at the end for a minute to do that.
- Toss salad ingredients together, top with salmon and roasted chickpeas and drizzle with the dressing.