Mediterranean Chickpea Salad is one of my favorite dishes! Bursting with Mediterranean flavors, fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and of course chickpeas, this chickpea salad is perfect to stand alone as a meatless entree, can be served as a side dish, a filling for a wrap, or even used as a party dip served alongside pita chips.
Serve this chickpea salad with Chicken Gyros or Greek Chicken, or pile it in pita bread with a dollop of Tzatziki Sauce for a delicious wrap. It also makes a great addition to any pot-luck or barbecue as it can be served at room temperature.
This simple and healthy Chickpea Salad recipe takes less than 20 minutes to prepare and is packed with Mediterranean flavors, like fresh tomatoes, oregano, olives and feta---some of my favorite foods ever!
It is light, refreshing, super easy to make, yet is hearty thanks to the chickpeas. Which makes this simple salad not only filling enough to be a meal in itself, but also light enough to not weigh you down.
The flavors and textures of this chickpea salad are also perfectly balanced. The chickpeas are slightly creamy, the olives add a salty kick, the cucumbers add a crunch and freshness, and the tomatoes add a burst of juicy sweetness. The simple dressing brings everything together with subtle flavors and the feta cheese finishes this salad with a salty bite.
It is an uncomplicated, easy recipe that packs an incredible amount of flavor.
Key Ingredients
- Chickpeas: You can use canned chickpeas or prepare Instant Pot Chickpeas to prepare this salad. If using dried chickpeas, keep in mind you may find you need to adjust the salt after preparing for the best flavor.
- Kalamative Olives: Don't skimp and use black olives, Kalamative olives have superior flavor. Just be sure to purchase pitted olives to save yourself a headache.
- English Cucumber: A regular garden cucumber can be used in place of a seedless cucumber, but you will need to peel and remove seeds before dicing.
- Tomatoes: Any fresh, ripe variety of tomato works in this salad. Cherry and grape tomatoes need to be just cut in half, while larger, vine-ripened or Roma tomatoes need to be diced and deseeded.
- Onion: In order for the onion to not overwhelm the salad, choose a sweeter onion, such as a Vidalia or red onion.
- Feta: Crumbled feta cheese adds so much flavor to the chickpea salad, but can be omitted if dairy-free. You may just need to adjust the salt, as the feta cheese adds a decent amount of saltiness to the finished salad.
- Salad Dressing: A simple combination of garlic, red wine vinegar, olive oil, and oregano are all that is required for the dressing.
How to Make Chickpea Salad
This salad is as easy as chopping and mixing.
- In a large bowl toss together the chickpeas, cucumbers, olives, onion, tomatoes, and feta.
- In a small bowl whisk together the red wine vinegar, oregano, salt, garlic, and olive oil until well combined.
- Drizzle dressing over chickpea mixture and toss to combine.
- Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes for optimum flavor (but you can certainly eat right away!)
Make-Ahead and Serving Suggestions
This Meditteranean Chickpea salad is incredibly versatile and can be served chilled or at room temperature and in a variety of different ways.
While I enjoy eating this salad as simply a salad, some of my other favorite preparations are:
- Filled in a pita served with a side of Tzatziki sauce to take as a lunch to go.
- Serve with pita chips as a refreshing dip at a party.
- Use as a filling for an omelet for a unique breakfast.
- Served as a side dish with dishes such as Grilled Greek Chicken.
Once prepared, this salad will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, making it a perfect recipe to use for meal-prep.
More Easy Mediterranean Recipes
- Tabbouleh Salad
- Mediterranean Couscous
- Mediterranean Frittata
- Greek Quinoa Salad
- Mediterranean Chicken Skillet
- Greek Pinwheels
Whether you are serving this chickpea salad as a simple side dish, using to fill pita bread, or scooping up with pita chips, I would love to hear how you enjoyed it!
Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
Chickpea Salad
- 15 ounces chickpeas rinsed and dried (or 2 cups cooked chickpeas)
- ½ cup kalamata olives sliced
- 1 English cucumber diced
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes cut in half
- ½ red onion diced finely
- ⅓ cup crumbled feta
Salad Dressing
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, chickpeas, cucumbers, olives, onion, tomatoes, and feta cheese.
- In a smaller bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, garlic oregano, and salt.
- Add the dressing to the chickpea mixture and toss together until everything is well coated and combined.
- Chill for at least 30 minutes for flavors to combine before serving.
Notes
- Feel to add in roasted peppers, pepperoncini, green olives, capers, parsley, etc to this salad as desired.
- For a Vegan Chickpea Salad, just omit the feta cheese. You may need an additional ½-1 teaspoon salt to replace the saltiness that the feta provides.
- This chickpea salad will last in the fridge for 5 days but has the best texture for up to 3 days.
- Any fresh, ripe variety of tomato works in this salad. Vine-ripened or Roma tomatoes need to be diced and deseeded.
- Chickpea Salad can not be frozen due to the fresh vegetables.
Dean
Love it!
Shawn
Great recipe! We loved the flavors and the simplicity.
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you enjoyed Shawn!