Fresh veggies, herbs, and a zesty dressing add bold flavor to this chickpea salad recipe. Healthy and satisfying, it's perfect for picnics and lunches!
You can never have enough chickpea salad recipes in your back pocket, right? I definitely feel that way, and I hope you do too, because even though there are already *several* chickpea salads on this blog, this NEW chickpea salad recipe is a total keeper.
It’s filled with fresh Mediterranean flavors—crispy cucumbers play off juicy tomatoes, which in turn contrast with the tender chickpeas. Briny olives and pickled onions add a delicious pop, and handfuls of herbs freshen the whole thing up. A zippy lemon dressing ties it all together.
This chickpea salad is healthy, satisfying, flavorful, and fresh. It’s exactly the sort of thing I like to make for picnics and lunches throughout the summer. Just add a side of sunshine to make it a meal. Enjoy!
Chickpea Salad Recipe Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this chickpea salad recipe:
- Chickpeas, of course! Also known as garbanzo beans, these trusty legumes are packed with fiber and plant-based protein. You’ll need two cans for this recipe, or 3 cups cooked. Learn how to cook dried chickpeas with my guide to cooking dried beans.
- Grape tomatoes – Use a mix of yellow and red to give this salad a beautiful variety of colors. Cherry tomatoes are fair game too!
- English cucumber – For crunch! I like to use English cucumbers here because of their thin skins and minimal seeds. If regular cucumbers are all you can find, peel and seed them before chopping them up and adding them to the salad.
- Pickled red onions – They add a pop of tangy flavor. No time to pickle? Sliced green onion would work here too.
- Kalamata olives – For salty, briny flavor.
- Fresh parsley, dill, and mint – They make this salad unbelievably aromatic and fresh. I especially love how the dill brings out the tang of the pickled onions and dressing.
- And the lemon dressing – This zesty dressing brings the whole salad together! It’s a simple blend of olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, garlic, salt, and pepper.
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make This Chickpea Salad
This chickpea salad recipe is super simple to make! Here’s how it goes:
First, make the dressing. Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, salt, and several grinds of pepper at the bottom of a large bowl.
Next, add the chickpeas, olives, pickled onions, and veggies. Toss to coat these hearty ingredients in the dressing.
Then, add the fresh herbs. Toss again, making sure the salad ingredients are well combined.
Finally, season to taste and serve! If I’m making this salad for a summer gathering or special occasion, I like to shower it with more fresh mint leaves before serving.
Chickpea Salad Recipe Variations
I love this chickpea salad recipe as written, but it’s totally flexible. Feel free to change it up! Toss in your favorite ingredients, or use what you have on hand. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Change up the veggies. Toss in diced red bell pepper or roasted red peppers along with the tomatoes and cucumber. Blanched green beans or avocado would be great here too.
- Add a cheese. This recipe is currently vegan, but if you’re not, there’s no reason you couldn’t add some cheese. Crumbled feta cheese would be particularly good.
- Make it a green salad. Serve the garbanzo bean salad over a bed of chopped romaine lettuce.
Let me know what variations you try!
Storage and Make-Ahead Tips
This chickpea salad keeps well in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days. Make it ahead to serve as a side dish at a summer potluck or picnic, or pack it up for lunch.
Tip: The fresh mint will darken and wilt as it sits in the dressing. If you make this salad more than an hour or two in advance, wait to add the mint until you’re ready to serve.
More Protein-Packed Salad Recipes
If you love this chickpea salad, try one of these high protein salads next:
- Lentil Salad
- Three Bean Salad
- Black Bean and Corn Salad
- Cowboy Caviar
- Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
- Italian Chopped Salad
- Easy Pasta Salad
- Or any of these 51 Best Salad Recipes!
Can’t get enough chickpeas? Try this chickpea salad sandwich next!
Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 garlic clove, grated
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 3 cups cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups mixed yellow and red grape tomatoes, halved
- ½ English cucumber, diced
- ½ cup Pickled Red Onions
- ½ cup kalamata olives, pitted and halved
- ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
- ¼ cup chopped fresh dill
- ¼ cup chopped fresh mint, plus whole mint leaves for garnish
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, mustard, salt, and several grinds of pepper.
- Add the chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumber, pickled onions, and olives and toss to coat. Add the parsley, dill, and mint and toss again.
- Season to taste, garnish with fresh mint leaves, and serve.
A super forgiving recipe. I made it twice. First time, followed the recipe to the t, and it turned out absolutely delicious. Today, I used this recipe to clear out my fridge. I threw in regular tomatoes, lemon juice out of a bottle, skipped cheese altogether, and used dry oregano and thyme since there were no fresh herbs in my fridge. Did it taste different? Yes. Did it taste amazing? Hell, YES! Thanks a ton for the recipe
It would be helpful if you would provide the nutritional value per serving after the recipes for those of us who are on specific diet plans ie. Diabetic, Keto, or just plain calorie counting.
Just something I thought would be helpful.
I love your recipes.
I love this recipe and make it all the time. I, too, would find it helpful to have the nutritional information provided
Brilliant recipe. Used red pepper, jalapeños and feta, didn’t have cucumber, tasted as good if not better than last time.
Hi Andi, so glad you loved it!