Mediterranean Chickpea Salad – a light, healthy and meatless salad made primarily with chickpeas, cucumber, tomatoes, onions and olives; bursting with sweet, garlicky and tangy dressing to add pop and flavor for this 15-minute salad. Easy, healthy and indulgent side dish or as a meal on its own!
It has been a crazy week, at least for me. I was swamped with babysitting two additional kids while shooting some videos for the blog (oh yeah..something for you guys to look forward to 😉 ). My son was over the moon when his two younger cousins came over for a short vacation. And, well, you know what happens next when you have three kids in the house.
What I’ll be sharing with you today is a quick and easy yet healthy booster meal that I have been indulging lately. Oh yesss – just made enough salad dressing that lasted for a few days. All I had to do was to chop the veggies, throw them all together in a bowl and pour over my homemade dressing.
Instant and healthy meal in 15-minutes! I sometimes double it up as make ahead meal. ‘Cause you certainly don’t want to do more cooking and heat up the house during summer, do you?
This Mediterranean Chickpea Salad has been a life saver for me during those days and hubby, who’s more into veggies, gave this dish a rock solid thumbs up!
Chickpea is a nutrient-dense food providing your much-needed protein, dietary fiber and minerals. It’s particularly a favorite in Mediterranean cuisine along with olives and grapes.
So if you’re cutting back on those numbers, this salad here should be in your weekly rotation. Just like my Easy Pasta Salad here, it’s also a wonderful addition to any summer gathering like potlucks, picnics and barbecues.
Don’t worry, this chickpea salad is not one of those bland veggie salads that makes you want to throw up. It’s packed with great fresh flavors with or without the dressing. You’ll love how the sweet, garlicky, tangy homemade dressing for this recipe coats beautifully all the veggies.
It even helps to let the chickpea salad sit in the fridge for a day or two to let the dressing intensify in flavor. It’s sooo good; you won’t even stop munching on this! You can even throw in some feta cheese or tofu if you like and even pasta, too!
Want more easy and tasty salads like this? Check out my Black Bean and Corn Salad HERE, Cajun Chicken Avocado Salad OR my Red Potato Salad. Hop around the blog and you’ll see more mouth-watering salads like this.
Enjoy!
Tips and Notes:
- You can throw in some feta cheese or tofu if you like and even pasta, too!
- Aside from chickpeas, you can add other types of beans in this recipe and also fresh herbs for a more vibrant salad.
- This recipe is also best served with burgers, grilled meat, hot dogs, etc. You may also serve it on romaine lettuce and baby spinach if you want leafy salads.
- Want to use dried chickpeas instead of canned ones? Follow this cooking instructions HERE.
Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
- 2 15-ounce cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans) , rinsed and drained, or 3 cups cooked chickpeas
- 1 medium red bell pepper , chopped
- 2 English cucumbers , seeded and chopped
- ½ cup olives
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- ½ cups chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (about 1 bunch)
- ½ cup chopped red onion
Dressing
- 3 tablespoon extra light olive oil
- 2 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice
- 1/2 tablespoon poppy seeds
- 1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 tablespoon chopped parsley
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt , divided
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix together ,chickpeas, bell pepper, cucumber, olives, cherry tomatoes, parsley, and red onion.
- In another bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, minced garlic, salt, onion powder, parsley , sugar and salt . Adjust seasonings to taste .
- Pour dressing to the chickpea salad mixture and then toss to coat. Serve immediately or refrigerate.
Nutrition Information:
Samira Selle says
This salad was so yummy, unbelievable, while super easy and quick. I prepared it as a light summer lunch but ended up eating a whole bowl (I sized down the recipe to one can) just on my own. This has been two days ago and I already had to resist the urge to make it again today… This will definitely become a staple of my summer cuisine, I’m sure it’s also great for BBQ potlucks.
ImmaculateBites says
Hello Samira. Yes, it will definitely make a great BBQ potluck too. Glad you love it!
Jillian Morland-Duff says
I must remember, this year, when making this for Africa Oyé, that I’m not feeding half of the festival.
Last year I was passing bowls to families around me.
Ellen says
Great sidesalad for BBQs! made it several time this summer.
ImmaculateBites says
Yay! So happy to hear this. Thanks Lady.