This Mediterranean Chickpea Salad is a bright, colorful and delicious salad with a simple dressing. Watch the video showing you how to make this Mediterranean Chickpea Salad, then scroll to the bottom of this post and print out the recipe so you can make it at home.
When I first made this salad, I was pulled in by the colors. The bell peppers (I used bright red and orange!), green parsley and onions, red tomatoes and black olives create quite a site to see.
This Mediterranean Chickpea Salad is such an easy salad recipe to make, and it’s perfect for whipping up as a side dish when you’re entertaining guests too. It’s one of those beautiful, marinated salads that improves with flavor the longer it’s refrigerated.
There are holidays looming ahead: Mother’s Day Memorial Day, and 4th of July! Do you have fun plans for the holidays this year? We’re still trying to figure it all out. Our Moms don’t live near us. And Memorial Day and 4th of July are always so fun as we do lots of barbecuing with friends.
This Mediterranean Chickpea Salad is the perfect recipe to serve for a special occasion or barbecue. It’s so very simple to throw together at the last minute, and you can even dress the salad ahead of time (encouraged!) for maximum flavor throughout the salad.
What are the ingredients for a Mediterranean Chickpea Salad?
You’ll need plenty of chickpeas, and canned chickpeas are perfectly fine for that. I do encourage you to purchase a good brand of chickpeas over the generic. I just find that they have a better quality taste and they look better visually too.
You’ll also need tomato, bell pepper, green onion, and parsley. And to round it all out, you’ll add Kalamata olives and crumbled feta cheese. You can change up the vegetables, according to preference. Maybe try chopped zucchini and/or cucumber too!
The dressing is homemade, and it’s very easy to whisk together. It’s just olive oil, yogurt, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, and a small bit of garlic, cumin, salt and pepper. It’s really delicious.
I love that the dressing acts as a marinade for the salad. It’s perfectly fine to dress this salad in the morning and serve it in the afternoon. Leftovers the next day are fabulous too!
Enjoy this really easy, Mediterranean Chickpea Salad. Just toss it all together, then toss again with the dressing- done! It can be served as a main dish or as a side dish. I prefer the side-dish idea with grilled steak or chicken.
Here are a few more salad recipes you might enjoy:
- Wild Rice and Cranberry Salad
- Bacon and Brussels Sprouts Salad
- Caesar Salad with Pancetta and Roasted Tomatoes
- Balela Salad
- Shallot- Mustard Tomato Salad
Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
Recipe Details
Ingredients
Salad:
- Two 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
- 2/3 cup chopped bell pepper (mixed red, orange, yellow)
- 3/4 cup halved grape tomatoes
- 3 green onions, sliced
- 12 kalamata olives, halved
- 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
Dressing:
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons plain yogurt
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 small garlic clove, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl, toss together the salad ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss.
- Transfer to a serving bowl and drizzle juices on top. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Video
Notes
- *if counting WW points, use reduced-fat feta cheese and nonfat plain yogurt.
- *Note: Much of the dressing ends up in the bottom of the serving bowl and doesn't end up being consumed. The calorie count reflects eating ALL of the dressing, so the actual amount is likely quite a bit less.
- *Use good quality canned chickpeas for this recipe (not generic). I really think it makes a difference in the flavor of the salad.
- *If you are preparing this recipe as gluten-free, be sure to use a brand of chickpeas that is known to be GF.
Can you substitute cilantro instead of the parsley?
I have not tried that, and I think it would give the salad a totally different flavor. All a matter of preference- let me know if you try it!
Do you have to use Cumin Spice in the dressing????
It’s actually a pretty big part of the flavor of this salad…
Sounds amazing! Can’t wait to try this! Can I use regular white vinegar instead of red wine vinegar?
you can try!
Adding this to the menu at my restaurant, it’s delicious!
Love this will make it soon.
This looks yummy. I was reading through the recipe and had a question. It said to drizzle dressing on top and then drizzle juices on top. Do you hold out the lemon from the ingredients of the dressing to put on at the end or just save a drizzle of dressing out to drizzle over at the end.
no, that just means to drizzle all of the juices from the bowl you tossed it in when you transfer it to the serving bowl 🙂
How long does this recipe hold? I would imagine a couple of days but wanted to check. Thinking of making it Sunday night for a few days of lunches at work.
Leftovers are great for days!
This Salad is sooo good. I blended the ingredients and it came out creamier. Tweek with the seasonings abit. Ate with grilled chicken. My boys enjoyed this recipe. Thanks.
nice idea to blend the ingredients!
I am with you on no shower and wearing the same cloths. I don’t think there is anything fun in being outside all day and skipping the bath! Now the salad looks great. You had me at kalamata olives and Feta! Then you sealed the deal when you said it could be made ahead.. Nice! I hope the trip went great!
I like anything Mediterranean! I saw a research study that said the one diet that consistently proves to work is the Mediterranean diet. I love the picture than shows all the different ingredients separated and labeled. Makes it seem so easy to assemble. And the dressing sounds perfect (and healthy).
Thanks for sharing this gorgeous salad.
Lisa
This sounds delicious. I make a very similar dish with black-eyed peas. I can’t believe I have never thought of replacing them with chickpeas.
Love this, Lori. Great idea for Memorial Day weekend, too! Yummy summer salad.
You’re wise buying that cot! It’s uncomfortable to sleep on the ground. We had airmat thing one summer and it got deflated during the night. Otherwise, I love camping! That salad looks so fresh and delicious! It’d perfect for summer picnics!
I love chickpeas, and this is a great way to use up the veggies in the crisper, isn’t it? Hope you have a wonderful time camping!
This is a really quick meal to prepare and enjoy:-). I love this salad, so typical for the South of France:-)
Have a great weekend and much fun under the sun!
PS. I took a few days of vacation and plan to go to Morocco, to Marrakesh, so a lot of Mediterranean food ahead; a lot of tagine, like this one:
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/moroccan_chicken_with_lemon_and_olives/
I’ve been making a salad like this for years – at least 20. It’s a summer favorite. I’ll switch up the tomatoes and onions according to what’s in season and what I have on hand. I often add cucumber, too.
Lori this is perfect and yummy too I am sure Hugs!
This salad looks sooooo good!! So many yummy ingredients!
Hi Lori Your Mediterranean Chickpea Salad looks awesome. I can’t wait to make it. I love salads such as this. Thank You for sharing.
Love this salad! All the flavors you have and ingredients look fantastic. Definitely the perfect way to end a good hike! Good luck with camping – I hope you enjoy it! We love to go camping, but haven’t been forever!