Chickpea Salad

This Mediterranean-inspired chickpea salad recipe is all you need for a quick yet tasty and nutritious meal.

You can make it with dry or canned chickpeas and mix it with simple seasonal vegetables such as cucumber, tomato, and corn.

Take this recipe as a guideline and change the vegetables based on what you have available where you live.

However, we advise sticking to 4 to 6 vegetables with different colors and textures.

For dressing the salad, we use our favorite creamy mustard dressing and plenty of fresh herbs to make the dish fresh, zesty, and super tasty.

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

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

Note: This chickpea salad recipe is made with whole chickpeas, not mashed. For our chickpea salad sandwich recipe with vegan mayo, check out our vegan tuna salad that you can put in a sandwich, lettuce wraps, or crackers.

Chickpeas

Sometimes known as garbanzo beans are the main ingredient for this easy chickpea salad recipe.

You can use drained and well-rinsed canned chickpeas or dried ones that you cook yourself.

To cook dry chickpeas, first soak them in a bowl or pot with cold water with a teaspoon of baking soda for 12 to 24 hours.

Then change the water and boil them until tender; it'll take 2 to 3 hours, depending on how dry and large they are.

Substitute cannellini beans, kidney beans, black beans, or lentils for chickpeas.

Tomatoes

Use any ripe tomatoes. Try Roma tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, plum tomatoes, and grape tomatoes.

We use cherry tomatoes because all you have to do is cut them in half.

Substitute red bell pepper for 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, but that's a personal preference.

Substitute fresh zucchini for cucumber.

Onion

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

Substitute shallots or spring onions for the red onion if the onion is a little too sharp for you.

Olives

Olives add healthy fat and umami, which makes the salad tastier.

Use pitted black or green olives. For an even more flavorful chickpea salad, go for Kalamata olives or Taggiasche.

Corn

Canned corn is perfect for this salad. It adds color and sweetness.

You can replace it with yellow bell pepper.

Fresh Herbs

We use fresh flat-leaf parsley as it goes very well with chickpeas.

Substitute fresh basil, mint, chives, fresh dill, and cilantro for parsley. Pick your favorite, or mix more than one fresh herb for an even more flavorful chickpea salad.

Avocado

It is optional but recommended and adds creaminess and healthy fats to this delicious chickpea salad recipe.

Add avocado shortly before serving the salad because avocado turns brown quickly once it's out of its shell.

Dressing

Our mustard dressing with maple syrup (or honey) is perfect for this salad for several reasons.

First, the chickpeas are pretty slippery, so you'll need a creamy dressing that coats them properly.

The mustard and maple syrup in this dressing do just that, and we think is much better than a regular vinaigrette.

Second, the dressing is tangy, fresh, light, creamy, and sweet. It fits deliciously with fresh veggies.

You can make it with extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, mustard, maple syrup or honey, salt, and black pepper.

Add one teaspoon of ground cumin or garlic powder to the mustard dressing if you like to spice things up.

1. Prepare the veggies

Drain and rinse the chickpeas and the corn kernels.

Cut cherry tomatoes and olives in half.

Dice the cucumber.

Finely chop the red onion and parsley.

Add everything to a large mixing bowl.

2. Make the dressing

In a small bowl, whisk extra-virgin olive oil, lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar), mustard (American or Dijon mustard), maple syrup (or honey), salt, and black pepper.

Optionally, you can add a teaspoon of cumin or garlic powder.

Note: as an alternative to the bowl, add all ingredients to a small mason jar, close it, and shake it until combined.

3. Toss the salad

Pour the dressing over the veggies and toss well with two spoons.

Avocado Salad with Chickpeas

Avocado fits this salad perfectly because it adds creaminess and healthy fats. Add avocado shortly before serving the salad, then give it a quick toss and serve.

For example, if you bring this to potlucks or make it for meal prep, don't add the avocado until you are ready to serve or eat the salad because the avo will turn brown due to oxidation.

Check out our avocado salad recipe.

Chickpea Pasta Salad

Add your favorite short pasta to turn this chickpea salad into a complete meal.

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.

Farro and Chickpea Salad

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.

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.

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

Check out our chickpea quinoa salad recipe.

Rice salad with chickpeas

Rice salad is probably the most popular salad during spring and summer, and for a good reason. It's delicious, affordable, and packed with veggies and flavor.

Add chickpeas to make it even more nutritious and turn it into one of the best recipes for picnics, potlucks, and meal prep.

Check out our rice 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.

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 good flavor pairings with chickpea salad.

Turn it into a complete meal with couscous, pasta, rice, or a slice of our focaccia bread.

Make Ahead & Storage

Make ahead: chickpea salad is an excellent make-ahead recipe as it keeps well for several days. We recommend it for meal prep, potlucks, and picnics.

Refrigerator: keep the salad in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 - 4 days. Take it out of the refrigerator 15-30 minutes before serving, as it will taste better at room temperature.

Freezer: we don't recommend freezing this recipe.

Note: avocado doesn't keep well once cut open and might turn brown, so we recommend adding avocado before serving the salad.

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

• Greek salad (tomatoes, cucumber, onion, green peppers, oregano, feta, etc.)
• Tomato salad (heirloom tomatoes, olive oil, vinegar, etc.)
• Tomato cucumber salad (tomatoes, cucumber, olive oil, vinegar, etc.)
• Zucchini salad (thinly sliced zucchini, tomatoes, olive oil, lemon juice, etc.)
• Watermelon salad (watermelon, feta cheese, mint leaves, pistachio nuts, etc.)
• Panzanella salad (stale bread, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, olive oil, etc.)
• Artichoke salad (marinated artichoke hearts, arugula, olives, tomatoes, etc.)

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