Fresh, bright, and hearty, this Mediterranean Chickpea Salad is a summer menu staple! Chickpeas, Mediterranean vegetables, and avocado are tossed in a zesty lemon vinaigrette to create the perfect BBQ side dish or weekday lunch.
If you’re looking for more vegan summer salads, you’ll also love my easy White Bean Salad, my classic Vegan Broccoli Salad, and my Watermelon Salad with Mint and Feta!
Canned chickpeas are always in my cupboard for good reason. These fiber-packed beans can easily be mashed up for a Chickpea Salad Sandwich, simmered in an Italian Chickpea Soup, baked into Chickpea Blondies, and so much more! I never get tired of them.
And in their simplest form—straight out of the can—they turn this Mediterranean Chickpea Salad into a hearty lunch I could seriously eat every day.
This 15-minute recipe combines chickpeas with cucumber, tomatoes, Kalamata olives, and a rainbow of fresh vegetables before everything is tossed in the easy lemon dressing. I usually prep it for my weekday lunches, but it’s just as welcome next to my Vegan Pasta Salad and these Grilled Tofu Steaks at summer potlucks and backyard barbecues.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Simple and delicious! I’m eating this for lunch all week! Thanks for a great recipe!” – Amy
Why you’ll love this chickpea salad recipe
- A summer staple – It’s the best make-ahead salad for your next potluck, BBQ, or picnic. I love serving it next to my Best Veggie Burgers, but it’s just as great packed up for a satisfying weekday lunch.
- Seriously refreshing – Between the crunchy vegetables, fresh herbs, and a punchy lemon vinaigrette, this is the salad to cool down with on a hot summer afternoon.
- Ready in 15 minutes – The hardest part of this no-cook recipe is chopping the veggies. After that’s done, just toss everything in a bowl and enjoy!
How to make a Mediterranean salad with chickpeas
Find the complete recipe with measurements in the recipe card below.
Add all of the salad ingredients to a large salad bowl. Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl.
Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Chill it in the fridge before serving, then enjoy!
Marinate your chickpea salad
I highly recommend refrigerating the salad for at least 30 minutes before serving. This gives those amazing Mediterranean flavors time to mingle and deepen. Trust me, your salad will taste 10 times better with a little patience!
Frequently asked questions
This recipe is super flexible, so feel free to put your own spin on it. Here are a few suggestions on how to change things up:
– Mix and match the veggies. Pickled red onions, roasted red peppers, grape tomatoes, green bell peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, green beans, and marinated artichoke hearts would all be good here.
– Add more fresh herbs, like dill and mint.
– Combine the avocado with dairy free cheese, like my Marinated Tofu Feta or my Vegan Feta Cheese.
– Toss it with greens if you’re in the mood for a leafy green salad. My favorites are spinach, arugula, and romaine.
The chickpeas can be substituted with another white bean, such as cannellini, great northern, or navy beans. These beans are softer than chickpeas but will still taste great and hold their shape in the salad.
Sure! Any Italian or Greek dressing, balsamic vinaigrette, green goddess dressing, or my Lemon Maple Tahini Dressing would all pair well.
The dressed salad will keep for up to 4 days in the fridge. Personally, I like to divide it into individual airtight containers for grab-and-go lunches.
Keep in mind that the avocado will eventually turn brown in the salad. The lemon juice in the dressing will slow oxidation (which turns it brown), but I’d still recommend adding the avocado right before serving.
Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
- 2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 1 medium english cucumber diced
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 red bell pepper seeded and chopped
- 1/2 small red onion finely chopped
- 1/2 cup halved pitted Kalamata olives
- 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1 medium avocado diced OR 1/2 cup dairy free feta, or both
Lemon Dressing
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon salt or more to taste
- few shakes freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a large salad bowl, add the chickpeas, cucumber, tomatoes, red bell pepper, red onion, olives, parsley, and avocado (and/or dairy free feta).
- In a small jar with a lid, add all lemon dressing ingredients, and shake to combine. Or whisk in a small bowl.
- Pour the dressing over the salad, and toss. Taste; add any additional salt, pepper, or lemon juice, as desired. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
- The salad will keep for 3-4 days in a covered container in the refrigerator. If planning to serve to a crowd, leave the avocado off until just before serving so it doesn’t brown at all.
so yummy and simple!! i decided not to add avocado (because im prepping ahead) and red onion (i’m not a fan of raw onion) and it still tasted delicious as is 😀
Hi Dory. I’m thrilled you loved the salad, and adjusted the ingredients to make it just right for you! Thanks for sharing your terrific feedback! Wishing you happy cooking!
Simple and delicious! I’m eating this for lunch all week! I subbed parsley and mint for the dill. Thanks for a great recipe!
You are welcome, Amy! Thanks for your wonderful feedback and review!
Thanks For Sharing this amazing recipe. My family loved it. I will be sharing this recipe with my friends. Hope the will like it.
Absolutely delicious. I made the dressing with honey since we didn’t have any maple syrup. It worked out great!
So glad you loved the salad! Thank you for sharing your review!
FANTANSTIC !! It was easy to put together. Within seconds it was eaten up. It has become one of my favorite recipe.
I just love this recipe as well! I am glad you love it! Thanks for sharing your wonderful comments!
My mom, rest her soul, always took us to the beach in my childhood. My dad, a preacher, was always gone in the summer. Bless my mom. We always had a blast with her. She always packed a big cooler full of picnic staples and cold drinks. My best memories.
One thing I’ve learned from you and others is that there are a number of more nutritious ways of sweetening recipes. I often make black bean brownies, and use honey or maple syrup. When making some salad dressings, I use frozen apple juice which is perfect because if served immediately, they have a creamy texture. Keep the recipes coming. Your family must be very well fed.
This salad looks delicious. I make a number of salads with beans and they’re always a hit. I am not a vegan, but for a while my son and his wife were, and I started looking for vegan recipes then. When she became pregnant (with twins) they changed to vegetarian and that makes cooking for them a little easier. Nevertheless, I like a lot of the recipes you post, and I shouldn’t say this, but this recipe will be a hit with real hamburgers or grilled chicken!