Tahini Chickpea Avocado Salad with Grilled Chicken

Tossed in a creamy tahini dressing and packed full of smoky grilled chicken and hearty chickpeas, this tahini chickpea avocado salad is fast to make and a lunch favorite!

Our love for summer salads has no limits this year seeing how this gem is roughly salad #64 so far this summer.

As we’re winding down summer this is the time of year when all the veggies are at their finest so obviously we had to jam this salad to the absolute capacity with ’em.

This chickpea salad has a little bit of everything in it and some may think that’s too much but I call that just right in the salad department.

But really, it’s the tahini dressing that pulls everything together in this salad and checks all the boxes.

Ready to permanently upgrade your lunch game??

This Chickpea Salad features…

• Tender chickpeas and silky avocado
• Crunchy sweet pepper and smoky grilled chicken
• A creamy and flavorful tahini dressing
• Ready in 30 minutes and a fantastic side salad or lunch

Making the Chickpea Salad

(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)

Ingredients You Will Need

• Tahini
• Lemon juice
• Garlic
• Honey
• Olive oil
• Chickpeas
• Avocado
• Sweet pepper
• Cherry tomatoes
• Feta cheese
• Basil
• Boneless skinless chicken breasts

Choosing Your Chicken

We recommend using boneless skinless chicken breasts for this recipe. This cut of chicken is fast to cook up on the grill and turns out super tender and juicy.

If you don’t have breasts on hand, boneless skinless chicken thighs will work great instead! You can also omit the meat entirely for a vegetarian-friendly salad.

Tips for Perfect Chickpea Salad

1. Drain and rinse chickpeas – this will prevent any extra liquid from getting in your salad.
2. Cut vegetables and chicken into uniform size – try to get all your salad mix-ins in uniform 1/2-inch cubes.
3. Thin tahini dressing with water – tahini is a very thick paste and a few splashes of water helps thin it into a creamy, pourable dressing.
4. Cut avocado and basil just before serving – this will prevent these ingredients from turning brown.

Recipe Variations

Try these ideas for a different twist on this recipe!

• Cook chicken on stovetop – if you don’t have a grill, you can easily cook the chicken on the stovetop instead in a little butter + olive oil. You can also use leftover cooked chicken!
• Try a different cheese – try fresh mozzarella, cheddar, Parmesan, or goat cheese.
• Use a different dressing – a bottled dressing such as Italian or Greek will work great here.
• Add more veggies – if you don’t like any of the veggies in this recipe, feel free to replace them! We love cucumbers, sauteed mushrooms, sweet corn, or baby spinach.
• Try a different bean – white beans or black beans would work great in this recipe.

Make Ahead Instructions

Follow these instructions for time-saving make ahead tips.

• Make dressing – the tahini dressing stores well in refrigerator up to 1 week.
• Prep vegetables – cut the sweet pepper and cherry tomatoes and store in refrigerator up to 4 days.
• Grill chicken – grill your chicken, cut into cubes, and store in refrigerator up to 4 days.

Once assembled, we recommend serving this salad immediately as it does not store well.

This salad is just loaded with ALL the good stuff! The silky avocado with the tender chickpeas and juicy grilled chicken hits all the right salad notes and the creamy, flavorful tahini dressing coats everything to absolute perfection.

Trust me, this is about to be a new lunch favorite!

Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram with #wholeandheavenlyoven.

More incredible salads to try next!

• Mediterranean Lentil Salad
• Caprese Chickpea Salad
• Asian Cucumber Avocado Salad