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.
Jan says
Wonderful salad! We especially loved the creamy avocado in it!
MarthaS says
This salad is excellent! I didn’t change a thing. I’ll definitely make again for our next family get-together.
Roxie says
This was delicious! Used it as a side dish to my lamb burgers! Super easy and the dressing was amazing! Will make an extra batch of the dressing to keep on hand!