This healthy Mediterranean Chickpea salad is one of my top vegetarian recipe picks! It’s simple to prepare, packed full of nutrients and bursting with flavour! The perfect make-ahead lunch option that can be made in less than 20 minutes! {Gluten-free & vegetarian}
This simple chickpea salad is always one of my favourite vegetarian dishes to whip up when I’m running short on time.
It takes less than 20 minutes to prepare, and has the most incredible flavours, with feta, lemon and lots of other fresh and healthy ingredients!
I love having this Mediterranean chickpea salad on a bed of spinach for a quick and healthy lunch, but you could definitely pile it up on some crusty garlic bread or crispy flatbread or serve it with some pita chips to make an awesome appetizer or quick weeknight meal. It’s also a great side dish for picnics, cookouts and potlucks!
If you love chickpeas, be sure to also try my Pearl Couscous Chickpea Salad and Chickpea Avocado Feta Salad too!
Why Make this Recipe
- Healthy: This chickpea salad is packed with fibre and protein, which will keep you feeling full for hours. It’s the perfect balanced meatless meal option!
- Great for meal prep: I recommend making up a big batch of this recipe and keeping it in the fridge for up to four days. Just scoop some out and you’re all set for lunch!
- Quick and easy: Made with simple ingredients, it takes less than 20 minutes to whip together this chickpea salad and it only requires one pot.
Ingredient Notes
- Oil: I like to use extra virgin olive oil for more Mediterranean flair, but you can sub in your preferred oil.
- Vegetables: Red peppers, red onion and garlic add lots of colour and flavour to this dish. You could also use different coloured peppers, like orange or yellow to make it even more vibrant!
- Chickpeas: Chickpeas are a great plant based source of protein, fibre and iron. I used canned no-salt added chickpeas to make this dish super easy, but you could also sub in chickpeas cooked from scratch if preferred.
- Parsley: Parsley adds a great herby freshness. Cilantro would also work well if you wanted to switch up the flavour profile.
- Lemon juice: Use fresh lemon juice rather than bottled. It’s so much zingier in flavour. You can add even more lemon juice if you’re a real lemon lover.
- Feta: This Greek cheese is creamy and tangy and adds a pop of saltiness that works so well with the fresh flavours of the lemon and veggies. You could also try subbing in some goat cheese as well.
- Red pepper flakes: Add a bit of heat to this dish. You can always add more if you prefer more heat.
Step by Step Instructions
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Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, red pepper, and garlic, stirring for 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender and fragrant.
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Add chickpeas, lemon juice and red pepper flakes and stir to combine.
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Warm the chickpeas through, about 1-2 minutes, remove from heat and allow to sit for a few minutes. Add parsley and feta cheese and toss lightly. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
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Serve by itself or over a bed of spinach, lettuce, brown rice, quinoa or on crispy whole-grain pitas or pita chips.
Recipe Tips
- I used no-salt added canned chickpeas for this recipe to make it super easy, but you could also sub in about 4.5 cups cooked chickpeas.
- Be sure to drain the canned chickpeas in a colander and rinse them very well under cold water until clean. You may also wish to remove the skins before adding them to the pan (it’s a personal preference).
- You can adjust the flavours in this recipe to taste. If you prefer more lemon flavour, increase the amount of lemon juice. If you like it more garlicky, add some additional minced garlic. If you like more heat, add some extra red pepper flakes. If you like more saltiness, add some extra feta.
Recipe FAQs
How to store
This is a great salad for meal prep. Make up a batch on a Sunday and enjoy it throughout the week.
Place the cooled chickpea salad in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to four days.
Can you eat this chickpea salad cold?
This salad is great to enjoy warm straight out of the pan, but it is delicious cold as well. If you prefer it warm, you can heat the salad through on the stovetop.
Serving Suggestions
This chickpea salad is great as a side dish or main!
It can be served up on:
- Lettuce or spinach
- A crispy baguette
- Rice
- Quinoa
- Pita chips or a baked crispy pita
We like to serve it up on a crispy pita spread with hummus or tzatziki along with some arugula or spinach for a quick and easy meatless dinner. It’s almost like a chickpea flatbread. So good!
To make the crispy pita: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Brush some olive oil over the pitas. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until crispy.
Recipe variations
This Mediterranean chickpea salad is great as it is, but there are some easy additions you can make to suit your tastes.
- More veggies: Add different colour peppers, or zucchini, toss in some diced cherry tomatoes.
- Cheese: You could also try goat cheese or cubed mozzarella.
- For extra protein: Add some shredded chicken.
MORE DELICIOUS SALAD RECIPES:
- Lentil Pesto Pasta Salad
- Chickpea Avocado Feta Salad
- Steak and Avocado Salad
- Greek Quinoa Salad
- Mediterranean Lentil Salad
- Healthy Pasta Salad
Did you make this recipe? Scroll down to leave a rating and review!
Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ red onion thinly sliced
- 2 red peppers diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 (19oz) cans no salt-added chickpeas drained and rinsed
- Juice of one lemon (about 4 tablespoons lemon juice)
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- Large handful parsley leaves finely chopped
- 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, red pepper, and garlic, stirring for 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender and fragrant.
- Add chickpeas, lemon juice and red pepper flakes and stir to combine. Warm the chickpeas through, about 1-2 minutes, remove from heat and allow to sit for a few minutes. Add parsley and feta cheese and toss lightly. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve by itself or over a bed of spinach, lettuce, brown rice, quinoa or with crispy whole-grain pitas or pita chips.
Notes
- I used no-salt added canned chickpeas for this recipe to make it super easy, but you could also sub in about 4.5 cups cooked chickpeas.
- Be sure to drain the canned chickpeas in a colander and rinse them very well under cold water until clean. You may also wish to remove the skins before adding them to the pan (it's a personal preference).
- You can adjust the flavours in this recipe to taste. If you prefer more lemon flavour, increase the amount of lemon juice. If you like it more garlicky, add some additional minced garlic. If you like more heat, add some extra red pepper flakes. If you like more saltiness, add some extra feta.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted in February 2016 and was updated to include better tips and photos in April 2021.
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Love this recipe! Made it for my nutrition class and everyone went nuts over it! Super easy to make and tastes even better!
Thanks Olivia! So glad your class loved this recipe! It’s definitely one of my favourites!
Did you per chance go to Guelph for school? I took that same course and you describe the head chef perfectly lol!!! He was awesome though, in his own terrifying way :) I am so excited to try this recipe! I’ve been craving a new way to eat chickpeas, and this might just be it. Thanks for sharing!!
Hey Ashley! Thanks for stopping by :) Yes I went to Guelph….small world!!! I totally agree — I ended up learning a lot from him even though he scared me to death haha. I hope you enjoy the recipe!!