This easy Mediterranean chickpea salad is infused with flavor thanks to a heaping helping of fresh herbs and a garlicky lemon dressing, plus lots of crunch from red bell pepper, celery, and red onion. Serve it as a hearty vegetarian side dish or spoon over a bed of greens.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“We love this salad! We have made it a few times and use it for a topping over other greens.” Lorie, FoodieCrush reader
This Chickpea Salad Recipe Comes From One of my Good Friends
Are you sick of me repeating myself yet? I’ve said it before and I’ll likely say it 9,349 more times again: Salads are my favorite. I’m far more tempted by a plate with a sampling of four varieties of salads than a plate of four desserts.
That’s why this chickpea herb salad, in all of it’s understated simplicity, is proof positive that eating real, whole foods doesn’t have to be a complicated affair when simplicity radiates from the whole ingredients its made with.
I cannot take credit for creating this salad. Its glory in flavor comes from one of my good blogging friends who has just authored her first cookbook, Love Real Food by Kathryne Taylor of the blog Cookie + Kate.
Kathryne’s recipe for this Mediterranean chickpea salad is simple in its approach and calls for ingredients I nearly always have on hand, making it one of those recipes you can totally pull off at a moment’s notice when you ask the question, “What am I going to serve with my main dish?”
Enjoy!
What’s in This Recipe?
The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.
- Chickpeas — You’ll need two cans of chickpeas for this recipe, or about 3 cups. Drain and rinse them well before adding to the salad.
- Bell pepper — Kathryne uses sweet red bell pepper in her version, so I followed her lead. You’re welcome to swap in earthy green bell pepper or another favorite color.
- Fresh parsley — Really any fresh herb will work in this lemony chickpea salad, but I used parsley since it’s inexpensive and gives the salad a tabbouleh-esque flavor.
- Red onion — If red onion is too strong for you, run it under cold tap water after chopping to remove its sting.
- Celery — Adds tons of crunch.
- Lemon dressing — A glug of olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and garlic are whisked together to make the simple dressing.
How to Make This Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
- Drain the chickpeas. The bulk of the recipe comes from canned chickpeas, a staple I always recommend having in the cupboard. Simply drain and rinse and you’re on your way.
- Add the rest of the ingredients. Add the chickpeas to a large bowl alongside the chopped bell pepper, onion, parsley, and celery.
- Dress and serve. Whisk together the simple lemon dressing and pour over the chickpea mixture. Toss to coat, then serve immediately.
Heidi’s Tips for Recipe Success
I love the leaves plucked from fresh, crunchy celery so while Kathryne’s version didn’t actually call for it, I plucked the leaves from my stalks, gave them a rough chop, and added them to the salad. There really is no reason to toss them out for any dish.
The amount of chopped fresh parsley may seem like a whole lot of parsley, but that’s the point! Don’t skimp on the amount, or you’ll be sacrificing flavor.
This salad is intended to be served on its own, but as Kathryne suggests, it’s a delicious topping for a bed of lettuces, too. Naturally, I added a few mozzarella balls to mine with an extra drizzle of olive oil and squeeze of lemon, too.
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
Mediterranean Chickpea Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas , rinsed and drained (approx. 3 cups cooked chickpeas)
- 1 medium red bell pepper , chopped
- 1 ½ cups chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (about 1 bunch)
- ½ cup chopped red onion
- ½ cup chopped celery plus leaves (about 2 ribs)
For the dressing
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice (from 1 to 1 ½ lemons)
- 2 cloves garlic , pressed or minced
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add the chickpeas, bell pepper, parsley, red onion, and celery.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice and garlic, and season to taste with the kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add the dressing to the chickpea mixture and toss to coat.
- Serve immediately or chill up to 4 days. Before serving, add more salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
Nutrition
Ingredient Swaps and Additions
- Add pitted Kalamata olives or capers for a briny bite
- Add marinated artichoke hearts for flavor
- Swap the parsley for fresh basil, oregano, thyme, or marjoram
- Use green onions or chives instead of red onion
- Replace the lemon dressing with Greek dressing or balsamic vinaigrette
- Make this a main dish salad by adding Greek chicken, garlic shrimp, or grilled salmon
What to Serve with Your Chickpea Salad
More Chickpea Salads to Try
Read more of Cookie + Kate here, and purchase Love Real Food here.
We send good emails. Subscribe to FoodieCrush and have each post plus exclusive content only for our subscribers delivered straight to your e-mail box.
Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest for more FoodieCrush inspiration.
As always, thank you for reading and supporting companies I partner with, which allows me to create more unique content and recipes for you. There are affiliate links in this post of which I receive a small commission. All opinions are always my own.
Mobile price
did you remove skin ? because in photo I seems you have removed the skin from chickpeas
Steph
We love this recipe. I don’t even like celery or parsley, but we had some, so made the recipe as stated, and my husband & I both loved it. Very refreshing and good side dish. The celery is a must—but now we use cilantro as we always have that.
I make 1/2 recipe for the 2 of us. Looking forward to trying variations with arugula, mozzarella balls, maybe avocado.
Thanks for sharing
Peggy O’Vonnell
I made this salad today! I love it! Delightfully delicious! This will become a regularly made salad for me! So easy to put together, too!
Thank you!
Karen
totally delicious and i’m NOT/WASN’T a chickpea eating person. THIS WAS DELISH!!!!!! Got to go to the store tomorrow for more garbanzo beans. YUMMY! Thank you!
Rhondi Webster
Omg ur blog has broken links and can’t even get through the recipe
Christine
In your photos it doesn’t appear that the chickpeas have skins.
Do you remove the skins from the chickpeas?
Also the chickpeas seem a little larger than any canned chickpeas I have found, mine are always so tiny.
Do you use particular brand?
Elena
I can not get enough of this salad. It has become a staple in my home. I love love this salad! Thank you….
Ashley Sorenson
Elena, I am glad that you love it as much as I do!
Renée
excellent salad…did only half, added cubed & seeded cukes and a touch of sesame oill..beautiful colors in plate..this is for pre ouutdoor tango dance concert picnic tonight..along with rice salad and tuna wraps…
Jim
What are the nutrition details?
Susan D Turner
Wish her book had nutritional information-I would have bought it on the spot. Her recipes look really good but I am on strict dietary restrictions per my doctor. Darn it!
Cindy
This was absolutely yummy! I added a little chopped pineapple (mango would be good)…served the cold salad over whole wheat spaghetti noodles & topped with some thawed cold salad shrimp!
Diane Fox
This is a wonderful recipe! I traded a few ingredients with what I had on hand…cilantro for parsley and asparagus spears (chopped) for the celery! It was delicious. Thanks for the inspiration and basics!
Diane F Fox
This was a wonderful recipe! I made a few changes because of available ingredients and used cilantro instead of parsley and threw in a few chopped asparagus spears. It turned out delicious! Thank you for the basics!
Faby Ramirez
Hi
Do you know how many cups this salad yields? it says serves 4 . Is that 4 cups ?
DM Ghaziabad
This salad was crazy good!
Effi
This looks so good and refreshing. Can I prepare the salad with the dressing the day before my party, put in refrigerator and serve the next day? You think the ingredients will be still fresh with the dressing if left overnight in the fridge?
Angela
I love chickpeas and this salad is so good. Have not tried with mozzarella but have added drained black beans to it right before serving. Delicious and filling. Thanks for the recipe! It’s a keeper!
Gabby
This looks amazing!!! I’ll be making it soon for sure. Herbs, chick peas, and Mozerella? Sold ;)
Cooking with Curiosity
Simple: simply delicious and simply beautiful in color and healthy ingredients.
It is too easy to be true but my family has loved it and we all thank you for the idea.
Kate
Heidi, THANK YOU! I really appreciate this post and I’m so glad you enjoyed the chickpea salad. I think I’m going to make it for tailgating at a Royals game this weekend. It was so great to see you and Jeff at the wedding. Let’s find an excuse to clink drinks again soon!
Isadora Guidoni
Salads are also my favorite, so lately I’ve been trying to prepare different recipes with more exotic ingredients.While reading this, I realized the I’ve never tried making a chickpea salad, so of course I’m going to try your recipe soon. Thank you for sharing it!
Hi Sandra, I’m so glad you bought the book for yourself and your daughter-in-law. I think you’ll both be really pleased with it. Enjoy!
Laura | Tutti Dolci
I so want to dig into this salad – absolute perfection!
Rachael's Foodie Life
Oh yum! I love you addition on mozzarella balls. I’m thinking this will be the perfect addition to our BBQ lunch this weekend!
Well Rachael, it’s a thing I do…I add mozzarella balls to a whole lotta dishes :) so good.
Kate
In the picture it look like There’s arugula in there?
You know your greens Kate! Yes, in the salad I made with the chickpeas I used arugula, but you could use whatever you have on hand.
Yolanda
I LOVE arugula! I’d definitely use arugula in this salad.