Chickpea Salad

Our easy chickpea salad recipe is a Mediterranean-inspired salad made with simple seasonal vegetables such as cucumber, tomato, and red onion.

We dress the salad with a creamy mustard dressing and plenty of fresh herbs to make this dish pop and super tasty.

You can put the salad together in just about the time it takes to chop the ingredients.

We think you'll love this recipe because it is fresh, colorful, crunchy, nutritious, and fulfilling. Our recipe is also dairy-free and gluten-free.

This chickpea salad recipe is made with whole chickpeas, not mashed. For our smashed chickpea salad with vegan mayonnaise, check out our vegan tuna salad.

Chickpeas

Sometimes known as garbanzo beans are the main ingredient for this chickpea salad. You can use canned chickpeas or dried ones that you cook yourself.

You can substitute cannellini beans, kidney beans, black beans, or lentils for chickpeas.

Tomatoes

You can use any ripe tomatoes. Try Roma tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, plum tomatoes, and grape tomatoes.

Cucumber

English cucumber, American cucumber, Persian cucumber, or Kirby cucumber are all perfect for this garbanzo bean salad. We like to keep the peel on.

You can substitute fresh zucchini for the cucumber.

Onion

Finely chopped red onion to add some tanginess to the salad.

You can substitute shallots or spring onions for the red onion if the onion is a little to sharp for you.

Olives

To add healthy fat and that umami boost so typical of olives. Use pitted black or green olives. For an even more flavorful chickpea salad, go for Kalamata olives.

Corn

To add sweetness and color. Canned corn is perfect for this. You can replace it with yellow bell pepper.

Fresh Herbs

We use fresh flat-leaf parsley as it goes very well with chickpeas. You can replace or supplement parsley with fresh basil, mint, chives, fresh dill, and cilantro. Pick your favorite, or mix more than one.

Avocado

Optional but recommended, it adds creaminess and healthy fats to this delicious chickpea salad recipe.

Salad Dressing

You can make a simple vinaigrette with extra virgin olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice (or red wine vinegar), garlic powder, salt, and pepper.

Or, if you like a creamier and tastier dressing, add maple syrup and Dijon mustard.

Observation: the problem we usually have with chickpea salads is that the dressing doesn't stick to the chickpeas.

Adding mustard and maple syrup helps with that. The dressing is creamy and coats the chickpeas and the other veggies very well, making this salad very tasty.

However, if you prefer a lighter dressing, or don't like the taste of mustard or maple syrup in a salad, then you can easily keep them out.

Drain and rinse the chickpeas and add them to a large mixing bowl.

Add halved cherry tomatoes, chopped cucumber, sliced black olives, finely chopped onion, corn, and finely chopped parsley.

Optionally, you can add a diced avocado, but do so only shortly before serving the salad because avocado doesn't keep well.

To a small bowl, add the ingredients for the dressing: olive oil, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and optionally mustard and maple syrup. Whisk well till the ingredients are combined.

Alternatively, add all the ingredients to a small jar and shake it well.

Pour ¾ of the dressing into the bowl with the vegetables and mix well.

Taste and adjust for salt, then serve this chickpea salad on its own or pair it with quinoa, pasta, rice, or simply on a bed of arugula salad with a slice of bread.

Serve leftover dressing next to the salad for people to add on top.

Chickpea Pasta Salad

Make this easy chickpea salad recipe a complete meal by adding pasta. All you have to do is boil ½ pound of pasta in plenty of salted boiling water, drain it, cool it down under running tap water, and toss it in with the other ingredients.

Check out our chickpea pasta salad recipe.

Chickpea Farro Salad with Feta

Have you ever had chickpeas and farro together? Oh gosh, they are amazing! With similar ingredients to our chickpea salad, you can make a delicious, fulfilling, and nutritious chickpea farro salad that everyone will love.

To make it even tastier, you can crumble some feta cheese. We used dairy-free feta, and it was delicious.

Check out our farro and chickpea salad recipe.

Chickpea Quinoa Salad

In this recipe, we combine chickpeas and quinoa to create a simple and healthy chickpea quinoa salad with fresh, seasonal veggies and a simple lemon vinaigrette.

This recipe is a nutritious, naturally vegan, gluten-free meal choice that will please even the pickiest eaters.

Check out our chickpea quinoa salad recipe.

Couscous Salad with Chickpeas

Another Mediterranean-inspired dish, couscous salad with fresh veggies and chickpeas, is quick to make, crunchy, refreshing, and fulfilling.

Check out our couscous salad recipe.

Other Add-ins

Use our recipe as a guideline, and change it based on your preferences and availability of ingredients. Other delicious ingredients we often add to our chickpea salad are:

• green, yellow, or red bell peppers
• fennel
• celery
• red cabbage (thinly sliced)
• eggplant (diced and roasted)
• sun-dried tomatoes in oil (chopped)
• artichoke hearts in oil (chopped)
• lettuce
• arugula

When you swap veggies, think texture, color, and flavor. For example, you want a salad with different colors and mixed textures, resulting in better taste and nutrition.

You can also substitute our dressing for one of our delicious pestos. Try arugula pesto, artichoke pesto, and basil pesto; they are all good flavor pairings with chickpea salad.

Make it a complete meal by serving it with couscous, pasta, rice, or a slice of our focaccia bread.

Our chickpea salad keeps well for up to 2 days in the fridge before it loses its crunch. Keep it in an airtight container.

Take out of the refrigerator 15 minutes before serving. Not suitable for freezing.

Note: avocado doesn't keep well once cut open and might turn brown. If that bothers you, don't add it until the last minute.

Looking for more salad ideas? Check out these top recipes:

• Winter and holiday favorite with this red cabbage slaw
• Fennel and orange salad for a crunchy and vitamin-rich side dish
• This creamy tofu salad with a homemade vinaigrette and crunchy fried tofu
• A raw vegan salad with this shaved Brussels sprouts salad
• Our picnic-friendly couscous salad
• An easy and healthy pasta salad that makes a complete and protein-rich meal
• Or any of our best 25 vegan salad recipes

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