Chickpea salad is a bright, crunchy salad that’s full of fresh flavor. It’s easy to prep ahead and holds up well in the fridge, making it perfect for lunches or a potluck.
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Holly’s Recipe Highlights
- Why Make It: Easy to chop, toss, and chill, and it tastes even better later.
- Flavor: Fresh and bright with crisp vegetables, chickpeas, and a tangy cumin-lemon dressing.
- Tools: This veggie chopper will make prep quick!
- Serving Suggestions: Serve as a side, spoon into pita, or top with grilled chicken or shrimp.
Ingredient Notes
- Tomatoes: Cherry tomatoes work best for a fresh, sweet flavor, but diced tomatoes can be used in a pinch.
- Cucumbers: English or Persian cucumbers stay crisp and don’t need much prep, making them a great choice for this salad. If using garden cucumbers, peel and seed them if they’re watery.
- Chickpeas: Canned chickpeas keep this recipe quick and easy. Be sure to rinse them well for the best flavor and less starch. If using cooked-from-scratch chickpeas, make sure they’re tender but not mushy.
- Green Pepper: Green bell pepper adds a nice crunch to this salad. Red, yellow, or orange bell peppers can be used instead for a slightly sweeter flavor.
- Red Onion: Red onion adds a bit of sharp flavor, so finely dice it to keep it from overpowering the salad. For a milder taste, soak it briefly in cold water before adding.
- Avocado: Avocado is optional, but it adds a creamy contrast to the salad. It’s best added just before serving or lightly tossed with lemon juice to help slow browning.
- Variations: This salad is easy to customize to what you have on hand. Add feta or olives for a salty, briny flavor, or swap the parsley for mint or dill for a fresh twist. Turn it into a meal with grilled chicken, shrimp, or quinoa.
How to Make Chickpea Salad
- Add the salad ingredients and rinsed chickpeas to a bowl (full recipe below).
- Drizzle with oil, vinegar, and seasonings. Toss to combine.
- Chill, then top with optional avocado before serving.
How To Store Chickpea Salad
- Refrigerate: Keep leftover chickpea salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Keep avocado separate and add it just before serving. If already mixed in, the salad is still safe to eat, but the avocado may soften and darken.
- Serving: Give it a stir before serving since the dressing can settle at the bottom. Refresh leftovers with a small splash of red wine vinegar, olive oil, or lemon juice if needed.
- Freezing: Freezing is not recommended.
What to Serve with Chickpea Salad
Chickpea salad is so versatile. Serve it as a side to your favorite grilled protein or as a main for lunch or meal prep.
Did you enjoy this Chickpea Salad Recipe? Leave a comment and rating 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 refrigerator 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!