This kale salad is a healthy twist on Greek gyros that’s packed with flavorful chickpeas and nutritious greens, and topped with a refreshing cucumber tzatziki sauce.

It’s a TGIF, stumbling crawling across the finish line kind of Friday. While yesterday’s trip to Amsterdam wasn’t quite the level of adventure as Tuesday’s near finger fatality (more on that later), it was still enough to send me into frenzy-over-prepare-no-sleep mode.
I realized my passport was too full for the trip to Southeast Asia we’re planning in the spring, so I made an appointmentat the consulate in Amsterdam to get a new one. And this stressed me out because I:
1. don’t have as much love for any other inanimate object as I do for this passport, and don’t want to say goodbye
2. am stressed out by anything involving going through government bureaucracy
3. couldn’t bring my cell phone into the consulate
And because I have the sense of direction of a drunk chicken, the whole not having a cell phone for GPS really stressed me out. So after accidentally sleeping 45 minutes through my alarm and catching a tram then a train then another train to Amsterdam, I navigated to the luggage lockers in Amsterdam Central Station.
These are huuuuge lockers meant for storing large bags, so I felt all super-spy-like as I placed my single cell phone into a locker and left. I made my way across Amsterdam to Museumplein (home to the Van Gogh museum and the I Amsterdam sign), got the passport all squared away, and all was well. New passport, new adventures!
I also had some adventures in the realm of chickpeas. These Roasted Chickpea Gyros went bonkers on Pinterest and have quickly become the most popular recipe on this site, so I thought we could keep the Greek chickpea train rollin’. With a tzatziki dressing, spicy roasted chickpeas, and a kale + spinach base, this salad has all the yums of the chickpea gyros and is a lot more filling/full of nutrients/packed with fiber/salady!
And look how cute! This feta cheese came in a little basket! **buys all the feta**
Ingredients
Chickpeas
- 1 15-oz can chickpeas 425 g, drained
- 1 Tbsp olive oil 15 mL
- 1 Tbsp paprika
- ½ Tbsp ground black pepper
- ¼ Tbsp cayenne pepper
- ¼ tsp salt
Dressing
- 1 cup Greek yogurt 250 g, or vegan alternative, like soy yogurt
- 1 cup peeled 120 g, about ½ of a large cucumber, deseeded, shredded cucumber
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 Tbsp olive oil 15 mL
- Juice of ½ lemon
- Pinch of salt and pepper
- If you have it a dash of dill
Salad
- 2 handfuls chopped kale 100 g
- 1 handful spinach 50 g
- ½ cup feta cheese 120 g, can omit for dairy-free
- ½ small red onion sliced
- 2 small tomatoes sliced
- A few thin slices of cucumber
- Optional add-ins*: a fried egg, fresh or toasted, pieces of pita bread , sliced bell pepper, olives, a touch of hot sauce
Instructions
- Pat dry chickpeas with paper towel, removing any skins that may come off.
- Gently toss chickpeas with oil, paprika, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and salt.
- Spread chickpeas onto a greased rimmed baking sheet and roast at 400 degrees F (200 C) for about 20 minutes, until lightly browned but not hard. Allow to cool slightly before adding to salad.
- While chickpeas cook, combine all “Dressing” ingredients**.
- In a large bowl, toss together all “Salad” ingredients. Add tzatziki to salad a few heaping spoonfuls at a time, tossing until you reach your desired amount of dressing (you may have some leftover tzatziki dressing).
- Either toss chickpeas into salad or serve on top. Eat immediately and enjoy!
Jenn Slavich says
Great post! I look forward to trying this salad!!
Candy says
Love Van Gogh museum and making taziziki.
Erica@ Erica Everyday says
Yum! This is totally going on my list to make. And yes, not having a cell phone is so stressful! What on earth did people do with out them haha. TGIF to you!
Sarah says
Haha right?! I’m useless without it!
linda spiker says
Fabulous! Pinned. Love it!
Sarah says
Thanks for sharing, Linda! 🙂
Mary says
I love everything about this recipe! It looks and sounds amazing. Pinning it to try soon!!!
Sarah says
Thanks Mary! Let me know how you like it! 🙂
Chris Huston says
Such a beautiful presentation — I bet this would soon become my favorite salad!
Sarah says
Aw thanks Chris! Chickpeas on anything quickly becomes a favorite of mine 🙂
Chrisy @ Homemade Hooplah says
Now this is a kale recipe I can get behind 😀 Delish!
Matt @ Plating Pixels says
Ok I think I’ll have to go for this. Kale can be overpowering in salads, either too tough or flavorful. But this one has a lot going on to help that. Gorgeous photos too!
Sarah says
Yes definitely! I always cut it with another green, like spinach in this case. And the tzatziki does a lot to balance out the sometimes bitter flavor of kale.
Bella B (xoxoBella) says
This looks just absolutely delicious! I will have to try it.
Tara says
This looks fabulous! I may even make it tonight if I can find a decent cucumber.
Denay DeGuzman says
Your photos are fabulous and this recipe looks so incredibly delicious! It’s no wonder your recipes go viral on Pinterest. It’s great that you got your passport situation all taken care of so you’ll soon be off on a whole new set of adventures. Bring back more recipe inspiration for us! 🙂
Sarah says
Thanks so much, Denay!:) Yes I can’t WAIT for all the Asian recipe inspiration!!
Mimi Rose says
I love chickpeas and this whole salad looks amazing!! Can’t wait to try it for a lunch option this week. 🙂
Becky @ Project Domestication says
Oh man, this looks like such a satisfying, delicious salad. I love chickpeas and kale together.
Jennifer says
This salad looks incredible, but your photography is just as amazing!
Mama Munchkin (@globalmunchkins) says
YUM!! I love chick peas, kale and feta so you nailed it for me with this recipe. Can’t wait to give it a try!
Michelle | The Secret Ingredient Is says
What a beautiful salad! Roasted chickpeas are my favorite and I bet they taste amazing with that tzatziki dressing! Wonderful.
Jill Conyers says
Looks delicious Sarah. Pinning for menu planning.
Amy says
How many portions does this recipe make? Two?
Sarah says
Hi Amy! Great question and thanks for pointing it out! This recipe makes 3 to 4 good-sized salads 😀
Sarah says
What fat content of Greek yogurt did you use? Trying to replicate this and work the nutritional info into my meal plan! Thank you!
Sarah says
Hi Sarah! Great question, I used a low fat Greek yogurt!
Krystal says
Just made this and it was fantastic! 30 minutes from start to sitting down to eat, which is hard to heat.
I didn’t have a lemon, but instead used 2 Tbsp of Minute Maid’s bottled lemon juice. We used 1 bunch of kale and ended up with 4 large servings. Next time I’m going to try roasting the chickpeas at 425 to get them a little crispier (I put parchment on my pan which also likely inhibited crisping, but made clean up a breeze!).
Thanks for the great recipe!
Sarah says
So happy to hear you liked it, Krystal! 😀