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This Chickpea Salad is loaded with fresh veggies, nutrient-packed, and full of Mediterranean flare (Plus, it’s easy to make!). Chickpea salads are perfect for make-ahead lunches or summer cookouts. Chickpeas bring the protein, avocados add creaminess, tomatoes a pop of acidity, and the simple dressing and sprinkle of feta on top of the entire dish! If you enjoy the fresh flavors of Mediterranean food, you’re going to love this chickpea salad.
Table of Contents
- Recipe at a Glance
- Ingredients to Make a Chickpea Salad
- Popular Substitutions and Additions
- Assemble your Chickpea Salad
- Tips for Making the Best Chickpea Salad
- What to Serve with Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
- How to Store Chickpea Salad
- Frequently asked questions
- More Mediterranean salads
- Chickpea Salad Recipe
Recipes that are both flavorful and healthy are always on my list, and this delicious Mediterranean chickpea salad ticks both boxes. It’s also easy to make, which is a huge bonus. I routinely make this for a vegan dinner, and I love serving chickpea salads at parties as a hearty, delicious side for all my favorite cook-out foods.
Loved this! Perfect lunch salad and the kids loved help me make it. – Nellie
Recipe at a Glance
Cuisine Inspiration: Mediterranean
Primary Cooking Method: Mixing
Dietary Info: Vegan
Key Flavor: Earthy, Bright, Citrusy
Skill Level: Easy
Summary
- Nutrient-Dense: The combination of ingredients in this chickpea salad creates a dish rich in plant-based protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals, healthy fats, and antioxidants.
- Simple Ingredients: This recipe uses simple ingredients you can find in just a few minutes at your local grocery store and might even already have stocked in your kitchen!
- Fast: With just a little mixing and plating, this recipe gets you in and out of the kitchen in a flash.
- Versatile: Serve this chickpea salad as a vegan main course or a hearty side dish with your favorite vegan, vegetarian, or meat-based main dishes.
- Budget-Friendly: There are no specialty ingredients in this salad. Everything used is common vegetables and oil, all of which are relatively inexpensive.
Ingredients to Make a Chickpea Salad
- Chickpeas: Use canned chickpeas for ease and convenience. Drain them and rinse them thoroughly.
- Cucumbers: I like to use Persian cucumbers that are less sweet and more mild, but you can use a regular English cucumber if that’s what you have.
- Tomatoes: I like to use grape tomatoes that have a natural sweetness to them and less water; you can also use cherry tomatoes.
- Avocado: Use a ripe but firm avocado. If you are making the salad ahead of time don’t add the avocado until you are ready to serve.
- Red onions: Red onions add a nice bite to the salad. Be sure to slice finely so that it’s not too overpowering.
- Green Peppers: The peppers add a slight bitterness to the salad. If you don’t like green you can use red, yellow or orange or skip them all together.
- Olives: I like to add olives for a little saltiness. You can replace with capers if you’d like.
- Fresh parsley: Parsley adds a wonderful freshness to the dish and can be substituted with other fresh herbs.
- Olive oil, lemon juice, sumac, cumin, salt and pepper: For the simple and fresh dressing to brings the chickpea salad together so well!
Popular Substitutions and Additions
- Use your favorite onions. I enjoy the bite of red onions in this salad, but you can use white, yellow, or sweet onions, depending on your preference.
- Use your favorite bell peppers to change the flavor profile of this salad. Replace the bitter tones of the green bell pepper with the sweeter flavors of yellow, orange, or red bell peppers.
- Replace the olives with capers. Capers add the same salty, briny flavor of olives with a bright, savory twist.
- Lime juice makes the dressing a touch sweeter. Lime juice offers the same tart acidity as lemon juice but has a slightly sweeter overtone.
- Add meat-based protein. If you aren’t vegan, try adding meats like grilled chicken or salmon to the salad.
Assemble your Chickpea Salad
Place everything in a larger serving bowl except for avocados and dressing. You can do this up to a day in advance to free up time if necessary.
When you’re ready to serve, drizzle the dressing over the chickpea salad and toss it all together.
Add the avocados right before serving so they look their best and don’t rub off on the rest of the chickpea salad ingredient.
I absolutely loved this salad! so easy to make and super delicious ! will definetly make it more often 🙂 – Nazanin
Tips for Making the Best Chickpea Salad
- Don’t add the avocado until you are ready to serve. The avocado will start to brown if it’s added to the salad too early. Add it just as you are ready to serve it and mix it in.
- Use canned chickpeas. It makes this salad quick and convenient to make. If you are using dried chickpeas, be sure to check out my How to cook chickpeas post for all my tips and tricks.
- Keep the salad in an airtight container if you are making it ahead of time. You can add the dressing right away as there are no leafy greens that could wilt.
- Make it a full meal by adding extra protein like grilled chicken or salmon patties. The chickpea salad can definitely even be served on its own as a meal thanks for the protein-rich chickpeas!
What to Serve with Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
This Mediterranean chickpea salad makes an excellent vegan main course with a little bread, or it can be paired with other meat options as a flavorful side.
- Homemade Pita Bread
- Mediterranean Chicken Kabobs
- Mediterranean Stuffed Chicken
- Grilled Lemon Chicken
How to Store Chickpea Salad
For maximum freshness and flavor, refrigerate your chickpea salad as soon as you’ve served it to your family or guests.
How long will chickpea salad last in the fridge?
Your Mediterranean chickpea salad will remain fresh and tasty for up to four days when stored in an air-tight container without the avocados. The dressing lasts up to two weeks if stored separately from the salad.
Frequently asked questions
The best way to prevent browning is to cut your avocado and add it to your dish just before serving. However, if you need to cut up an avocado ahead of time, toss the chunks in lemon juice. The acidity of the juice helps slow the browning process. If you have a leftover avocado half, drizzle it with lemon juice and wrap it tightly in plastic wrap to limit its exposure to the air.
Yes! This salad will keep in the fridge for 3 to 4 days making it ideal for make ahead lunches. Remember not to add the avocado before serving, but the dressing can be added.
The dressing is a base of olive oil and fresh lemon juice – be sure to use fresh lemon juice not the bottled stuff! It is seasoned with sumac and cumin for a wonderful zingy and simple dressing. The dressing can be made ahead of time and kept sealed in the fridge for up to two weeks.
This Mediterranean chickpea salad is quick and easy and loaded with the nutty earthiness of chickpeas and the bright, vibrant flavors and colors of fresh vegetables. I love this salad for its flavor, health benefits, and versatility, and I think you will, too.
More Mediterranean salads
- Mediterranean Couscous Salad
- Mediterranean Pasta Salad
- Greek Pasta Salad
- Mediterranean Chopped Salad
If you’ve tried this healthy-ish feel good Chickpea Salad recipe or any other recipe on FeelGoodFoodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories!
Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
- 2 15 ounce can chickpeas rinsed and drained (19 oz)
- 2-3 Persian cucumbers diced
- ½ pint grape tomatoes halved
- 1 avocado diced
- ½ red onions sliced
- ½ cup green bell peppers diced
- ¼ cup olives pitted, chopped
- ¼ cup fresh parsley
Dressing
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon sumac
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- In a large bowl, place all the prepared salad ingredients including the chickpeas, cucumbers, tomatoes, avocado, onions, green peppers, olive and parsley.
- In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the dressing ingredients.
- When ready to serve, pour the dressing over the salad and gently toss to combine.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Loved this! Perfect lunch salad and the kids loved help me make it.
Thank you! That makes me so happy to hear!
I absolutely loved this salad! so easy to make and super delicious ! will definetly make it more often 🙂
That makes me so happy to hear! Thank you!
This was delicious! Thanks for the recipe. I just omitted the olives because I wanted less salt in the salad, and it was still great!
So glad to hear it! Thank you so much for taking the time to share 🙂
Loved this recipe! Its packed with nutrients, is soo delicious and yet so so easy to make!
Perfect for summer salads, perfect for eating healthy!
Who said that healthy and tasty cant go hand in hand together?! Thank you @feelgoodfoodie for your wonderful recipes always. We love them 🤗
Yay, so glad to hear! Thank you!
I made the chick pea salad for the fam yesterday! Fantastic! Only used Cumin in the dressing though (but that was just enough for the kiddos). Even better the next day tossed with a little left over dressing.
So glad you enjoyed the salad – I agree it’s great the next day still. Thanks so much!
I just made this for Father’s Day and it was a huge hit! Super easy and very flavorful! Some ate it with feta and said it was great! Added bonus-it’s really beautiful!
So glad to hear everyone enjoyed it! Thanks so much for sharing!!
This recipe is perfect for warm day in California. Family loved it. Thank you.
So glad to hear it. Thank you!