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This Mediterranean chickpea salad has all the flavors of a classic Greek salad plus hearty chickpeas and fresh herbs. It makes a wonderful light meal or side dish!
Big fan of these flavors? You’ll also enjoy making my Mediterranean Orzo Salad or Easy Greek Pasta Salad next.
Why you’ll love it
I can’t resist a salad that’s super simple yet has layers of flavor. Greek salad is delicious on its own, but adding in chickpeas makes it a protein-packed filling meal! This is also a convenient make-ahead salad. It’s great for summer gatherings, meal prep, or work lunches.
Greek salad tastes so good given how ridiculously basic the dressing is. It has a quick vinaigrette that’s made with only a handful of ingredients. The crisp and crunchy fresh veggies and pop of flavor from the herbs make this easy Mediterranean salad special!
What you’ll need
For the salad
- Chickpeas – aka garbanzo beans, they’re a convenient and inexpensive source of protein
- Cucumbers – we’re using mini cucumbers (also known as Persian). I like them because they’re a little less watery than English cucumbers.
- Onion – red onion is the ideal variety for eating raw in salads since it’s less sharp than others
- Oregano and parsley – our fresh herbs to make this salad shine
- Red bell peppers and tomatoes – key components to any Greek salad. Get what looks freshest at the grocery store or farmers’ market.
- Olives – the traditional choice for Greek salad is Kalamata olives for that delicious briny quality
- Feta – I prefer the cubed kind marinated in herbs and oil for that signature salty, savory taste
For the dressing
- Olive oil – for the base of the dressing
- Lemon juice – always use freshly squeezed and never from concentrate
- Garlic – if you’re a garlic lover, use even more!
- Salt & pepper – be generous to bring out the flavors
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- I like to mince garlic with this garlic press. You don’t even need to peel the cloves first!
- This is the glass prep bowl set I use for salads.
- These scissor salad tongs make serving it up easy.
- This fresh herb keeper will keep the rest of your parsley fresh for longer.
How to make Mediterranean chickpea salad
This is an overview, and full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Open the can of chickpeas and drain and rinse them. Add them to a large bowl.
- Wash, chop, and prep the vegetables and herbs, adding them to the bowl as you go along with the feta and olives.
- Add the vinaigrette ingredients right into the salad bowl, and toss.
Substitutions and variations
- As with any salad, you can adjust to your preferences if you’re not a fan of something, but this is a pretty standard set of ingredients for Greek salad.
- I like feta that’s packed in oil and herbs, but if you’re unable to find that, any feta will do just fine.
- Fresh tomatoes are best for their bright flavor, but if they’re out of season, try using sun-dried tomatoes instead.
- Try your best to find Kalamata olives, but black olives will do in a pinch.
What to serve with Greek salad
- It’s a fantastic light lunch for a hot day without having to turn on the stove. I like to pair it with a slice of fresh baguette or other crusty bread.
- You can also try it with other Greek favorites like Saganaki (Greek Fried Cheese) and some classic dips like Creamy Tzatziki and Greek Roasted Eggplant Dip (Melitzanosalata) and pita bread.
- It makes a great side dish for just about any summer grilling main like my Easy Ground Turkey Burgers Recipe.
Leftovers and storage
- This Mediterranean salad will keep well in the fridge in an airtight container for 4-5 days. It’s great for meal prep for this reason!
- If the salad has been sitting out in the sun for a long time, though, you may want to discard the rest for food safety reasons.
Will you make this easy Greek chickpea salad? Please leave me star rating and review below if you made it! As always, tag me #saltandlavender on Instagram with your creations.
Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
- 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas rinsed and drained
- 2 mini cucumbers chopped
- 1 tablespoon red onion chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh oregano chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
- 1/2 red bell pepper chopped
- 1 cup little tomatoes (grape, cherry, etc.) cut into halves
- 1/2 cup Kalamata olives
- 3.5 ounces feta (packed in oil & herbs if possible)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic minced
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Drain & rinse your chickpeas and add them to a salad bowl.
- Prep your veggies and herbs, and add them to the salad bowl as you go along.
- Add the dressing ingredients (olive oil, lemon juice, garlic) right into the salad bowl and toss gently. Taste and adjust as needed (e.g. add more olive oil), and season with salt & pepper.
Notes
- If you can’t find cubed feta that’s packed in oil and herbs, any feta will work fine. Also, don’t worry about it being exactly 3.5 ounces… that was the size package mine happened to come in.
- This salad is very flexible… add more or less of any ingredient depending on your preferences and what’s in your fridge.
- Serves 2-4 depending on what else it’s served with.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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In a word, phenomenal. Recipe and amounts as written are perfect but I threw is some additional tomatoes and cucumbers and a few more olives and it was STILL perfect. Highly recommended.
Thank you!! 🙂 I’m so glad you liked it!
Made this with sundried tomatoes and a greek salad dressing I had on hand.. came out great.
Awesome!! 🙂
I made it today. It’s incredible 👍😁💯💕
Wonderful!
Holy Cow!!! So easy to toss together, is bright and colorful, packed with nutrients from all the veggies and cheese.
Will grill some chicken tenderloin to make a light and healthy dinner for spring 2020.
I am so happy you enjoyed it, Karen! Love the grilled chicken idea.
How long does this keep for? I want to make it for my work lunches (Tuesday-Friday). Should be okay right?
I think so. It may get a little soggy towards the end, but it should be fine.
I would take the seeds out of the cucumbers and put those and the tomatoes in day of….I used sundried tomatoes to prevent the sogginess.
I’ve made this salad about 4 times since saving it a few weeks ago. I made a few changes, I use mixed beans instead of just chickpeas, I added rice vinegar and a splash of hot sauce to the dressing to add more zing. It’s always a hit and so easy to make. Everyone always loves it!
Awesome… so happy it’s a hit!
Making this today it looks so good and I have all of the ingredients! Can’t wait to try it!
Enjoy!! 🙂
You ought to take part iin a contest for one oof the ggreatest blogs on tthe internet.
I’m going to recommsnd this blog!
Made it as a side to go with my tomato basil soup and it was soooooo good! Plenty left to take to work as part of my lunches.
Yay that’s great! So glad you liked it, Michelle!
Can I have the nutritional value for all you recipes please?
Hi Sandra, sorry, I don’t have that info.
Can not wait to try it! Thank you for the recipe. Would I be able to make this without the feta cheese?
Thank you! Sure, leaving the feta out wouldn’t be a problem. Hope you love it!