Chickpea Salad is loaded with crunchy cucumbers, juicy tomatoes, creamy avocado, and tangy feta cheese. The fresh lemon dressing adds the Mediterranean flavors of classic Greek Salad. It’s perfect for lunch since chickpeas are protein-packed, naturally gluten-free, and leave you feeling satisfied.
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Helpful Reader Review
“ONE OF MY FAVORITE SALADS!! I always make it a few times a year! Fresh, delicious and filling!…“ – Kevin ★★★★★
Chickpea Salad or Garbanzo Bean Salad?
Chickpeas and garbanzo beans are the same thing and can be used interchangeably in this recipe. They are known as chickpeas in the US and Garbanzo beans in Europe.
What are chickpeas? Chickpeas are peach-colored round legumes or seed pods that belong to the pea family. They have a satisfying nutty flavor. They are also the star ingredient of our Hummus Recipe!
Ingredients for Chickpea Salad
This salad is easy to make and comes together fast. Here’s what you’ll need to make this simple but hearty Chickpea Salad:
- Chickpeas – the star ingredient here. You can use canned, drained chickpeas or cook your own. The fastest method is Instant Pot Chickpeas (I make a batch and keep portions in the freezer for this salad).
- Cucumber – use an English cucumber or garden cucumbers and there’s no need to peel.
- Tomato – Cherry or grape tomatoes look great in this salad but you can use other varieties
- Avocado – adds a slight creaminess
- Red onion – you can substitute with chives if you prefer a milder onion flavor
- Feta Cheese – use either crumbled feta or dice up a block of feta
- Cilantro – adds an irresistible freshness, but you can substitute if desired (see variations below)
- Dressing – the combination of extra virgin olive oil, freshly-squeezed lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper is so simple but so flavorful.
Variations
There are so many ways to change up this salad and keep things exciting. Here are some of our favorite versions:
- Lettuce – you can make this a chopped green salad by adding some chopped romaine lettuce (and make a little extra dressing)
- Fresh Herbs – If you don’t like cilantro, you can substitute it with finely chopped fresh parsley, chives, dill, or a combination – adding them to taste.
- Tomatoes – you can use colorful tomatoes, chop up a large heirloom tomato (hello garden-grown!), or even diced Roma tomatoes work well.
- Bell Pepper – add diced yellow, red, green, or orange bell pepper
- Olives – try pitted chopped Kalamata olives for a tangy punch of flavor
Are Chickpeas Good for You?
According to Harvard Health, Chickpeas are nutrient-rich and are a perfect way to add plant-based protein to a salad. They are also a good source of fiber, iron, zinc, phosphorus, and B vitamins. If you want to add more chickpeas to your diet, try my Instant Pot Chickpeas recipe. I just love chickpeas, especially in homemade hummus!
How to Make Chickpea Salad
This is seriously the easiest salad. Most of the work is in slicing and chopping the ingredients but it comes together quickly.
- Make the Dressing – start with making the dressing for the flavors to meld while you chop the salad. You can whisk the dressing together in a bowl or shake it up in a mason jar with a tight-fitting lid.
- Add everything to the salad bowl – combine the tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, chickpeas, feta and cilantro.
- Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss gently to coat every bite in that tasty dressing.
What to Serve with Chickpea Salad
Chickpea Salad is as versatile as Greek Salad. Because it has chickpeas, it can be served as a meal in itself or with a side of Sourdough Bread, but we also love to serve this as a side salad with:
- Potatoes – Oven-Roasted Potatoes or Roasted Red Potatoes
- Chicken – try a simple Baked Chicken Breast, or Lemon Chicken
- Salmon – try Grilled Salmon or our famous Baked Salmon
- Shrimp – such as Cilantro Lime Shrimp, Shrimp Scampi, or Grilled Shrimp Skewers
- Beef – excellent with Pan-Seared Steak or Grilled Steak
- Pork – Roasted Pork Tenderloin or Pork Schnitzel
Make-Ahead and Storage Tips
Leftover chickpea salad is great for meal prep because it keeps really well in the refrigerator for a couple of days. The lemon juice prevents the avocados from browning, and the taste only gets better as the flavors meld in the refrigerator.
How to Store Chickpea Salad: Cover with plastic wrap directly over the surface of the salad (or transfer to an airtight container) and refrigerate for 3 to 4 days. Add the salt just before serving to keep the cucumbers and tomatoes from softening. Stir the salad just before serving to redistribute the dressing.
Chickpea salad is a favorite in summer (especially with garden-grown tomatoes and cucumbers), but it’s so good year-round. If you add anything special to your Chickpea Salad, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.
Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 Tbsp lemon juice, from 1 large lemon
- 1 garlic clove, pressed or minced
- 1/2 tsp sea salt, or to taste
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 English Cucumber, halved and sliced
- 15 oz chickpeas, or garbanzo beans, drained, rinsed
- 1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
- 4 oz feta cheese, diced
Instructions
- Combine the dressing ingredients in a small bowl: 3 Tbsp olive oil, 3 Tbsp lemon juice, 1 pressed garlic clove, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper and whisk to combine (or shake them together in a small mason jar).
- Combine the remaining chickpea salad ingredients in a salad bowl.
- Add the dressing to taste (we used all of it) and toss gently to coat.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
More Protein-Packed Salads
Chickpeas make this a feel-good, protein-packed, and satisfying salad. I’ve shared my extensive collection of Salad Recipes over the years, but I especially love salads with protein because they can be served as a meal in itself and are great for meal planning. Here are some crowd favorites:
- Avocado Chicken Salad
- Egg Salad
- Classic Chicken Salad
- Salmon Cobb Salad
- Autumn Chicken Salad
- Avocado Shrimp Salad
- Avocado Tuna Salad
- Chicken Cobb Salad
This looks delicious and I’m getting ready to make it. I do have one question…how long does it typically last in the fridge after making it?
Thanks!
Hi Courtney! I’m so glad you’re going to give it a try. See my storage notes above, you can refrigerate it for 3 to 4 days.
I made to is twice. I like the dressing being so clean and healthy.Thanks
You are very welcome, Gen. I am so glad you enjoyed the salad and found the dressing clean and healthy. Thank you for making it a second time.
Do you have to cook the chickpeas first in the instant pot, or just use them straight out of the can?
Hi Amanda! Since they are canned, they are already precooked. You do not need to cook them again. I hope you love the recipe.
Refreshing and protein packed; the lemon dressing was perfect.
Thank you so much for the feedback. I am happy to hear you loved the refreshing lemon dressing.
Do you have a substitute to feta cheese? Thanks
Some of our readers shared in the comments that they used mozarella cheese instead of feta and loved it.
I love all the components of this salad! The downside for me is that once dressed, it presented as soggy looking. I used the exact ingredients for both salad and dressing. I have it sitting in a colander now hoping to drain some of the liquid off, but things just look limp. Any suggestions? The taste is very good, though.
Hi Debbie! You can try to improve it by spooning it into a bowl and gently tilt off pooled liquid. You can also add a bit more chickpeas or chopped fresh cucumber/tomato (undressed) to rebalance texture. A small sprinkle of fresh herbs can “refresh” the texture visually.
Great advice! Thank you – it is such a good salad!!!
I love to hear that!
I’m Going to make this, but opting for enough for 16 people, your measurements do not coinside with directions . Wish it didn’t read 0.33 teaspoons ect. I’ll be sure to report in on taste
Hi Karen! I know, this has been a frustrating thing. We haven’t had a feature available to fix that issue until just recently. It’s going to be quite a process because we have to go through each recipe individually, thank you for your patience.
I’ve updated this one!
Understand, Thank you ! I look up to convert 1.33 tsp , 2.67 garlic and such . Appreciate your help
When you have an odd measurement such as that, you may try increasing the recipe by another serving or two until you get a more normal measurement.
ABSOLUTLEY DELICIOUS!! Thank you Natasha for this super quick and easy recipe. I added dried dill as I didn’t have cilantro but I’m certain it’s equally as delicious with basil/cilantro. I’m making it for my Fourth of July gathering…perfect side salad. Thank you again. You have a new fan:)
You’re very welcome, Jane! Thank you for sharing your experience. I’m glad to have won you over with the recipe!