A few years back, I made a recipe with chimichurri sauce. I served some potatoes on the side with it. And I couldn’t help but think, “This sauce tastes great on potatoes too.” So here we are, with a vegan chimichurri chickpea potato salad recipe that’s absolutely delish.
Is chimichurri vegan? While it is often served as a condiment for grilled meat, the Argentinian and Uruguayan sauce’s basic ingredients include parsley, oregano, garlic, red wine vinegar and olive oil. There are some variations in how it’s prepared, but it is traditionally a totally vegan sauce.
Whether served at room temperature or chilled, this vegan chickpea potato salad with chimichurri sauce delivers! Enjoy it as an easy vegan bbq side dish, packed for a picnic, eaten for lunch, or whipped together as a tasty side for dinner.
Two things…
- ・When you’re making the chimichurri sauce, you can pack your measuring cup with the stems and leaves from the parsley and the cilantro. No need to just use the leaves. The stems are tender enough that they will breakdown easily in the blender.
- ・Fresh oregano can have a woody stem. It will not breakdown easily in a blender, so you’ll want to use only the leaves of the fresh oregano in the sauce.
I hope you love this chimichurri chickpea potato salad recipe! Check out more UVK recipes, like Lemon Mint Potato Salad, Smoky Roasted Chickpeas, Lemon Chickpea Asparagus Soup, Vegan Stuffed Red Peppers with Chickpeas and Rice, Creamy Chickpea Salad and Vegan Basil Pesto.
Chimichurri Chickpea Potato Salad
6-8 whole red potatoes, approximately the size of golf balls
¼ cup olive oil
3 garlic cloves, peeled
½ cup flat leaf parsley, packed
½ cup fresh cilantro, packed
⅓ cup fresh oregano leaves
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
¼ tsp salt
15.5 ounce can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1. First, you’ll need to steam the potatoes for the chimichurri salad. Fill a pot of water with ~1 inch of water. Put a steamer basket inside. Bring the water to a boil. Then, add the red potatoes. Steam for 12-18 minutes or until they can be pierced with a fork easily and are soft enough to enjoy eating.
2. Remove the red potatoes from the steamer, and allow them to cool. When they are cool enough to handle, cut them into slices. Set aside.
3. Next, you’ll sauté the aromatics for the chimichurri sauce for the chickpea potato salad. In a small skillet, add the olive oil and garlic cloves. Sauté over medium-low heat until it gets a golden toasty look on the outside. Remove from heat, and allow to cool a bit.
4. In a blender or food processor, add the olive oil, garlic cloves, parsley, cilantro, oregano, red wine vinegar, crushed red pepper flakes and salt. Blend until somewhat smooth. You still want some recognizable herbs, but you want the garlic to be well incorporated.
5. In a mixing box, add all the components together–sliced red potatoes, chickpeas and chimichurri sauce. Carefully stir together. Taste and adjust seasonings, if needed (more red wine vinegar? more salt?). Serve this chimichurri chickpea potato salad cold or at room temperature.
