This chickpea salad is loaded with avocado, tomato, feta cheese and herbs, all tossed in a Greek style dressing. A healthy chickpea salad is a great addition to any barbecue, pot luck or picnic!
When I need a quick and easy side dish or meatless main course, I turn fresh and colorful salads such as black bean salad, Mexican corn salad and this easy and flavorful chickpea salad.
Summer is the perfect time to make a nice chilled salad that’s not only easy, but looks impressive. This chickpea salad is the perfect go-to recipe idea. Whether you’re trying to cook for the family or need a dish for a get together, this colorful, delicious salad will do the trick.
How Do You Make Chickpea Salad?
This recipe is easier than it looks and mainly includes chopping the vegetables, then tossing everything into a bowl. I use a combination of avocado, tomatoes and red onions to accentuate the flavors of the chickpeas. The dressing is a blend of olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice and herbs and takes just minutes to make. Toss everything together, then add a sprinkle of herbs and serve.
Tips for the perfect salad
- This salad can be made up to 4 hours before you plan to serve it. However, if making it in advance, be sure to leave the avocado and feta out and add it in right before serving. This keeps the salad fresh and prevents the avocado from turning brown in the salad.
- The dressing for this salad can be made up to 3 days in advance. Store it in the fridge until you’re ready to make your salad.
- I prefer buy a block of feta cheese and crumble it myself, I find that the block feta has more flavor than the tubs of pre-crumbled cheese.
- Look for a ripe, but firm avocado. A soft avocado can get mushy when you toss everything together.
Chickpea Salad flavor variations
This salad is delicious as-is, but you can absolutely add other ingredients to the mix to customize the flavors to your tastes.
- Protein: Make it a meal by adding cooked chicken, shrimp or smoked sausage.
- Beans: You can use a blend of different types for beans for added flavor and texture. Some great choices include kidney beans or Great Northern beans.
- Veggies: Free free to add other vegetables such as marinated artichoke hearts, grilled zucchini or bell peppers or corn.
- Herbs: Swap out the chives for fresh parsley, basil or dill.
Is This Chickpea Salad Good for Losing Weight?
Not to brag, but this salad has all fresh ingredients which in itself is a good start to being healthier. Outside of that, chickpeas are popular in the health food world because of the large amount of fiber, protein, and good carbs they contain. If you’re looking to drop a couple of pounds, this chickpea salad or chickpeas in general are a great addition to your diet.
Can You Eat Chickpeas Straight From a Can?
Canned chickpeas are cold, however, they’re fully cooked. This means they’re safe to consume straight out of the can. If you would rather be on the safe side, straining the chickpeas and rinsing them like any other produce won’t hurt anything.
I’ll be making this chickpea salad all summer long, I can’t wait to try it with cherry tomatoes straight from my garden. Whenever I bring this dish to barbecues, it’s always the first thing eaten and everyone asks me for the recipe!
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Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 2 cups canned chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 1 avocado peeled, pit removed, and diced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 cup cucumbers quartered and sliced
- 1/4 cup red onion finely diced
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1/4 cup chives thinly sliced
- Additional chives and feta for garnish optional
For the dressing:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place the chickpeas, avocado, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, feta cheese and chives in a large bowl.
- For the dressing: Combine all of the ingredients in a jar and shake vigorously to combine. Store in the refrigerator for up to one week.
- Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss gently to coat. Garnish with additional feta and chives if desired, then serve.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published on May 22, 2018 and was updated on May 27, 2020 with new content.
Kevin says
What a great side dish for all Summer BBQ’s!
Jacque Hastert says
This salad is seriously amazing! I loved it and so did my kiddos. We loved all the fresh flavors that were packed into this simple yet delicious salad.
Beti says
This is such an incredible salad!! I can’t wait to try it!
katerina @ diethood.com says
I would LOVE this chickpea salad for lunch!! It looks incredibly delicious!!
Erin | Dinners,Dishes and Dessert says
This chickpea salad is seriously making me hungry!
Beth says
I love this salad! I love the colors it brings out and all the flavors! My hubby loves this salad as well! Thanks!
Jen says
This is one dish I always turn to when I’ve gained a few pounds. It’s got great flavor (who doesn’t love feta cheese?) and it’s so easy to make. Love it!
Cindy Exterkamp says
A friend gave me an avocado and it was perfectly ready so I searched for recipes and found this one. I made it after work last night and it was AMAZING! It was so easy and quick to make, just right for a work night. The flavor combinations and different textures blended so well, plus it’s beautiful to look at. I used a Florida avocado which can easily be twice the size of a Haas avocado. It was so creamy, it just made the dish. Thank you!
Ally says
Haven’t made it yet but trying it out this weekend. Made the dressing a couple days in advance….and curious, does it have to go in the fridge? I did pull the lemon juice and dijon mustard from the fridge prior to shaking it up…but I’ve found once I put dressings with EVOO in the fridge, they never fully get back to their right consistency. Thank you in advance! Very excited to try this recipe, it has all the goods in it!!! 🙂
Sara says
I always refrigerate dressings, if you’re concerned about the consistency you cam remove it from the fridge about 20-30 minutes ahead of time so that it can come to room temperature!
Debbie says
I love this salad as it’s good for a few days!
Aileen Adalid says
I’ve been loving anything with avocado lately! (Too bad, with all the craze, price for it has gone up significantly in my area!)
Catalina says
I love avocado and tomatoes together in a salad. So fresh and so creamy!
Bianca Dottin says
Umm yes to this recipe. This looks amazing and just what I need for lunch today.
Fatima Torres says
I’ve never been a fan of chickpeas, but this salad looks so refreshing, and I love a refreshing salad. I’ll have to try this chickpeas salad for a friend. She’s a healthnut and LOVES chickpeas.
Nichole Arnold says
I love how colorful this recipe is. I am always looking for new ways to use my chick peas! Perfect for a cook out side dish.
tasheena says
This chickpea salad looks amazing. It has all of my favorite ingredients included. It would be perfect to make this holiday weekend.
Melanie says
This sounds delicious. I love anything that is loaded with veggies. I have never had a chickpea salad, so I may have to try this one.
Debra says
You had me at avocado! This sounds like the perfect refreshing salad. Adding it to my menu soon!
Joely Smith says
Now this is the kind of food I LOVE! I adore chickpeas and avocado too! Totally making this ASAP! All this going on my shopping list!
Shelley King says
This has all my favorite things in it! Avocado, Chickpeas, and Feta! You can not go wrong! I can not wait to try this one!