This Mediterranean Chickpea Salad is refreshing, crisp and has an easy honey-lemon dressing that comes together in just a couple of minutes. Great for a weeknight dinner or family cookout- the rainbow colors make any plate pop! Pair it with grilled steak or fish for an easy, delicious dinner, or enjoy it all on its own as a light meal.
I make this salad frequently in the summer months when it’s hot and humid out. With it regularly reaching over 90 degrees from July through September here in Florida, a refreshing salad with hydrating vegetables is high on my list of daytime eats. Sometimes I’ll add cubed feta, but most of the time I eat it as-is. Bonus points for it only taking a few minutes to throw together.
Mediterranean Chickpea Salad paired with ribeye steak & chimichurri sauce.
What you’ll need:
- grape tomatoes
- Persian cucumbers, or an English cucumber
- red onion
- Kalamata olives
- chickpeas
- flat leaf parsley
- olive oil
- lemon juice
- honey
- Dijon or spicy brown mustard
- salt + pepper
Let’s get to it.
First, prep your salad ingredients and place them in a large bowl. Set aside.
Toss all of your dressing ingredients into a jar with a tightly fitting lid and vigorously shake to combine (you can also whisk them together in a bowl if you prefer). Taste and adjust the salt/olive oil/lemon juice/honey to your liking. I usually add a little more honey.
Pour half of the dressing over the salad and gently toss to combine.
That’s it! Serve and enjoy.
I recommend eating this salad within 2-3 days of making it. If you are not planning to eat it same day, hold off on dressing the salad until right before eating it, otherwise the salad will get soggy.
Recipe Variations
- Add feta or mozzarella for added flavor and protein
- Use black beans instead of chickpeas to make a black bean salad
- Use maple syrup instead of honey to make this salad vegan
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Mediterranean Chickpea Salad Recipe
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
- 4 small Persian cucumbers (or 1 large English cucumber), halved and chopped
- 1/2 large red onion, sliced
- 1 cup Kalamata olives, roughly chopped
- 2 cups chickpeas, drained and rinsed (about 2 15 oz cans)
- 2 Tbsp chopped parsley
For the dressing:
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 tsp Dijon or spicy brown mustard
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 1/4 tsp salt
- fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place the salad ingredients into a large bowl: 1 pint halved grape tomatoes, 4 small Persian cucumbers halved and chopped, 1/2 large red onion sliced, 1 cup Kalamata olives roughly chopped, 2 15 oz cans of chickpeas drained and rinsed, 2 Tbsp chopped parsley.
- Toss all of the dressing ingredients into a jar with a tightly fitting lid and shake vigorously to combine: 1/3 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 1 tsp Dijon or spicy brown mustard, 1-2 tsp honey, 1/4 tsp salt, fresh cracked pepper to taste. Taste and adjust the salt/olive oil/lemon juice/honey to your liking (I usually add a little more honey).
- Pour half of the dressing over the salad and gently toss to combine. If you do not plan to eat the salad same day, hold off on dressing it until right before eating it.
- This salad will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Add feta or mozzarella cheese for added flavor and protein
- Use maple syrup in place of honey to make this salad vegan
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