Chickpea Salad
on Jun 05, 2019, Updated Jan 12, 2024
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This colorful, healthy vegetarian salad can be served as an entrée or a side dish. Leave out the feta and honey for a vegan chickpea salad recipe.
This salad is so beautiful and so delicious that you might forget how inexpensive and healthy it is. It is vegetarian, packed with protein, texture, and color, and it can be made with ingredients you likely have in your kitchen at this very moment. You can swap ingredients in and out as you like, even skip a few if you don’t have them on hand (no need for a last-minute dash to the supermarket).
This chickpea salad can be served as a vegetarian main dish salad, it could be a side dish, or it could be part of an antipasti platter. Leave out the feta and honey, and the salad is vegan as well. This is perfect for picnics and potlucks, and leftovers are a welcome sight in the fridge the next day.
And if you’re on the hunt for great bean salad recipes, also try Cowboy Caviar, White Bean Salad, White Bean and Hearts of Palm Salad, and Turkish Chickpea Salad.
Table of Contents
This colorful, healthy vegetarian Chickpea Salad can be served as an entrée or a side dish. Leave out the feta for a vegan chickpea salad recipe!
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Ingredients
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Lemon juice – Fresh is best!
- Vinegar – I like sherry wine or red wine vinegar for this salad, but you can use whatever you have in the house.
- Honey – Use regular honey or hot honey. I love using hot honey in salad dressings and in other dishes. It’s honey infused with chilis, so anywhere a bit of sweetness plus a bit of heat would be welcome, there you are: hot honey. Use agave or skip the sweetener if you are looking for a vegan salad.
- Hot sauce – skip this if you are using the hot honey
- Chickpeas – You can use drained and rinsed canned chickpeas or cook your own dried chickpeas if you prefer. You might also find vacuum-packed steamed chickpeas in the refrigerator section of the supermarket.
- Onion – I love the way red onion looks in salads, but you can use any color onion you have.
- Crumbled or diced feta – This is optional; skip for a vegan salad.
- Kalamata or other black olives
- Cherry or grape tomatoes – Halve or quarter them if they are on the larger side.
- Roasted bell pepper – You can use homemade roasted peppers or, for an easier option, pick up a jar of roasted peppers. Grilled bell peppers are another option.
- Cucumber – Use seedless cucumbers or baby cucumbers, halved lengthwise and sliced.
- Parsley – adds freshness
- Fresh oregano – Optional, but adds a nice herbal note.
- Avocados – Make sure your avocados are ripe and add them just before serving.
FAQs
Yes! Chickpeas are actually classified as a superfood, along with their legume brethren, but have many nutritional powerhouse benefits. They are high in B vitamins, minerals, and protein, and contain lots of fiber.
Yes! Two different names, same legume.
Nope, canned chickpeas are already cooked, so you can use and eat the straight from the can.
Rinsing removes some of the sodium contained in the liquid they are packed in. That liquid usually contains a high amount of salt, though you can also look for low-sodium chickpeas.
Variations and Substitutions
- To make this a vegan chickpea salad, leave out the feta, and replace the honey with agave or maple syrup.
- Leave out anything you don’t have or don’t like. There’s plenty going on in this chickpea salad recipe, so if the olives are not your jam, or if roasted red peppers aren’t in the cards for any reason, jettison them.
- You can sub in other vegetables, like diced young zucchini or summer squash for the cucumber.
- Add in other vegetables, like little pieces of cooked vegetables such as eggplant or cauliflower, or add some crunch with diced celery. This is a good way to use up extra grilled or roasted vegetables.
How to Make Chickpea Salad
- Make the dressing: In a large bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, honey, hot sauce, salt, and pepper.
- Make the salad: Add the chickpeas, onions, feta (if using), olives, tomatoes, bell pepper, cucumber, parsley, and oregano, if using. Toss, add the cubed avocado, and toss again.
Storage and Leftovers
If you want to make this salad ahead, it will keep in the fridge for up to 2 days. However, don’t add the avocado until just before serving, or it will start to brown.
Leftovers can keep for another 2 days, but if you have added the avocado, then know that it will brown a bit, but still be fine to eat.
What to Serve With Chickpea Salad
More Chickpea Recipes
- Turkish Chickpea Salad
- Chopped Winter Salad
- Lamb Chorba
- Chunky Cicerchie (or Chickpea) Soup
- Chickpea and Fava Bean Salad
Explore more No-Cook Recipes for Summer!
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Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons red wine or sherry vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ½ teaspoon hot sauce
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper (to taste)
- 2 15-ounce cans chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
- ½ cup minced red onion
- ½ cup crumbled or diced feta (optional)
- ¼ cup halved Kalamata or other black olives
- 2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes (halved or quartered if large)
- ½ cup diced roasted bell pepper (homemade or jarred)
- 2 cups diced seedless cucumber (or baby cucumbers halved lengthwise and sliced)
- ½ cup minced fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano (optional)
- 2 ripe avocados
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, honey, hot sauce, salt, and pepper.
- Add the chickpeas, onions, feta (if using), olives, tomatoes, bell pepper, cucumber, parsley, and oregano, if using. Toss. Cut the avocados into cubes, and add them to the salad. Gently toss to combine.
Notes
- To make this a vegan chickpea salad, leave out the feta, replace the honey with agave or maple syrup.
- Leave out anything you don’t have or don’t like. There’s plenty going on in this chickpea salad recipe, so if the olives are not your jam, or if roasted red peppers aren’t in the cards for any reason, jettison them.
- You can sub in other vegetables, like diced young zucchini or summer squash, for the cucumber.
- Add in other vegetables, like little pieces of cooked vegetables such as eggplant or cauliflower, or add some crunch with diced celery. This is a good way to use up extra grilled or roasted vegetables.
- If you want to make this salad ahead, it will keep in the fridge for up to 2 days. However, don’t add the avocado until just before serving, or it will start to brown. Leftovers can keep for another 2 days, but if you have added the avocado, then know that it will brown a bit, but still be fine to eat.
Delicious recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Making this for the weekend at the lake
I can’t wait to try out this recipe my only question is that I track all of my food mostly and don’t see how big a serving size is, could you please let me know so I can add it to my tracking when I incorporate it into my daily snack rotation.
thank you.
it’s an 8th of the recipe, probably 3/4 to 1 cup!
Making this for Easter to go with our leg of lamb and homemade pita, devoured this salad last summer
Love this chick pea salad….sooo good.
so glad to hear!!