This Greek Chickpea Salad is packed with Mediterranean flavors, so delicious and easy to make. It's full of fresh veggies, creamy feta cheese, olives, and protein-packed chickpeas! Summery and refreshing, nutritious, and so tasty, it's a perfect healthy salad you can serve for lunch or bring to parties.
Summer is not kidding, guys. Temperatures are rising very high, very fast. That's why, for the last few weeks, I'm all about making easy lunches for my boys and me. I am definitely NOT in a mood to make anything too complicated that requires heath.
Easy healthy salads are, therefore, on our menu almost every day. Every week I try to follow some theme to make our menu more interesting. So two weeks ago, we had a Mexican inspired menu - boys loved my Black Bean Avocado Salad. And last week, we put Greek flavors on our plates. One of the salads I served was this Greek Chickpea Salad.
This greek style chickpea salad is just wonderful, in every way. It's easy to make - it requires a few simple ingredients and can be prepared in less than 15 minutes. Plus, it's super refreshing, loaded with wonderful Mediterranean flavors. So good! SO delicious! And very nutritious thanks to added proteins from chickpeas. It's a whole healthy and satisfying meal.
To make this beautiful, refreshing summery salad, you will need some fresh veggies, feta cheese, and chickpeas. Also, homemade greek salad dressing added freshness and so much flavor.
Ingredients for Greek Chickpea Salad
This Greek Chickpea Salad salad requires minimal ingredients and preparation work. To make it, you will need:
- Cucumber - I used an English cucumber. It has thin edible skin and mild, sweet taste. Also, no deseeding is required.
- Tomatoes - I used cherry tomatoes because they are sweet and delicate.
- Red onion
- Bell pepper
- Black olives - I used Kalamata. They are big, bold, and beautiful.
- Feta cheese
- Chickpeas
Chickpeas added an exciting twist to traditional Greek Salad. They are packed with proteins and made the salad more nutritious. Chickpeas can go with absolutely anything!
Pro tips & substitutions
- You can easily add 1 avocado if you're looking to make the salad more nutritious.
- You can substitute chickpeas with any beans or even cooked quinoa.
- You can substitute Kalamata black olives with regular black olives.
Ingredients for Greek Salad Dressing
I love making my own from-scratch salad dressings at home. That way, I can control flavors and use high-quality ingredients. I know exactly what ingredients I used, so there's no weird additives, unhealthy added sugars, and no preservatives like in store-bought dressings. Plus, homemade salad dressings taste so much better, fresh, and delicious.
Greek salad dressing is simple. You will only need a few ingredients:
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Red wine vinegar
- Dried oregano
- Garlic
- Salt & pepper
Pro tips & substitutions
- Be sure to use a high-quality extra-virgin olive oil. The taste is fantastic, not to mention health benefits.
- You can substitute olive oil with avocado oil, or flaxseed oil.
- Substitute red wine vinegar with fresh lemon juice.
- If you're using fresh garlic, make sure it's finely minced. I like to use the garlic press. You can use a grater or mini food processor.
- If fresh raw garlic is too strong, you can substitute it with garlic powder.
- I make my dressing with dried oregano, but if you like, you can replace it fresh chopped oregano.
How to make Greek Chickpea Salad
- I like to make salad dressing first, to let the flavors combine a bit before serving.
- To make salad dressing: Put all the ingredients into a jar with a lid. Shake vigorously until everything is well-blended and emulsified. Taste and adjust seasonings, adding more salt and pepper if necessary. Set aside.
- Prep the veggies: Wash cucumber, tomatoes, and pepper. Tap them dry with paper towels. Peel the onion.
- Slice all the veggies and put them in a large salad bowl: Halve the cucumber lengthways and slice. Halve cherry tomatoes. Deseed and slice pepper. Slice the onion thinly.
- Drain and rinse chickpeas. Put the chickpeas in the bowl with veggies.
- Slice olives and add them to the bowl.
- Mix together all of the salad ingredients.
- Toss with half of the greek salad dressing.
- Top with crumbled feta cheese and drizzle over the remaining dressing.
- Serve and enjoy!
Tips for serving & storing
- I recommend chilling the salad for at least one hour before serving for best results. It will become more refreshing and flavors will come to shine. But you can serve it right away.
- It will last up to 3 days covered in the refrigerator. Don't use it after the third day - cucumber and onion will get soggy.
I like to eat this salad for lunch. I usually serve it with some whole grain pitta bread or multi-seed crackers. This Greek Chickpea Salad is a great option to pack for work, serve as main or side dish at BBQ or potlucks. It's great for picnics and parties too.
I know one thing for sure, it's a crowd-pleaser. It's simple, easy to make. Satisfying and full of wonderful flavors. Incredibly delicious and so HEALTHY!
Enjoy!
Greek Chickpea Salad recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 1 can chickpeas (15 ounce can)
- 1 medium cucumber
- 1 small bell pepper
- 15 cherry tomatoes about 1 cup halved
- 1/2 medium red onion
- 1/3 cup black kalamata olives pitted
- 1/4 cup Feta cheese crumbled
For the dressing:
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- For salad dressing: Place all the dressing ingredients in a jar with the lid and shake until well combined. Set aside and let the flavors infuse.
- Slice all the veggies and put them in a large salad bowl. Halve the cucumber lengthways and slice. Halve cherry tomatoes. Deseed and slice pepper. Slice the onion thinly.
- Drain and rinse chickpeas. Put the chickpeas in the bowl with veggies.
- Slice olives in half and add them to the bowl.
- Mix together all of the salad ingredients.
- Toss with half of the greek salad dressing.
- Top with crumbled feta cheese and drizzle over the remaining dressing.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Keep salad covered in the refrigerator. It will last up to 3 days. Substitutions
You can substitute olive oil with avocado oil, or flaxseed oil.
Substitute red wine vinegar with fresh lemon juice.
If fresh raw garlic is too strong, you can substitute it with garlic powder.
You can substitute chickpeas with any beans or even cooked quinoa.
You can substitute Kalamata black olives with regular black olives. MAKE IT VEGAN: Substitute feta cheese with vegan plant-based version made from tofu. Nutritional Disclaimer
Nutrition
More salad recipes to try
I loved all the flavors this Greek Chickpea Salad had in it. The textures were perfect and I would make it again!!! Delish!
Glad you like it Heidy. Thank you for lovely comment and feedback.
I made this salad for a bbq over the weekend and everyone raved about it! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!