Chickpea Salad / Easy and Healthy Chickpea Salad

This Chickpea Salad is healthy, satisfying, vibrant, and full of flavors. It is one of our favorite salads, and it is comforting and serves as a complete meal!

In this delicious salad, chickpeas are combined with tomatoes, celery, bell peppers, and cucumbers. Further, it is flavored with spices, fresh herbs, and lemon juice. Chickpea Salad is bursting with fresh flavors, and it is perfect for a side dish, potluck, picnic, or lunch.

Jump to:

• About Chickpea Salad
• Why You Will Love This Salad
• Ingredients
• How To Make Chickpea Salad
• Make-Ahead and Storing
• Serving Suggestions
• Variations
• Helpful Tips
• More Salad Recipes
• Recipe Card

About Chickpea Salad

We all know the importance of veggies and salads. But mostly because they are boring and bland, we either skip or force ourselves to eat salads. 

However, the salads can also be interesting if we combine the right ingredients and add the right flavors. Chickpea Salad is one such dish that is super exciting and delicious. And if you believe me, it’s addictive!

This Easy and Healthy Chickpea Salad is fresh, vibrant, colorful, and flavorful, and keep for 2-3 days in the refrigerator (without avocado).

Ingredients

1. Chickpeas: We can use either freshly cooked chickpeas or canned chickpeas. I have boiled and drained chickpeas at home for this salad. If using canned chickpeas, we need to rinse them thoroughly and then drain them completely before mixing them with other elements.
2. Bell Pepper: I love the way bell peppers make our salad colorful. I have used red bell pepper but use any color, yellow or orange bell pepper, for this salad.
3. Jalapeno Pepper: Remove the seeds from jalapeno pepper for the mild heat in the salad. But if you prefer your salad with more heat, chop jalapeno pepper with some seeds.
4. Celery: Celery provides a nice crunch to the salad. I have used a large stalk of celery but if you don’t have it available, skip it.
5. Tomato: It provides juiciness to the salad. I have used one Roma tomato, but you can also use grape or cherry tomatoes cut into halves.
6. Cucumber: I have peeled the cucumber before chopping it. But you can keep the skin if you prefer. First, rinse it thoroughly and then chop it into small pieces.
7. Avocado: I love avocado in this salad; it makes the salad creamy and rich. But if we prepare the salad in advance, make sure not to add the avocado at that time. We can add avocado only right before serving. 
8. Lemon Juice: I have used about ¼ cup of lemon juice to make this salad vibrant and refreshing. But you can add less or more lemon or lime juice as per your taste.
9. Olive Oil: I didn’t prepare the dressing for this salad. Instead, I added oil, lime juice, and spices directly to the salad. And so we can choose the amount of oil, lime juice, and other spices to add as per our preference. Use more oil if you need to, or skip it if you don’t want to use it. Also, add other spices as per your choice to suit your taste buds. Instead of olive oil, you can also use other cooking oil.
10. Spices and Herbs: In this salad, I have added salt, black pepper, and cumin powder. Also, I have added a pinch of turmeric powder for the bright color. Adding a lot of chopped coriander leaves enhances the flavor of chickpea salad. If you want your salad on a spicier side, add cayenne pepper or red chili powder to taste.
11. Honey: Adding honey is totally optional, but a teaspoon of it will make a difference!

How To Make Chickpea Salad

Making Chickpea Salad is a straightforward recipe. We just need to combine everything well and serve.

Cooking chickpeas at home requires planning, soaking, and cooking the chickpeas. But if choosing canned chickpeas, then only we need to chop veggies. Then, within 20 minutes, a delicious, satisfying, and wholesome meal will be ready.

If using canned beans, rinse them thoroughly and drain them completely.

Combine chickpeas, jalapeno pepper, celery, cucumber, bell pepper, tomato, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, black pepper, turmeric powder, cumin powder, and honey in a large bowl. Toss everything until well combined.

Taste and add more seasonings and lemon juice if required.

Add avocado chunks and coriander leaves, mix well and serve immediately. 

Make-Ahead and Storing

• We can prepare the salad ahead of time. Combine everything except avocado and coriander leaves. Once you prepare the salad, cover it tightly and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days.
• Right before serving, remove the salad from the refrigerator, add avocado and coriander leaves, adjust the seasoning if needed, mix well and serve.

Serving Suggestions

• Serve this salad as a side dish.
• This salad is very filling to have as a lunch.
• Serve chickpea salad with some corn tortilla chips if you like.
• Squeeze some more lemon juice before serving if you prefer more tang.

Variations

• Add chopped green chilis instead of jalapeno pepper. Or add cayenne pepper or red chili powder for the spiciness.
• Add cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes cut into halves.
• Add finely chopped fresh parsley instead of coriander leaves.
• Skip avocado if you prefer. And to make the salad creamy, add feta cheese, goat cheese, or Paneer.
• For some fruity flavors, add pomegranate seeds or black grapes. However, add them only before serving.

Helpful Tips

• Jalapeno Pepper: I prefer to remove the seeds from the jalapeno pepper to keep the salad mild. But if you like it spicy, do not remove the seeds or remove only a few. 
• Veggies: You can add more veggies of your choice. Or skip any vegetable from the list if you do not have it or do not prefer it.
• Olive Oil and Lemon Juice: Skip adding olive oil for the oil-free salad. Add lime juice instead of lemon juice, or add as much per your taste.

More Salad Recipes

Recipe Card