This easy, versatile recipe for Greek chickpea salad is one to remember for a quick side dish or easy meal prep. Serve this at your next family dinner, picnic, or barbecue, or package it up with fresh greens or grilled chicken for an easy, healthy make-ahead lunch. Either way, it’s healthy and flavorful!
If you enjoy Mediterranean flavors, this is a recipe you absolutely need in your life. It’s everything that works about a classic Greek salad, but heartier and more versatile, thanks to the beauty of chickpeas.
Lately we’ve been enjoying this recipe almost weekly. Extra guests for dinner? Added this to the menu for a quick, easy, and filling side. Big gathering for my son’s birthday party? Doubled the recipe, watched it disappear!
Here’s what you’ll need to pull it together.
What’s in a Greek Chickpea Salad?
- Chickpeas, obviously! One 15 ounce can, drained and rinsed
- Cherry tomatoes
- Cucumber
- Bell pepper, any color
- Pitted Kalamata olives
- Red onion (optional)
- Feta cheese
- Fresh parsley (optional but a nice touch at the end)
The process of making this could not be simpler. Drain and rinse the chickpeas, then toss them together with the sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, olives, and red onion. At this point you could even refrigerate the mixture for a few hours if you’re working ahead.
When you’re ready to serve, just add dressing, feta, and a sprinkling of chopped parsley. That’s it!
If you haven’t experimented with making your own salad dressing yet, this is the perfect time to start. The dressing for this salad is so easy, and made up of basic pantry items:
- Red wine vinegar
- Olive oil
- Salt & pepper
- Dried oregano
So simple to whisk all these together, and the dressing adds just the right balance of flavors to liven up the chickpeas and give those crisp veggies a little zing!
This recipe is wonderful for picnics or potlucks. You can also try it on the side with these Moroccan lamb burgers or with the chicken from this chicken gyro salad.
Can I make this a meal prep?
Yes! I discovered more or less by accident that this salad makes an outstanding lunch, and now love making it ahead on the weekends so we can enjoy it throughout the week.
Just place a bed of arugula in the bottom of your meal prep containers, then spoon about 1 cup of Greek chickpea salad on top. Arugula keeps well, stands up to the dressing, and has a peppery flavor that complements these Mediterranean flavors well. I always add a few extra olives to my boxes for good measure!
I love that this is a filling meatless lunch, thanks to the chickpeas. But it’s also delicious with some simple grilled chicken, if you want to level up the protein even more.
No matter what, don’t forget some pita bread or chips! They are perfect to round out this meal.
If you try this Greek Chickpea Salad or any other recipe on the blog, please rate it and leave a comment below. I love hearing from you, and other readers will benefit from your experience!
Greek Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
Salad:
- 1 (15 oz) can chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 1 medium cucumber diced
- 1 bell pepper diced
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives
- 1/4 cup red onion chopped
- 1/4 cup feta cheese
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
Dressing:
- 2 tbsps red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Optional, for serving:
- Arugula
- Grilled chicken
Instructions
- In a small bowl or jar, combine all the dressing ingredients. Shake or whisk vigorously to combine, then set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine chickpeas, cucumber, pepper, tomatoes, olives, and red onion. Toss to combine.
- When ready to serve, pour dressing over the salad and toss again. Sprinkle feta and parsley on top and serve.
This has wonderful color, I love a crunchy salad 🙂 it sounds like it would be delicious in a gyro !
Looks like I will be going Greek with dinner very soon. I love the addition and added flavor with the chickpeas.
I ‘m always looking for an easy, healthy make-ahead lunch that I can eat on all week. I love that this recipe is healthy yet full of flavor.
Love this salad! It has everything I love! It will be perfect for lunch or even meal prep!)
We absolutely love Mediterranean flavored dishes. And your salad is so pretty – the colors really pop. Your Greek salad is really inspiring me to include chickpeas in my salads. I don’t and I don’t know why. We do like chickpeas and I have a can of it in the pantry. I was debating on our side for the Fourth of July — this salad would be ideal with our grilled chicken.
This greek salad is loaded with good for me vegetables, a great side dish for grilled meats too.
Chickpea salads are the best for easy weekday lunches! Love the flavor combo in this one.
I love the suggestion to serve this salad with Lamb Burgers, but I can see myself eating a giant plate of it as the only thing I need for a super satisfying meal. Aren’t chickpeas the best??? Have you ever tried making the vinaigrette with any other kinds of vinegar? Just wondering if a white wine or rice vinegar is also good with all the flavors going on in there.
Chickpea goes really well with salad.. Looks like a lot of flavor in that bowl
Outstanding colours. Great to know it’s a good make-ahead salad. Not all of them are, some get sad and soggy.
This recipe is so colorful and nutritious! I love the variety in this recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Colorful, healthy and amazing combinations. I love such salad recipes.