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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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.