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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This salad was absolutely fantastic! Made it with cilantro.
Love cilantro! Glad you loved it Crystal!
I just made this yesterday! It was really good and will be a regular on my menu!!
5 stars ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I’m so glad you loved it Kristy!
I made this but I added feta cheese and I use seven sea’s dressing mix instead of oil and red wine viniger.
Sounds delicious! So glad you loved it Deborah!
Made a pound of chickpeas in the slow cooker and I was looking for a recipe that used chickpeas. This recipe is awesome. Tastes great and easy to make.
Glad you loved it!
Really delicious salad with the addition of cilantro. Next time I’ll use white wine vinegar as the red wine vinegar gave it a unappetizing look. Very tasty however!
This recipe was perfect. My huband and I loved it. Very tasty.
So glad you loved it!
This will be my “go to salad” all the time! It is so fresh and tasty! I eliminated the onion ( personal taste) and I added sliced black olives instead of green pepper. Just delicious.
It’s versatile and definitely can be adjusted to suit your tastes. So happy to hear you loved it!
This was amazing! I added singe garlic too! Going to be a regular in my home.
That sounds great Nicole! Glad you love it!
I love your recipes, can’t wait to try the Chic pea salad! Sounds delicious! Thank you!
Thanks Lisa, it’s one of our favorites!
This is a fabulous salad, I’ve shared it with friends and everyone asks for the recipe. So simple but so healthy and filling. Love it!
So glad you enjoyed it Dale! Thank you for sharing the recipe! :)
I am not a fan of cucumber but I think this salad looks fantastic. Do you think zucchini would work well in this recipe instead? Thanks!
Sure it would.
This was a big hit. Will be making this quite often.
That’s great to hear Diana!
This was a great tasting recipe i didnt add avacado because i dont like it, and i only had chilli infused olive oil and that gave it a bit of a kick which we loved and i added allthe colours of the capsicum. Thanks for sharing.
I’m meal prepping this today for my lunches this week. I don’t have the red wine vinegar but I do have white wine vinegar. Would this work? I can’t wait to try this it looks so yummy.
Any vinegar of your choice will work for this recipe Michelle. It may change up the flavor a bit, but you’ll enjoy it!
My husband I decided to start a plant based diet rather than taking medicines to lower blood pressure and cholesterol.
So far its been a week and already I am seeing a reduction in BP numbers. This recipe was excellent! My husband loved it
I tweaked the recipe by using what I had in the house, I sauted my yellow onions first, I also used apple cider vinegar, I didnt want to buy red wine vinegar.
Excellent!
I am so glad you were able to make this recipe work with what you had on hand Mrs. Madison!
This salad is so good. It can be eaten on its own, like a salsa with chips or tossed in a salad. The possibilities are endless. Next time I might add shrimp & a little chili powder. I’ll definitely be bringing this to cook outs this summer.
That sounds delicious Tara! Enjoy!
I love this!! Its so fresh!
Sounds great. I buy cucumber often, any suggestions how to keep it fresh. It seems to get soft and mushy after 3-4 days, even English cucumbers. Thank you
Hello will make it a day before my guests arrive..thanks for sharing. I need to make for 25 persons.. Please advise the quantity of ingredients I will have to use.Also will the avocado not change color if I do it the day before with the dressing on?
This recipe serves 6 so I would suggest making 4x the recipe. I would add the avocado the day of serving.
I love chickpeas and can’t wait to try this salad! Just one question though, have you used cumin powder or whole cumin seeds for the dressing?
I use ground cumin (powder) for this recipe.