Strawberry Spinach Salad with Chicken & Chickpeas
Warm spices and hearty proteins meet cool fruit and creamy avocado, all in today’s Strawberry Spinach Salad with Chicken & Chickpeas.
Servings 4
Equipment
Ingredients
for the chickpeas
- 1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans) rinsed and drained
- 1.5 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
for the chicken
- 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1.5 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Sea salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
for the salad
- 8 oz fresh spinach
- 16 oz strawberries washed and sliced
- 1 avocado sliced
- ½ of a medium onion thinly sliced
- Poppyseed dressing or substitute dressing of choice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drain and rinse the chickpeas, then blot dry with paper towels. (If some of the skins slough off, just discard those.)
- Place chickpeas in a medium bowl. Stir in the olive oil, smoked paprika, garlic salt, cumin, and chili powder until chickpeas are nicely coated.
- Spread out seasoned chickpeas in a single layer on one end of a rimmed baking sheet.
- Trim the chicken thighs, if necessary. Place the trimmed chicken in the same bowl you used for the chickpeas, and stir in the olive oil, smoked paprika, sea salt, and black pepper until chicken is nicely coated.
- Arrange the seasoned chicken in a single layer on the other end of the rimmed baking sheet.
- Place your pan in the preheated oven and roast the chickpeas and chicken for 20 minutes, stirring the chickpeas and flipping the chicken halfway through.
- Meanwhile, cut up the strawberries, avocado, and onion. Divide the spinach evenly among four plates.
- After 20 minutes, remove the chicken from the pan and set it aside for a few minutes to cool. Stir the chickpeas and return them to the oven for another 5 minutes, or until crispy outside, tender inside, and golden brown.
- Slice the chicken into strips. Dress each plate of spinach salad with chicken strips, roasted chickpeas, avocado, onion, and strawberries.
- Serve your strawberry spinach dinner salads with poppyseed dressing.
Notes
If using boneless skinless chicken breast instead of thighs, slice lengthwise before cooking to create thinner pieces that cook through more quickly. I often prefer thighs in a sheet pan recipe like this, because they stay juicier in the oven.