Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
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Light, fresh, and ready in minutes, this marinated chickpea salad is the kind of no-fuss dish you’ll turn to all year long—perfect on its own or as a side to anything off the grill.
This Mediterranean chickpea salad is inspired by the kind you find at classic Greek diners—simple, lemony, and full of flavor. I first had a version at a diner off the Long Island Expressway while visiting my husband’s family on Long Island, and I’ve been making it ever since.
It’s easy, endlessly versatile, and perfect for picnics, potlucks, or as a protein-packed side with grilled chicken, flank steak, cedar plank salmon, or sandwiches. You can even add crumbled feta if you want to bulk it up.
“I’d estimate I make this twice a week & my family inhales it! I substitute whatever fresh herbs I have and sometimes add diced bell peppers. Thanks Jenn!”
What You’ll Need To Make Chickpea Salad
- Red Onion: Adds sharpness, crunch, and color.
- Canned Chickpeas: Also known as garbanzo beans—hearty, creamy, and packed with fiber and protein. Bush’s and Goya are both reliable options with consistent texture and flavor.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Adds rich, fruity flavor.
- Vegetable Oil: Blended with the olive oil for a lighter, more neutral flavor. Combining olive oil with vegetable oil tones down the bold flavor of the olive oil, giving the dressing a more balanced taste that lets the other ingredients shine.
- Lemon Juice: Brightens everything up with a pop of citrus.
- Fresh Parsley: Brings freshness and color that ties the whole salad together.
- Salt, Black Pepper & Sugar: Just the right mix of seasoning to bring out the flavors and balance the acidity in the dressing.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
How to make Chickpea Salad
Step 1: Soak the onion. Place the diced onion in a small bowl. Cover with cold water and let sit for 10 minutes, then drain. This tones down the sharpness of the raw onion. (If you love raw onion, you can skip this step—but for a more balanced flavor, soaking is worth it.)
Step 2: Combine the ingredients. In a large bowl, mix the drained onion with the chickpeas, olive oil, vegetable oil, lemon juice, parsley, salt, pepper, and sugar.
Step 3: Toss and season. Toss well, then taste and adjust the seasoning with more lemon juice, salt, or pepper if needed. Cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Toss again just before serving and adjust seasoning if necessary. The salad keeps nicely in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Chickpea Salad Variations
This chickpea salad is super-flexible—feel free to tweak it based on what you have on hand or what you’re in the mood for. A few easy ways to change it up:
- Stir in a spoonful of capers or chopped olives if you like a briny kick.
- Toss it with baby arugula or spinach for a more substantial, leafy salad.
- Add crumbled feta or goat cheese for a salty, creamy touch.
- Mix in halved cherry tomatoes, diced cucumber, or bell peppers for extra crunch and color.
More Protein-Packed Salad Recipes You May Like
Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
Zesty, herby, and super satisfying, this chickpea salad is a simple way to round out any meal.
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup finely diced red onion, from 1 small red onion
- 2 (15 oz) cans chickpeas (preferably Bush's or Goya), drained and rinsed (see note)
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, from 1 lemon
- ⅓ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon sugar
Instructions
- Place the diced onion in a small bowl and cover with cold water. Let sit for 10 minutes, then drain. (This step tames the bite of the raw onion.)
- Combine the onions with the remaining ingredients and toss well. Taste and adjust seasoning with more lemon, salt, and pepper, if necessary. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Toss well before serving and adjust seasoning again, if necessary.
- Make-Ahead: The salad can be made and stored in a covered container in the refrigerator up to 2 days ahead of time.
- Note: Different brands of chickpeas contain different levels of salt, so if using a different brand than the one specified, add salt to taste.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Calories: 379
- Fat: 25 g
- Saturated fat: 3 g
- Carbohydrates: 31 g
- Sugar: 1 g
- Fiber: 10 g
- Protein: 11 g
- Sodium: 599 mg
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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This was a quick salad but I need to experiment with some other things to bump up flavor. Maybe feta, maybe increase lemon juice, cilantro instead of parsley……any other thoughts?
Hi Janice, I think that feta and either a bit more lemon juice or lemon zest would be nice additions. You could also add a bit of ground cumin or coriander.
Janice – I used cilantro and it was great!
Janice, I added 5oz of crumbled feta cheese, and 1.5 Tbsp of smoked garlic cooking wine and the flavor was divine! Found it at a local winery, so not sure how commercially available it is. But if you can find it (and only adults will be consuming the salad) it’s worth trying.
Love this salad. I’ve been adding Penzey’s Ozark seasoning instead of salt and pepper and I have a hard time stopping eating this. Jen, I understand the craving.
It amazes me that this has so many calories per serving. I am making this today.
The oil in this definitely boosts the calories, Karen. Hope you enjoy!
I made a similar version of this salad with feta a few times. I’ll definitely try this soon! My only minor grievance is the plastic-like “shells” of the chickpea – it was a real turn-off from eating them. Is there an easy way to get rid of this without having to “peel” each one by hand?
Hi Christina, Here’s an article that details a pretty easy way to skin your chickpeas. Hope you enjoy the salad!
i was interested to read about this method as I’m a huge fan of Cook’s Illustrated and almost always skin my chickpeas. The method I use is just as quick, uses no extra ingredients and makes no additional washing-up. I rinse and drain the chickpeas in one of those sieves with a handle. This loosens the skins. Then, holding the sieve with one hand, I use the other hand to simply pinch off the skins and discard them into the sink. In no time at all, I have a sieve full of nicely skinned chickpeas.
Good to know of another option – thanks for sharing, Davinia!
Use Goya Chickpeas, the skins are much softer, Goya cooks the chickpeas longer than other brands, it is the only brand for beans in our house.
Good afternoon chef Jenn!
I’m definitely making this in a little while. But instead of the parleys can I use cilantro? Thanks!!
And congratulations on the book, its amazing!
Yes, definitely – and thank you so much! 🙂
Delicious! I think this salad could be served with a lot of thngs. It’s flavourful but not so much that it clashes with other dishes.
As usual, delicious! The only note that I would add is that I cook up batches of chickpeas in my Instant Pot. I had to do some ‘calculating’ to figure out the cup equivalent to a 15-oz. can drained. My best estimate is 1 1/2 cups of actual chickpeas per can. If you have a better estimate, please let me know.
So good and so easy! We couldn’t stop eating it. Will be making ALL the time! My daughter actually liked it heated up in the microwave.
This was really good but I definitely felt it needed more seasoning than what the recipe called for. Really simple to throw together and really healthy. I will definitely make this again!
Yes I agree. I’d maybe 1-1/2 the rest of ingredients except chickpeas next time.
Try adding 3/4 t of curry powder instead of cumin, very nice addition.
Yum. A delicious side dish…or lunch. I’m so tired of potatoes or rice. This chickpea salad gave some real pizzaz to our steak dinner. Thanks!