Vegan Rice Salad with Chickpeas and Broccoli

Enjoy the chickpea rice salad as a lunch or an easy dinner.  It's an oil-free vegan recipe that can easily be customized.  It's packed with veggies that can be substituted with anything that sounds great with chickpeas and vegan ranch dressing.

For more chickpea bowl recipes, try a vegetable rice bowl with cashew dijon dressing, a potato Buddha bowl with roasted red bell pepper dressing, or a hummus bowl.  For more easy recipes, try a black bean zesty quinoa salad, chickpea bowl with lime-tahini dressing, or a spiced chickpea couscous bowl. For more vegan lunch recipes, check out my post for plant-based lunch ideas.

Recipe features

• Vegan/vegetarian, plant-based, and oil-free!
• Packed with fresh veggies!
• Customizable, add any veggies you want!
• Great for lunch or an easy dinner!

Ingredients and substitutions

The vegan rice salad uses simple ingredients, but please see the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and the exact measurements.

Rice - Use jasmine, white, or brown rice for the rice salad.  

Chickpeas - To keep the recipe simple, use a can of chickpeas.  Thoroughly drain and rinse the chickpeas before adding them to the bowl.  Instead of chickpeas, try tofu nuggets or buffalo tofu.  For more recipes with chickpeas, try a vegan chickpea salad sandwich (no mayo) or curry chickpea salad.

Broccoli - Broccoli can be substituted with any vegetable that pairs well with chickpeas and ranch dressing.  For this recipe, I like to break down the broccoli into small bite-sized pieces. For another plant-based recipe with broccoli, try a chickpea Buddha bowl with beets and broccoli.

Roma tomatoes - Use any kind of tomatoes that are available.  Some varieties will have more liquid than others.  We prefer Roma or cherry tomatoes.

Cucumbers - To add more bulk to the bowl, add diced cucumbers or shredded carrots.  We prefer English cucumbers, they don't need to be peeled.

Ranch dressing - The dairy-free ranch is cashew-based and calls for soaking the cashews ahead of time to soften them so they'll easily blend into a creamy dressing.  Instead of the vegan ranch, try roasted red bell pepper dressing or lemon herb tahini dressing.

Tips

• Dice the tomatoes, broccoli, and cucumber (if using) into small bite-size pieces. It's similar to a chopped salad where all the vegetables are relatively small and uniform in size.
• Top with chopped fresh cilantro, parsley, or dill for a little more flavor.
• To cool hot rice quicker, spread it out in an even layer on a large baking sheet.

How to make a vegan rice salad

1. Start the chickpea rice salad by making the rice according to the package instructions.
2. When the rice is done, remove it from the heat and allow it to sit for 10 minutes with the lid on.  Then, remove the lid, fluff the rice, and allow it to cool.
3. While the rice is cooking, prep the veggies and make the oil-free ranch dressing.
4. When the rice has cooled, add it to a bowl with the chickpeas, tomatoes, broccoli, cucumbers (if using), and vegan ranch dressing and mix.

Store 

Storage - The rice and chickpeas can be stored together in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 5 days.  Store everything else separately.  The Roma tomatoes are best diced before serving and not ahead of time.  Diced cucumbers only last about 2-3 days in an airtight container in the fridge.  Diced broccoli may last about 3-5 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Reheating - I heat leftover rice and chickpeas in the microwave for about 30 seconds or just enough to take the chill off of it from the refrigerator.  It's just my personal preference not to eat the salad hot, but enjoy the rice salad how you prefer.

Related recipes

• Chickpea vegetable rice bowl
• Potato Buddha bowl
• Vegan peanut noodles
• Beet Buddha bowl

I hope you enjoy the recipe!  If you did feel free to rate the recipe and leave a comment.