Chickpea Salad

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This chickpea salad recipe is packed with vibrant, healthy veggies like crisp cucumbers and crunchy peppers, plus crumbly feta cheese! Tossed in a zesty lemon dressing, this Mediterranean-style salad is an absolute summer favorite.

If you love this salad, you’ll also have to try my Mediterranean Cobb Salad, Heirloom Tomato Salad, and Mediterranean White Bean Salad. They’re all loaded with fresh flavors and are perfect for any summer meal.

Overhead shot of a salad bowl with a chickpea salad topped with crumbled feta cheese.


 

During the summer, nutritional and flavorful salads are a must. When the weather gets hot, and the oven is a no-go zone in the kitchen, you’ll be glad those salad recipes are on hand!

One of my all-time favorite summer salads is this homemade Chickpea Salad. It’s brimming with garbanzo beans, crunchy celery and peppers, crisp cucumber, and crumbled feta cheese, making it as colorful as it is delicious. To top off this refreshing salad, I toss it with a zesty lemon dressing that ties all the flavors together perfectly.

What’s even better is that this easy chickpea salad is incredibly versatile—you can serve it anytime. It’s a fantastic lunch on a hot day or a perfect side dish for your favorite barbecued meal.

Salad bowl with garbanzo beans, diced cucumbers, celery, and red bell peppers. A spoon is resting inside the bowl.

What You’ll Need

Let’s review what you need to make this easy chickpea salad recipe. Here are the key ingredients. Gather them and get to prepping.

For the Chickpea Salad

  • Garbanzo Beans: Make sure they are rinsed and drained before starting.
  • Celery: Finely chopped. I prefer to use fresh stalks, but you can buy pre-cut ones to save time, if you wish.
  • Cucumber: I use an English cucumber, diced.
  • Pepper: I like to use a red bell pepper, diced, but feel free to switch up the color.
  • Onion: You’ll need a finely chopped sweet or red onion.
  • Crumbled Feta: This is optional, but I think it’s a great fit for the salad!

For the Dressing

  • Lemon Juice: I recommend using fresh lemon juice for this recipe – it provides the best flavor.
  • Olive Oil: I like to use extra virgin olive oil, but another cooking oil (like canola) should work if you don’t have olive oil.
  • Seasoning: Use a mixture of chopped fresh parsley, ground cumin, and salt and fresh ground black pepper (to taste).

How to Make Chickpea Salad

The salad is so quick and easy, with emphasis on the quick. You pretty much just have to mix everything together, then refrigerate, and finally, enjoy! This refreshing salad takes almost no effort, as you will see in the following steps:

  1. Mix the salad ingredients: In a salad bowl, combine rinsed chickpeas, celery, cucumbers, peppers, and onions.
  2. Mix the dressing ingredients: In a separate bowl whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, parsley, cumin, salt, and pepper.
  3. Combine: Pour dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Taste for salt and pepper; adjust accordingly.
  4. Chill: Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour, and then garnish with crumbled feta.

Variations

Don’t feel like you have to stick to the same ingredient list every time you make this salad. You can definitely switch it up! I like to add in the following sometimes as substitutions or just as extra ingredients: avocado slices, diced tomatoes, cannellini beans, corn kernels, black olives, and diced carrots.

Overhead close-up shot of a white salad bowl with chickpea salad topped with crumbled feta cheese.

Recipe Tips

  • Make Sure to Refrigerate: Chilling the garbanzo beans salad allows for the flavors to settle and for the dressing to soak in.
  • Double the Recipe: If you need to serve more people, just double the recipe. You could even triple it if you want to.
  • Make This Salad Ahead: Chickpea salad keeps really well in the fridge, so you can easily make it a day ahead of time and enjoy it later. Plus, this gives the flavors more time to mingle and develop.

Serving Suggestions

Are you wondering what to serve with a chickpea salad? There are so many options! This summer salad goes perfectly with any kind of barbecue, and I especially like it with these honey soy grilled pork chops or my delicious and juicy grilled lemon chicken.

Chickpea salad also goes well with seafood, so sometimes I pair it with this roasted Mahi Mahi or a whole branzino. Recipes like my classic roasted chicken pieces complement a light chickpea salad beautifully.

How to Store Extras

To store this chickpea salad, place it in an airtight container and refrigerate for 2 to 3 days.

ENJOY!

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5 from 2 votes

Chickpea Salad

This Chickpea Salad is chock-full of healthy veggies and crumbly feta cheese! With the addition of a tangy lemon dressing, this Mediterranean-style salad is perfect for summer.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Chill Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients 

For the Salad

  • 2 cans (15 ounces each) garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
  • 3 stalks celery, finely chopped
  • 1 English cucumber, diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • ¼ cup finely chopped red onion, or use a sweet onion
  • cup crumbled feta cheese, optional

For the Dressing

  • cup fresh lemon juice
  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin, or to taste
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
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Instructions 

  • In a salad bowl, combine the rinsed chickpeas, celery, cucumbers, peppers, and onions.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, parsley, cumin, salt, and pepper. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Taste for salt and pepper; adjust accordingly.
  • Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
  • Garnish with crumbled feta cheese and serve.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 274kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 602mg | Potassium: 439mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1281IU | Vitamin C: 40mg | Calcium: 162mg | Iron: 3mg

Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.

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4 Comments

  1. Julie says:

    Absolutely yummy! I did not add onions as I donโ€™t care for them raw

    1. Katerina says:

      I’m glad you enjoyed it! Skipping the onions is a great way to tailor it to your taste. Thanks for sharing! ๐Ÿ™‚

  2. Donna says:

    Could you substitute Zucchini instead of the Cucumber? My tummy doesn’t like cucumbers.

    1. Katerina Petrovska says:

      You can substitute with whatever you like or just leave it out. Raw zucchini may also make your stomach hurt because it causes bloating. If you suffer from such aches, I would suggest to cook the zucchini for a few minutes before adding it to the salad.