Two foods that I don’t get tired of eating during the summer: tomatoes and basil. Right now, my garden (and luckily my neighbor’s, too) is busting at the seams with both of them! Naturally, I solved the “problem” with this Oil-free Pesto Tomato Chickpea Salad; seriously fresh flavors, light but filling, and very delicious.

The tomato plant in my garden has plenty of small, ripe tomatoes dangling from its vines; but when my (gracious) neighbor brought over MASSIVE heirloom tomatoes, I knew that I had to make a dish with the gorgeous specimens ASAP! Of course, I also had two basil plants that took off this year, compared to the failures of previous years. When there’s an abundance of this aromatic green herb, my mind always thinks pesto.

Now, combine juicy tomatoes and fresh, oil-free pesto with cucumbers, chickpeas and spinach for a simple, healthy salad. I was stoked to try something new with the pesto, this time, courtesy of a suggestion by my friend Christian: adding miso to the pesto! The miso adds good umami to dish, in place of dairy cheese. It was a success!

Aside from my garden going bonkers, I’m still focusing on Vegan Bowl Attack! which is doing well, and planning the book tour for September and October. So exciting! Also, if you have made recipes from the book and loved them, I would be so appreciative if you left a review on Amazon. Ultimately, more reviews = better ranking, and who doesn’t like that? <3

Two years: Summer Corn Salad // Three years: Vanilla Latte Chia Parfait // Four years: Kale Pesto over Zoodles

Continue to Content Oil-free Pesto Tomato Chickpea Salad Yield: 4 Prep Time: 20 minutes Total Time: 20 minutes Vegan, Oil-free Pesto Tomato Chickpea Salad, is a delicious, healthy way to use up Summer's bounty of tomatoes and basil! Print Ingredients Oil-free Pesto 1 1/2 cups fresh basil, loosely packed

1 1/2 cups spinach, loosely packed

3 tablespoons pine nuts, or pepitas if you have an allergy

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

1 tablespoon water

1/2 tablespoon white miso, or chickpea miso to keep soy-free

1 clove garlic, peeled

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper Salad 2 pounds heirloom tomatoes, chopped

15 ounce can chickpeas, drained

1 cup spinach, chopped

1 cup sliced and half-peeled persian cucumber Instructions Place all pesto ingredients into a food processor and run until the mixture is mostly smooth, but with very small pieces (as pictured). Set aside. Using a mesh strainer, drain chopped tomatoes of excess liquid. Then place them in a large bowl, along with the chickpeas, spinach, cucumber and pesto. Fold together until combined, seasoning with more salt and pepper, if necessary. Chill for 20 minutes before serving. Nutrition Information: Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1 grams

Amount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g Did you make this recipe? Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

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