The Chickpea Salad That Can Carry You Through a Whole Week

Full of warm spices, fresh herbs, and finished with a punch of lemon, Joan's on Third's Curried Chickpeas is a pantry-based powerhouse.

Caramelized onions bring a savory-sweet tenderness that gets deepened by the addition of four spices. Meanwhile, fresh cilantro and a squeeze of bright lemon round everything out to create a salad that is deceptively simple for having so many layers of flavor.

With less than an hour of hands-on time, this recipe yields a protein-rich meal—but make a big batch (seriously, like, quadruple the recipe) and you can set yourself up for one really good week. Here's how:

Make these two things early in the week:

• Loads of curried chickpeas
• A big pot of quinoa (or another grain, if you prefer)

Then swing by the store and pick this up for the rest of the week:

• Canned tuna
• Assorted cured meats
• Feta, goat cheese, and any other soft cheese you may like
• Some good bread of your choice, tortillas, and pita or crackers
• Polenta
• Canned, chopped tomatoes
• Portobello mushrooms
• Sweet potatoes
• A head of red cabbage, a head of iceburg lettuce, and some spinach
• Celery, carrots, and onion
• Greek yogurt
• Tahini
• Olives and dried fruit

Here's how to eat it through the week:

• "Tuna" salad: Use a food processor to pulse some of your chickpeas with tahini and Greek yogurt to make tuna salad-inspired chickpea salad. Fold in sliced celery for some crunch, and add actual tuna if you want a bit more bulk. Serve on toast or eat as a sandwich.
• Grain and bean salad: Thinly slice carrot and red cabbage and combine this with your curried chickpeas, quinoa, and dried fruit. Dress simply with more olive oil and lemon juice and say hello to a hearty dinner salad.
• Stuffed mushrooms: Scoop grain salad leftovers combined with some spinach and crumbled feta into hulled out portobello mushrooms and bake (sort of like this).
• Ragu: Sauté onions, carrots, and some chopped leftover mushrooms. Add in curried chickpeas and your canned tomatoes to make a ragu to be served over polenta.
• Taco night! Top tortillas with curried chickpeas, roasted sweet potato, cheese, and sliced lettuce. Then rejoice.
• Chickpea patties: Pulse curried chickpeas and any leftover sweet potatoes to create a falafel-like cake that you can pan fry and serve in lettuce cups or pita. Garnish with finely chopped celery and Greek yogurt.
• Hummus: Make a spicy hummus with chickpeas and tahini. Then take it easy and make yourself a mezze-inspired plate full of assorted meats and cheeses, olives, and dried fruit. Serve with toasted pita or crackers, celery, and carrots sticks.

This salad utilizes chickpeas, a pantry staple. What other pantry items do you turn to most? Let us know in the comments!