Chickpea Salad is a simple one-bowl salad that’s perfect as a side dish and holds up well for meal prep and lunches. It’s loaded with crisp veggies and tossed in an easy red wine vinaigrette.
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Holly’s Recipe Highlights
- Flavor: Bright lemon and red wine vinegar, fresh parsley, and subtle warm notes from cumin.
- Skill Level: Easy chop and toss salad with a simple pantry dressing.
- Budget Tip: Dried chickpeas can be cheaper than canned. First, soak them overnight, then cook in the Instant Pot or on the stovetop until tender.
- Serving Suggestion: Serve it alongside oven-baked chicken, tucked into a pita, or piled over greens for an easy lunch.
Simple Ingredients, Big Flavor
- Chickpeas/Garbanzo Beans: Canned chickpeas are precooked, making this salad come together quickly. Just rinse and drain well so the dressing clings.
- Cucumbers: English, Persian, or baby cucumbers stay crisp longer and don’t require peeling. If using regular cucumbers, peel and scoop out the seeds to prevent a watery salad.
- Tomatoes: Grape or cherry tomatoes hold their shape well. Roma tomatoes should be seeded first so the salad doesn’t get diluted.
- Bell Peppers: Green bell peppers add crunch and flavor. Use red or yellow bell peppers for a sweeter flavor.
- Parsley: Parsley adds a lot of flavor. Try replacing with other fresh herbs like cilantro or dill.
Variations
- Make it Heartier: Add quinoa, farro, or orzo pasta to make it extra hearty.
- Greek-Style Twist: Try adding kalamata olives or a bit of tangy feta cheese or goat cheese for a Greek salad twist.
- Add a Protein Topper: Try adding grilled or baked chicken for a more filling main dish.
How to Make Chickpea Salad
- Add the salad ingredients and rinsed chickpeas to a large bowl (full recipe below).
- Drizzle with oil, vinegar, and seasonings. Toss to combine.
- Chill, then top with optional avocado before serving.
Keep it Fresh for Days
- Refrigerate: Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days for best quality.
- With avocado: Best within 2 days; or, leave the avocado out and add it fresh as a topping just before serving.
Freezing is not recommended.
Make Ahead Lunch Favorites
Did you love this Chickpea Salad? Leave us a rating and a comment below.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups grape tomatoes halved
- 2 cups diced cucumber
- 1 (15.5 ounce) can chickpeas drained and rinsed
- ¾ cup diced green bell pepper
- ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
- ¼ cup finely diced red onion
- 1 avocado optional
- ½ lemon juiced
Dressing
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine tomatoes, cucumber, chickpeas, bell pepper, parsley, and red onion.
- Add the olive oil, vinegar, cumin, salt, and pepper. Toss well to combine.
- If using, cut the avocado into cubes and place in a small bowl. Squeeze the juice from ½ of a lemon over the avocado and gently stir to combine. (If not using avocado, squeeze 1 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice over the salad and toss.)
- Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.
Video
Notes
Store leftover chickpea salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 160 | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Sodium: 107mg | Potassium: 430mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 989IU | Vitamin C: 39mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Salad, Side Dish
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Regarding your chickpea salad, you say the salad dressing is kissed with lemon yet there is no lemon in the salad dressing ingredients. Is it supposed to come from the 1/2 lemon juice that is squeezed over the avocado? I’ll be making this today, it looks fantastic.
It does come from adding it in with the avocado. Enjoy Kristen!
This salad looks amazing,but I dont care for chickpeas. Can I substitute Blackeyed peas for this salad?
Sure you can!
This salad is so so good! The parsley is off putting in this salad so I think next time I will replace with cilantro, which would also complement the cumin and avocado. Others’ suggestion of adding feta would also be amazing in this. Thanks for the great recipe!
Made this last night. it was fresh and delicious. I will be making this often. I love that you can add whatever you have available. Had feta, great add in. Thanks
I am glad this was a hit! I think adding feta is a great idea!
This looks so good! Perfect for hot summer days.
Can I make this a night before or better made day of?
Absolutely! This recipe keeps for a days!
I made this salad and it was gone, eaten in one sitting by just my boyfriend and I. He was literally tilting the bowl and drinking the juice that was left on the bottom! I would highly recommend substituting the parsley with cilantro as it compliments the cumin. That’s if you like cilantro. Thank you for the wonderful and healthy recipe!
I am so glad you guys liked this recipe! I will have to try it with cilantro sometime!
Do you put the dressing on ahead of time and refrigerate the salad? Or, do you just pour the dressing onto individual portions?
I toss the dressing with the salad before refrigerating.
This was a great salad and easy to make. I had to improvise with orange pepper, vadilla onion but other then that it was great.
I will make it again. We love chick/garbanzo beans, it is healthy filling and even my great grandson liked it. Thanks
I am so glad you were able to make it work with what you had on hand!
It looks fabulous, can’t wait to try it !!
I Love all your Recipes, Thank you Soo much !
This looks so good I’m ready to make it right now! I have all the ingredients at hand except for the avocado. Do you think I could use guacamole instead or should I just leave it out?
I would just leave it out. You could add a dollop of guacamole to your serving if you’d like.
I bet if you used the guac and skipped the dressing it would be very tasty. Try it with a little bit of it. You can invent a new recipe. lol
I would definitely recommend cutting the parsley in half. It’s too overbearing. I think this could’ve used a bit more flavor. It was just ok for me.
I used cilantro by mistake and it perked up the flavors wonderfully
What is a serving size?
Serving size would be about 1 cup.
Looks yummy. What if I don’t want to use canned chickpeas. How would I prepare dry chickpeas?
If you choose to use dry, refer to the package for cooking directions.
This looks so good wondering what you could use instead of cumin?
Carroway seeds, chili powder, taco season or curry would be good substitutions for cumin.
This is one of my go to summer recipes that I have been making for decades. Love the addition of an avocado.
This looks crazy refreshing!
This looks delicious!
The picture looks so colorful and looks too delicious. I’ll try it for sure. Thanks for sharing it.
Hope you love it!
YUM!!! This salad looks so fresh and full of great flavors! Thank you for sharing :)
Fresh and delicious! Enjoy! :)
This is my perfect salad! I’d eat it every day!
It’s easy to eat every day!