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This easy Chickpea Salad is quick to make and delicious to eat. It’s like a Greek salad but with chickpeas so it’ll keep you fuller, longer. Perfect for meal prep!
This colorful, fresh garbanzo bean salad is reminiscent of a Greek Salad, and with good reason. It’s all the same types of veggies but with lettuce taken out and chickpeas added in. The results are a higher-protein, fiber-filled lunch option that is packed with flavor and ready for your fork.
Start with the easiest 5-ingredient red wine vinaigrette: extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, dried oregano, and salt and pepper is a fantastic dressing for this salad (and so many others). Add in plenty of colorful veggies (add a handful of shredded romaine, if you want!) and canned chickpeas. I add feta cheese too, but you can leave it out for a delicious vegan salad.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Chickpeas: Also known as garbanzo beans. To substitute dried chickpeas, add 4 ounces dried chickpeas to a large pot and cover with 2 inches water. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer until tender, about 1 ½ to 2 hours. Drain well and cool.
- Cucumbers: If you use thin-skinned cucumbers such as English cucumbers, peeling is optional.
- Grape tomatoes: 1 ½ cups diced tomatoes may be substituted for the grape tomatoes. Seed your tomatoes if desired.
- Kalamata olives: Substitute black olives or your favorite green olives if desired, and leave them whole if you prefer that.
Step-by-step instructions
- To make the dressing, in a small bowl whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste (I like ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper).
- In a large bowl, add chickpeas, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, red onion, Kalamata olives, feta cheese, and parsley.
- Drizzle with dressing and toss to combine.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes about 8 cups of salad, enough for 8 as a side dish (1 cup per serving) or 4 as a main dish/lunch option (2 cups per serving).
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 4 days. If you want to meal prep the salad, leave out the feta cheese until the day you are going to eat it.
- Make ahead: The salad dressing can be made up to 3 days in advance. Store covered in the refrigerator. The vegetables can be prepped the day before and stored separately in the refrigerator.
- More mix-ins: Get creative with cubed avocado, 1 chopped romaine heart (about 4 cups or 8 ounces), sliced red bell pepper, your favorite herbs (fresh dill, basil, cilantro, or mint), or even 8 ounces cooked pasta (drained and cooled).
- Make the dressing your own: Try adding 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice, a tsp of honey, a minced clove of garlic, or a pinch of red pepper flakes.
- Chickpea Salad sandwich: Tuck this delicious, flavorful salad into split pita bread for a veggie-filled sandwich on the go.
- Chickpea Tuna salad: Start with my favorite Tuna Salad Recipe and swap canned chickpeas for the tuna. Just mash the chickpeas with a potato masher before you stir them in. It’s amazing!
Frequently Asked Questions
Chickpea Salads can contain garbanzo beans, vegetables, other sources of protein such as chicken or turkey, and some sort of salad dressing.
Canned chickpeas are already cooked, so they are ready to be added to soups, salads, and sandwiches as-is. I suggest giving them a rinse to remove the aquafaba first!
You can temper the harsh taste of raw onions while infusing them with flavor! After you make the salad dressing, add the onions and toss to combine. Let them sit for up to 30 minutes at room temperature (or refrigerate for long marinading). I add the cucumbers here too for more flavor infusion.
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Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
For the red wine vinaigrette:
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
For the salad:
- 1 (15.5 ounce) can chickpeas drained and rinsed (see note 1)
- 1 cucumber peeled, quartered lengthwise and diced (2 cups, see note 2)
- 1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes halved (10 ounces, see note 3)
- 1/2 red onion thinly sliced (1 cup or 4 ounces)
- 1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives halved (see note 4)
- 4 ounces feta cheese cut into cubes
- 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley or other fresh herbs such as basil, mint, and cilantro
Instructions
- To make the dressing, in a small bowl whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste (I like ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper).
- In a large bowl, add chickpeas, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, red onion, Kalamata olives, feta cheese, and parsley. Drizzle with dressing and toss to combine.
Notes
- Chickpeas: To substitute dried chickpeas, add 4 ounces dried chickpeas to a large pot and cover with 2 inches water. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer until tender, about 1 ½ to 2 hours. Drain well and cool.
- Cucumbers: If you use thin-skinned cucumbers, peeling is optional.
- Grape tomatoes: 1 ½ cups diced tomatoes may be substituted for the grape tomatoes. Seed your tomatoes if desired.
- Kalamata olives: Substitute black olives or your favorite green olives if desired, and leave them whole if you prefer that.
- Yield: This recipe makes about 8 cups of salad, enough for 8 as a side dish (1 cup per serving) or 4 as a main dish/lunch option (2 cups per serving).
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. If you want to meal prep the salad, leave out the feta cheese until the day you are going to eat it.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
This is a delicious recipe! I love how refreshing the tomatoes and cucumbers make it! A new favorite.
Thank you for your nice comment, Maquee! I’m so happy you loved it! – Meggan
Really refreshing! Are it in a rice pilaf bowl w/ hummus.
Delicious! A staple for our family.
Thanks Katherine, so glad you all like it! – Meggan
I just love this salad. It is so good. I make it whenever I have fresh parsley on hand! I could eat bowls and bowls of it.