Chickpea Salad
Chickpea salad is the one salad that is our true warm-weather staple. Chock full of summer’s best, it’s fresh, vibrant, and goes with everything! Enjoy the recipe for this hearty, vegetarian chickpea salad at your next picnic or BBQ!
Chickpea salad is a warm-weather staple. This simple chickpea salad with cucumbers and tomatoes is fresh, vibrant, and goes with everything!
Can it really be? Is Labor Day Weekend just a few days away? A friend of mine mentioned that starting next week, Starbucks will begin brewing their Pumpkin Spice Lattes; I actually learned that if you’re really yearning for a taste of fall, you can probably even order one now. But as much as I adore pumpkins and spice and all things nice, I think I want to hang on to summer just a wee bit longer.
In my neck of the woods, we’re in that gorgeous time of year, where the early mornings and evenings require sweaters and slippers. Those little glimpses of the fall weather to come give way to a warm (sometimes hot) mid day, and it’s back to tank tops and cravings for summer food. For me, that means salads. Hearty ones like this Chickpea Salad.
Chickpea Salad
The markets now are full of so much freshness, it is the perfect time of year to dice up those gorgeous heirloom tomatoes, crunchy cucumbers and vine-ripened jalapeño peppers. The herbs are in full swing, too. Toss the season’s best into a salad with creamy flaxen chickpeas, and a zingy lemon garlic dressing, and you have a salad that is not just full of ripe and vibrant flavor, but is incredibly good for you.
If you’re looking for a perfect side dish to serve for your Labor Day barbecues, you will love this Chickpea Salad. Make it early in the day, let the garbanzo beans soak in that sunshine flavor. After all, they need to savor summer, too.
If you like this chickpea salad, be sure to check out these other BBQ-ready salads:
Summer Lentil Salad
Tomato, Corn, and Nectarine Chickpea Salad
Fireworks Pasta Salad
Buffalo Ranch Grilled Potato Salad
Grilled Corn and Poblano Salad
Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
- 15 oz can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
- 1 1/2 cups peeled and diced English cucumber
- 1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes
- 1 jalapeño seeds and pith removed, finely diced
- 1/2 cup finely diced red onion
- 1/2 cup cilantro minced
- 2-3 tablespoons minced basil
- 2-3 tablespoons minced mint
- 2 garlic cloves mashed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Rinse and drain chickpeas.
- In a medium bowl, combine the chickpeas, cucumber, tomato, jalapeno, red onion, and herbs.
- In a small bowl, mash together the garlic and salt. Whisk in the lemon juice, mustard, vinegar and olive oil. Season to taste with pepper.
- Toss the dressing into the chickpeas and vegetables. Let it sit for at least an hour in the refrigerator. Give it one final toss before serving.
Video
Nutrition
Note: Images to this family favorite recipe were updated on March 12, 2017.
Love this Liren! I’ve made it two days in a row. My new go to for a delicious lunch.
That makes me so happy, Mary! Thank you so much!!
I skipped the garlic but this is a really easy just awesome dish!
So glad you liked it, even without the garlic!! :)
Love all the fresh ingredients! No need to turn on the oven!
No-cook is the best part, especially in summer!
This salad is stunning! And sounds so refreshing.
Thank you, Ashley!!
I just made this and it is delicious! I made a few modifications. I left out the onion and jalepeno because I wanted it to be a little milder. Instead of rice wine vinegar, I used a gourmet white balsamic vinegar. I didn’t use basil and I used dried mint (not fresh) and crumbled it into the dressing. The dressing is fantastic! This recipe is a keeper. Thanks.
Hi Claudia, I’m so glad you enjoyed it with your modifications! White balsamic vinegar is one of my favorites :)
This is a great salad. I added crumbled feta to it, didn’t use the jalapeño and used a variety of dried spices that I like. I also increased the amount of dijon and vinegar as I like extra flavour.
So glad you enjoyed it, Amy – extra flavor is good!
This recipe was good, but I found it to be way too salty. I should have added the salt last, to taste, rather than the entire 1 tsp recommended.
Looks amazing! I am building a community of vegans and would love for you to hop over to http://www.wedigfood.com and leave a recipe.
This was so good – I added crumbled feta and omitted the jalapeño (only because I didn’t have it on hand) and it was still awesome. The whole extended family loved it.
This looks great! I’ll be making this throughout the summer. Thank you
Such a pretty side dish. Great colors and flavors together in one bowl!
Wonderful combination of ingreatients. Truly a beautiful salad.
Ooooh….I like this one! So many fresh ingredients and I bet it pairs well with everything!
I can’t believe how quickly summer has flown by! I’m ready for those Pumpkin Spice lattes, though. And Fall cooking! Yes.
I does seem as though summer has flown by, but I do enjoy the cool mornings :) Lovely and fresh salad, I so enjoy garbonzo beans especially in salads…
Hope you are having a lovely week
This salad is beautiful! Thanks for sharing. I’m torn between being excited about the prospect of being able to wear sweaters again and enjoy the foliage, and being sad that the delicious fruits and vegetables that are so readily available during the summer will soon be gone.
Looks so good…I’m such a huge fan of protein filled (vegan) salads like this! Rather brilliant, if I do say so myself!
What a great salad! All of those colors are beautiful! I love anything packed full of great vegetables like this.
Another excellent recipe for me!! Think i’ll actually make it tonight! Thanks!!
XOXO
Mdivani
I love chickpeas and your colorful salad looks great for lunch right now!!! Thanks for sharing:)
This looks awesome! I love chickpeas
Gorgeous! I’m so torn about the weather and what I want to cook these days. Part of me is excited for fall, but part of me wants to cling to the little bit of summer we have left! This looks like the perfect compromise: light but still hearty.
Such a pretty salad. The mix of ingredients is so tasty.
this sounds great! i just made a chickpea salad with watermelon and peaches that was awesome!