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This Bulgur Chickpea Salad recipe post is sponsored by Cortas, although the content represents my own personal opinion and experience using the product.
Quick and easy to make, with no cooking involved, this vegan bulgur and chickpea salad is healthy and hearty. Serve as a side dish or larger portions for a filling lunch.
Ingredients & substitutions
- Bulgur: Bulgur wheat is a cereal grain that is often used in Middle Eastern cooking in recipes like Tabbouleh. It’s a whole grain so it’s perfect to include in a well balanced diet.
- Pomegranate molasses: This is basically pomegranate juice that has been reduced down to a thick concentrated syrup. Cortas Pomegranate Molasses is the leading brand to use. In fact, it’s the only brand of pomegranate molasses I use because it’s pure and perfectly flavored. If you can’t find it, you can use balsamic vinegar whisked with honey or sugar.
- Olive oil: Olive oil adds a nice rounded flavor to the dressing and is the base for the salad dressing.. Cortas Extra Virgin Olive Oil is cold pressed from the north of Lebanon using 100% Lebanese olives – it doesn’t get better in my opinion!
- Lemon juice: Use fresh lemon juice rather than bottled, this adds a nice zing and freshness to the dressing.
- Seasonings: Oregano, garlic and black pepper.
- For the salad: Tomatoes, cucumber, green onions, fresh mint and chickpeas.
How to make bulgur chickpea salad
- Add the ingredients for the salad dressing to a large bowl.
- Whisk together to combine and emulsify the dressing.
- Add the bulgur to the dressing.
- Combine and let stand so that the bulgur absorbs the dressing.
- Add the rest of the salad ingredients to the bowl.
- Toss to combine.
Tips for making the salad
- Use fine bulgur wheat in this recipe. Bulgur comes in fine to coarse varieties. Fine is best to use in this recipe as it doesn’t need to be cooked and it easily soaks up the dressing. It’s also known as quick-cooking, #1 and extra-fine bulgur, and is the smallest grain.
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas before using. The water that canned chickpeas are stored in can be salty, so give them a good rinse under cold running water to remove excess sodium.
- Dice the tomatoes and cucumber into small pieces. This will make them easier to combine and the salad will have a more even flavor and texture. It’s the kind of salad you eat with a spoon!
- Make it a fuller meal. This bulgur and chickpea salad is delicious to serve up as a side dish or for a healthy lunch. To make it a heartier dinner, try adding grilled lemon chicken on top.
Frequently asked questions
Pomegranate can be found in grocery stores that have an international aisle. It’s widely available in Middle Eastern stores and online. You can also buy the authentic Cortas brand I use directly on Amazon.
This salad is a great make ahead option. Once made, cover it and keep refrigerated and it will stay good for 3 to 4 days.
Bulgur is a wheat product, so it is not gluten-free. If you have a gluten intolerance, quinoa is a very good substitute and has a similar texture.
This bulgur and chickpea salad really couldn’t be easier to make! No cooking involved, which is always a bonus! Full of fresh flavors and healthy ingredients, this is one delicious dish with authentic Lebanese products and flavors infused!
More mediterranean salads:
- Mediterranean Potato Salad
- Mediterranean Chopped Salad
- Mediterranean Pasta Salad
- Mediterranean Chicken Salad
If you try this healthy-ish feel good Bulgur Chickpea Salad recipe or any other recipe on Feel Good Foodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below! It helps others who are thinking of making the recipe. We would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots, share it on Instagram so we can repost on Stories!
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Bulgur Chickpea Salad
Video
Ingredients
For the Dressing
- ¼ cup Cortas olive oil
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons Pomegranate molasses
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 large garlic clove grated
- freshly cracked black pepper
For the Salad
- 1 cup extra fine #1 bulgur wheat
- 2 plum tomatoes seeded diced
- 1 large cucumber seeded and diced
- 1 cup chopped parsley
- 3 green onions trimmed and thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped mint
- 1 can chickpeas rinsed and drained
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together oil, lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, oregano, garlic and black pepper until well combined.
- Add the bulgur to the dressing and let it soak until it is soft and plumped, about 15 minutes, fluffing occasionally.
- When ready, add the tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley, green onions, mint and chickpeas on top of the bulgur. Gently toss to combine.
- Serve at room temperature or cold.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Could we sub quinoa for the bulgar? Also, any idea what the weight of canned rinsed/drained chickpeas is? Just soaking some dry chickpeas and will cook them according to your recipe.
I admit I made this a bit differently. I was out of garlic cloves so I used garlic powder. I didn’t have this special kind of molasses so I used regular molasses and a touch of grenadine, since it’s pomegranate flavor. I also only had medium grain bulgur on hand, which worked ok but did take way longer to soak, and I ended up adding more water to it and microwaving for a short time to get it to soften fully. I probably did not choose the ideal way to do this. I see now in the comments that it is important to use fine grain to make this recipe as directed. I also decided not to scoop out the cucumber and roma tomatoes, and I think it turned out fine that way, since I didn’t find it to be too wet or mushy.
My partner thought the flavor of the end result was alright, but he thought it was a little dry and suggested adding some more oil. I thought it was bland and needed more seasoning, spice, and salt. After having some, I did try adding some cumin, cayenne and salt and I thought it was a bit better.
So glad you were able to enjoy the recipes with those modifications!
i must have not had the right bulgur but I needed to add water to it at the end to fluff it up. I also added avocado to make it more filling and I really enjoyed it as a main dish. Thank you for the recipe.
You’re welcome! It’s important to use fine bulgur in this recipe, as it doesn’t need to be cooked and it easily soaks up the dressing. It’s also known as quick-cooking, #1 and extra-fine bulgur, and is the smallest!
Amazing salad.
Simple recipe and was a big hit for dinner. Paired it with some baked salmon for a quick dinner.
Thank you! I love that. Sounds delicious!
I love this recipe! The fresh herbs smell devine.. the mint reminded me of my Greek grandmother from when I was a kid. I did use tri-color quinoa my local store did not have bulgar wheat. I used a little more lemon and red wine vinegar that I had in the pantry. We really enjoyed this delicious salad. We prefer it cold. It tastes so fresh and looks beautiful. Thank you Yumna
Thank you so much! Sounds good with quinoa too. That’s great to hear!
This was a delicious salad. I made it for my kids to pack in their lunch and they loved it. We have something similar in Turkish cuisine call Kisir, but it does not have the garbanzo beans. That was an amazing addition! It added extra protein to make a great lunch.
We are currently avoiding oil so I substituted the olive oil with vegetable broth and it worked out fine! My kids asked me to make this a regular lunch option. Thank you!
Thank you so much! I’m glad to hear the kids loved it too! I have yet to try it with vegetable broth, but sounds like an interesting substitute.