Name: Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Ingredients: 2 cans chickpeas; 1 red bell pepper, chopped; 1 cup chopped red onion; 1 cup diced cucumber; 1 cup halved grape tomatoes; 3 green onions, chopped; 1/4 cup chopped parsley; 1/4 cup chopped basil; Optional: 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives; 3 tbsp olive oil; 1-2 tbsp red wine vinegar; 2 tbsp lemon juice; 2 cloves garlic; 1/2 tsp sea salt (or to taste); 1/2 tsp black pepper; Optional: 1 tsp red pepper flakes

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Need a healthy lunch or a side dish for a party in 10 minutes?! This Mediterranean Chickpea Salad is made especially for you!

Chickpea salad with tomatoes, cucumber, onion and fresh basil.

Here’s the thing, olives are one of my absolute least favorite foods on the planet. They’re second to pickles and I (clearly) have some pretty strong negative feelings toward them.

However, most Mediterranean salads are going to have kalamata olives. I left them out of this one because well, I hate them (!), but they do add extra flavor and some saltiness if your taste buds can handle them so feel free to add some in! That’s the great thing about salads, you can really toss in or leave out whatever you do or don’t like.

Ingredients for the salad arranged on a white backdrop.

Do I need to cook canned chickpeas?

No! Canned chickpeas are already cooked so all you need to do is drain and rinse them really well which makes this a super easy salad to put together. To make this recipe, all you need to do is drain and rinse the chickpeas and add them a bowl with all the chopped/diced veggies.

Next, whisk the ingredients for the dressing together in a bowl and pour on top of the salad. Mix well so everything is well coated. I like to add some extra basil on top, but this is totally optional.

Mediterranean chickpea salad in a large glass bowl.

This chickpea salad will keep in the fridge for about 5 days. You’ll know it’s gone bad when the chickpeas start to smell. Trust me, it’s a smell you can’t miss!

This recipe is perfect for a school or work lunch, or an end of summer beach trip (RIP summer).

Up close of chickpea salad with fresh basil.

Final thoughts on this Mediterranean chickpea salad

In case you didn’t know, chickpeas are the same as garbanzo beans, so if you see a container labeled garbanzo beans and not chickpeas, that’s exactly what you’re looking for! I don’t know why they’re called chickpeas, but it’s a cute name, so I’ll take it!

Make sure you wash the chickpeas really well before combining them with the rest of the ingredients. This will help prevent gas associated with eating beans.

This recipe calls for canned chickpeas, but you can also use chickpeas cooked from dry. You’ll want to use 1.5 cups cooked chickpeas in place of every 1 can.

While this recipe doesn’t call for avocado, I LOVE adding some on top of this salad. The creaminess of the avocado mixed with the crunchiness of the cucumber and tang of the lemon pairs so well together.

Mediterranean chickpea salad with avocado.

Check out these other bean based recipes!

Lastly, if you make this mediterranean chickpea salad, leave a comment below and let us know how they turn out! As always, be sure to follow me on instagram for more recipes and #eatwithclarity so I can see your creation!