Chickpea Salad

This delectable Chickpea Salad combines many of your favorite Mediterranean flavors like cucumbers, kalamata olives, tomatoes, red onions and feta cheese in a light lemon vinaigrette.  It comes together in less than ten minutes and is packed full of natures health goodness.  I love to serve it with Grilled Marinated Chicken and Smoked Salmon Patties with Dill Mayonnaise.

This Zucchini Chickpea Avocado Salad is so simple and amazingly delicious!  Full of natures goodness it’s nutritional value is tremendous. Eating chickpeas provides you with a vegetarian-friendly source of protein, with each cup of cooked garbanzo beans containing 15 grams of protein.  Cucumbers, red onions and tomatoes provide a good healthy helping of fiber.  While feta is low in calories and fat yet high in calcium.

How do you make Chickpea Salad?

First in a small bowl whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, cumin and crushed red pepper. Next in a large serving bowl combine the garbanzo beans (chickpeas), cucumber, grape tomatoes, bell pepper, kalamata olives, red onions and feta cheese.  Finally drizzle with lime vinaigrette, sprinkle with parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Tips for making Chickpea Salad

• Taste before seasoning with salt and pepper as kalamata olives and feta cheese are salty.
• If you know you are going to reserve part of this recipe for leftovers than hold off blending the feta cheese in the reserved portion until you are ready to serve.
• You can use any colored bell pepper although the red and orange are slightly sweeter than the green bell peppers.
• Use a good quality feta cheese and the freshest vegetables you can get your hands on (preferably organic).

Recipe flavor variations for Chickpea Salad

• Add diced avocado for a little healthy fat.  Just remember to spritz them with a little lemon to keep them from turning brown.
• Fresh home grown sun ripened tomatoes are always the best choice when they are available.
• Sprinkle on 1/4 cup shelled salted or unsalted sunflower seeds for a little boost in nutrients and vitamins.
• Add a couple ribs of chopped celery for a little bit of crispy crunchy low calorie vegetables.

Other Mediterranean recipes you will love!

• Easy 7 Layer Greek Tzatziki Dip
• Baba Ganoush
• Greek Orzo Salad
• Chicken Shawarma Recipe
• Shopska Salad {Macedonian Chopped Salad}

On the hunt for more delicious recipes?  Follow Small Town Woman on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.

This post was originally published July 9, 2016 and was republished April 6, 2020 with new pictures, new content and a new and improved recipe.

Chickpea Salad

★★★★★

5 from 6 reviews

A delicious and easy Mediterranean Salad made with chickpeas, cucumbers, red onions, bell peppers, tomatoes and feta cheese all tossed in a light lemon vinaigrette.

• Author: Beth Pierce
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 10 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x
• Category: salad
• Method: bowl and spoon
• Cuisine: Mediterranean

Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 2 pinches crushed red pepper
• 1 can (15.5 ounce) garbanzo beans drained and rinsed
• 1/2 English cucumber chopped (about 1 1/2 – 2 cups)
• 1 cup grape tomatoes sliced in half
• 1/2 red or orange bell pepper diced
• 2/3 cup kalamata olives
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 2/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. In small bowl whisk lemon juice, olive oil, cumin and crushed red pepper.
2. In large serving bowl combine garbanzo beans (chickpeas), cucumber, grape tomatoes, bell pepper, kalamata olives, red onions and feta cheese.  Drizzle with lime vinaigrette, sprinkle with parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Notes

• Taste before seasoning with salt and pepper as kalamata olives and feta cheese are salty.
• If you know you are going to reserve part of this recipe for leftovers than hold off blending the feta cheese in the reserved portion until you are ready to serve.
• You can use any colored bell pepper although the red and orange are slightly sweeter than the green bell peppers.
• Use a good quality feta cheese and the freshest vegetables you can get your hands on (preferably organic).

Keywords: recipes using chickpeas, Mediterranean chickpea salad, Greek chickpea salad, cucumber chickpea salad, simple chickpea salad, chickpea feta salad, chickpea tomato salad, chickpea and cucumber salad

https://www.smalltownwoman.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Beth-1.pdf