Chickpea salad is a lovely main or side dish with crisp veggies, chickpeas, and a gorgeous, tangy dressing. You can make it in 20 minutes with simple ingredients.
For more salads with chickpeas, try Greek chickpea salad, tahini salad, orzo salad, and curry chickpea salad.
Louise and I love making this Mediterranean chickpea salad, especially when we want something quick, colorful, and full of fresh flavor.
It’s a simple dish that combines canned or cooked whole chickpeas with seasonal vegetables, all tossed in a tangy honey-mustard dressing that we can’t get enough of.
This recipe is inspired by the Mediterranean produce we use often—like in our Mediterranean salad, white bean salad, and lentil salad.
It’s one of those flexible, feel-good meals we turn to again and again. And honestly, it’s also a great way to clean out the fridge 😎.
Think of this recipe as a starting point. Don’t stress about having the exact ingredients.
Use the veggies and herbs you have on hand—just aim for 4 to 6 with different colors and textures for the best balance.
Ingredients
Quantities are in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.
- Chickpeas: Main ingredient; use canned (drained & rinsed) or cooked dried chickpeas. Substitutes: Cannellini beans, black beans, pinto beans, or lentils.
- Tomatoes: Use ripe cherry tomatoes; any variety works if ripe. Substitutes: Roma, plum, grape tomatoes, or red bell pepper.
- Cucumber: Use English, American, Persian, or Kirby cucumbers; peel is optional. Substitutes: Fresh zucchini or yellow summer squash.
- Onion: Finely chopped red onion adds a spicy kick. Substitutes: Shallots or spring onions.
- Olives: Adds healthy fats and savory flavor; use pitted Kalamata or Taggiasche. Substitutes: Generic black or green pitted olives.
- Corn: Adds sweetness and color; use canned or cooked frozen corn. Substitutes: Diced yellow bell pepper.
- Avocado: Adds creaminess and healthy fats; add just before serving to avoid browning.
- Parsley. Substitutes: Basil, mint, chives, dill, or cilantro.
Dressing
- Extra virgin olive oil: A pillar of the Mediterranean diet, extra virgin olive oil is healthy, flavorful, and nutritious. It’s the base of this dressing.
- Lemon juice: To add acidity and fruitiness. Substitute apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar for fresh lemon juice.
- Honey: For sweetness. Substitute maple syrup, agave syrup, or date syrup.
- Mustard: Use American yellow mustard or Dijon mustard for a savory, tangy, and slightly spicy flavor and to make the dressing creamy so it sticks to the veggies.
- Dried oregano: It adds a Mediterranean spin to the dressing. Substitute ground cumin for an Eastern Mediterranean touch.
How to make chickpea salad
US cups + grams measurements in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.
To a medium bowl, add extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, honey, dried oregano, salt, and black pepper. Whisk well until combined.
Drain and rinse the chickpeas, then add them to the bowl with the dressing. Toss and set aside to marinate for 10 minutes while you cut the vegetables.
To a large mixing bowl, add halved cherry tomatoes, diced cucumber, halved Kalamata olives, finely chopped red onions, corn kernels, finely chopped parsley, and diced avocado.
Tip the dressing with the chickpeas over onto the veggies and toss well.
Taste and adjust for salt before serving as a main course or side dish.
You can make this chickpea salad a complete meal by adding warm pita bread or no-knead focaccia on the side and serving it with a dollop of Greek yogurt, tzatziki, or yogurt tahini sauce.
Variations
Grains: add pasta, rice, farro, barley, pearl couscous, or quinoa to transform the salad into a fulfilling grain bowl.
Cheese: add crumbled feta cheese, non-dairy feta, or mozzarella balls.
More flavor: add chopped sun-dried tomatoes or marinated artichoke hearts for even more flavor.
Storage
Make ahead: Chickpea salad is an excellent meal prep recipe that lasts several days. We recommend it for potlucks and picnics. If you make the salad ahead, add the avocado shortly before serving.
Refrigerator: The salad can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. It should be taken 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.
Tips
- Marinate the chickpeas: Toss the chickpeas in the dressing first and let them sit for 10 minutes before adding the veggies. This allows them to soak up the tangy flavor and become even more delicious.
- Color and texture: For the best results, combine 4 to 6 different vegetables with a mix of colors and textures.
- Clean up your fridge: This salad is flexible. Swap veggies, herbs, or even the dressing base depending on what’s in your fridge.
More canned chickpea recipes
If you tried this Chickpea Salad or any other recipe on our blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let us know how it goes in the comments. We love hearing from you!
Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
For the salad
- 1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas or 1½ cups of cooked chickpeas
- 1½ cups cherry tomatoes halved
- 1½ cups cucumber diced
- ½ cup Kalamata olives halved
- ⅓ cup red onion chopped
- ¾ cup corn kernels canned is easiest
- ⅓ cup parsley chopped
- 1 large avocado diced
For the dressing
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons mustard yellow or Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¾ teaspoon salt or more to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- To a medium bowl, add 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 tablespoons mustard, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ⅛ teaspoon black pepper. Whisk well until combined.Drain and rinse 1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, then add them to the bowl with the dressing. Toss and set aside to marinate for 10 minutes while you cut the vegetables.
- To a large mixing bowl, add 1½ cups cherry tomatoes (halved), 1½ cups cucumber (diced), ½ cup Kalamata olives (halved), ⅓ cup red onion (chopped), ¾ cup corn kernels, ⅓ cup parsley (chopped), and 1 large avocado (diced).
- Tip the dressing and the chickpeas over onto the veggies and toss well.Taste and adjust for salt before serving.Make it a complete meal by serving it with pita bread or no-knead focaccia on the side and serving it with a dollop of Greek yogurt, tzatziki, or yogurt tahini sauce.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Hi! We are Nico & Louise
We’re here to share delicious, easy, and healthy plant-based recipes (vegetarian & vegan) 🌿✨.
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Best salad ever. So good!!
Excellent recipe, I truly enjoyed it.
We really enjoyed this salad. We used avocado oil, dairy free feta, dijon mustard, and maple syrup. So good. Thanks so much.
I live in a very rural area and some recipes call for ingredients that are unavailabe to me. Your recipes are truly wonderful and so far, I have been able to find the ingredients locally.
The chickpea salad had become a favorite for me. It is so versatile, quick and easy, filling and beautiful! The dressing is now a staple for me. Thanks so much for sharing your recipes, I have enjoyed them!
That’s excellent news, Mary – I am so happy that you find our recipes approachable and easy ❤️
We are delighted you are here, thank you for your kind words and support 💪 All the best,
Louise
Very good. good flavor, very satisfying. Would like to put it in my lunch/dinner rotation, but there isn’t any sodium amount listed under Nutrition. Does anyone know the sodium per serving? So the recipe for me is not efficient.
Made this salad and it was delicious! The mustard based dressing was so good. What is the serving size based on the nutritional information provided?
Hi Sonya,
Thanks for your message. I am happy you liked the salad and the dressing 🙂
The nutrition information provided is for 1 serving out of 4 servings (We consider the salad to serve 4 people so if you divide the total calories of the ingredients listed in the recipe box by 4 you’ll get about 379 Kcal per serving).
Not sure what’s the serving size in grams.
I hope this helps 🙂
Cheers,
Nico
I am going to try some of these recipe
This salad is our new family favorite.
I used half tbsp of dijon mustard instead of the regular mustard.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Hi Priyanka,
I’m super happy you and your family liked the chickpea salad (and dressing)! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a commment.
Have a great week ahead. Kindest,
Louise
This was good. However I may not have used the most “high quality” ingredients, since it’s only spring here cucumbers and tomatoes are not the tastiest yet. i feel that it’s important to use good quality ingredients in this salad, since mine missed a bit of flavor.
Absolutely LOVE this salad!
It’s so fresh, delicious and easy to throw together.
Definitely going to be a staple dish in our house going forward.
Hi Emma, I’m so happy you love it! It’s our go-to lunch for busy weekdays 🙂 Thanks so much for leaving a comment! Cheers, Nico
I am going to try this chickpea salad recipe. The recipe says mustard but I usually see dijon mustard in most recipes. Have you made it with both and did the dijon mustard compliment the salad. I will be making it with pasta
Thanks Kim Hollis
Hi Kim,
Thanks for your comment. We’ve made the salad with mustard and dijon mustard, and both types complement the chickpea salad well. Bear in mind that the dijon mustard is spicier compared to normal mustard, so if you use that, I would only add half the dose. I hope this helps! Cheers, Nico