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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Added 1-1/2 c leftover quinoa and it’s delicious!
Fantastic salad! I’ve made this many times…keeps really well in the refrigerator. Also good with sun dried tomatoes (in oil), marinated artichoke hearts, calamata olives and feta cheese. Mediterranean style!
Those sound like yummy additions to this salad! I can’t wait to try it with artichoke hearts! Yum!
Delicious! Even my partner likes it and he is not a big fan of avocado or chickpeas and he doesn’t like tomatoes (boys and vegetables:)
I didn’t have a fresh parsley so I used fresh mint instead and it was very tasty. Thank you for the recipe! It’s a part of my home recipe book now
For such a simple recipe, this was REALLY tasty. I brought this salad to a potluck at work and it went fast. Because I had to make it ahead, I decided to leave out the avocado and although it would have been a nice addition, I really didn’t feel it was missed. Very good!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I made this tonight, and oh-my! It was amazing. I am so excited to have leftovers for lunch. The only change I made was cilantro for the parsley because that’s what I had. Thank you!
Sounds delicious Cheyenne! Glad you loved it!
I made it with Cilantro as well. I used MCT oil instead, and it is a wonderful dish.
Put in my menu to have on a regular basis. Thank’s!
I prefer virgin olive oil for many of my recipes because it is not too overpowering. BEst thanks
I made this today. I’m not rating it because I changed 2 things. I used a Greek seasoning in place of the cumin and I didn’t add an avocado – mostly because I couldn’t find a ripe one and I was also afraid it wouldn’t hold up over a few days.
I liked it very much!
So glad you enjoyed it!
I worked out the nutrition info in order to use it for my Weight Watcher’s tracking – if you use all the dressing and divide the salad into 8 servings (1cup/serving), it is 6 WW Smart Points. If you add feta cheese, that would be additional points.
I followed this recipe to a ‘T’ and it was excellent! Thanks for sharing!
So glad you liked it!
Chickpea and avocado is the best combo! Gonna make this for my vegan mom <3
Very light, lots of flavor. easy to make
So good!! My daughter and I made this tonight and we both really liked it a lot. Will definitely be making this again. Thank you for sharing.
So glad you loved it!
This salad was crazy good!
I’m so glad you loved it!
I made this Sunday for a family reunion. It was incredible! But I have some meat-and-potatoes people in my family, and one family member stated that, “Becky sure eats some weird stuff.” Haha! His loss!!
Too funny! We agree, it’s his loss! :P
Just made this tonight and my family loved it! This is definitely one of my favourite salads with awesomeness of goodness.
After reading these salad recipes I want to try the benr …
Just finished making this for a party tomorrow. I tasted prior to chilling it’s fabulous! I omitted green pepper and added feta, used parsley straight from the garden!
Good delicious! I growing chickpeas in my garde.
This salad looks good and delicious, the salad dressing so perfect with all available ingredients!! Thank you!
Enjoy Aria!
My husband loved it.