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Veggie-packed and delicious, this salad recipe is inspired by classic Greek gyros. Instead of meat, chickpeas sautéed with greek spices are added as the protein. This recipe for vegan gyro salad also has sliced baked flatbread for a crunch, juicy tomatoes, red onions, and it is tossed with a tangy, creamy vegan tzatziki sauce - proving that healthy vegan salad recipes do not have to be boring!
Healthy Gyro Salad with Chickpeas and Tzatziki Dressing
I was first inspired to put sautéed chickpeas into a salad when I was making a vegan version of a chicken caesar salad. Simply making a caesar salad by just omitting the chicken was not filling enough for me and not satisfying to my taste buds! I love my salads to have lots of texture, some crunch, and tons of flavor.
You definitely do not have to sacrifice good, hearty salads when you're omitting meat.
Since I also replace the meat in gyros with chickpeas, a light bulb went off in my head - gyro-inspired salad with chickpeas sounded SO GOOD. And guys, I was right. (<---That's me tooting my own horn.)
The chickpeas in this salad are sautéed with spices often found in greek cuisine, like marjoram, dill, garlic, and thyme. I could eat these spiced chickpeas by the handful, no lie. (And I did while I was taking photos for this blog post...ha!)
As for the flatbread, I cut them into long, thin slices and baked them in the oven for some crunch in the salad. I made this quick flatbread recipe, or you can use store bought flatbread. (If you prefer croutons - these homemade garlic croutons are AMAZING.)
This salad is topped with my delicious vegan tzatziki sauce recipe. It's tangy, creamy, and tastes just like "real" tzatziki sauce!
Vegan Gyro Salad
Ingredients
- 1 slice of flatbread
- 1 can of chickpeas
- 1 tablespoon of grape seed oil
- ½ teaspoon marjoram
- ¼ teaspoon dill
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon thyme
- 1 clove of garlic - - minced or crushed
- 4 cups of salad greens*
- 1 tomato - - chopped
- ¼ red onion - - chopped
- vegan tzatziki sauce
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
- Cut flatbread into bite size pieces and place on baking sheet. Bake for 8 minutes, turning over halfway through. Remove from oven and sprinkle with a little salt if desired.
- While the flatbread is in the oven, add the oil, chickpeas and spices (marjoram, dill, salt, pepper, thyme, garlic) to a pan. On medium heat, sauté the chickpeas until heated through slightly crispy on the outside (about 5-7 minutes).
- Assemble the greens, chickpeas, flatbread, tomatoes, and onion into a bowl and drizzle with your desired amount of the vegan tzatziki sauce.
