Mediterranean Chickpea Salad

This Vegan Mediterranean Chickpea Salad is so delicious and loaded with flavors and colors that will make you come back for more. Serve this fresh and easy salad as is or stuffed inside pita bread to make it a shawarma wrap.

Anytime I buy the English cucumber, my first plan is to make this fresh Chickpeas salad. We love chickpeas in our house and use it very often in Indian cuisine. I make an Indian salad almost chat kind called the Chana chat and is one of our favorite evening snack.

This Mediterranean chickpea salad is pretty similar to the Chana chat, except this has more vegetables in it. We traveled to Dubai couple of years back and I had picked several different spices from the local Soukh (market). One among them was a Arabic spice blend that was so flavorful. I am yet to figure out exactly what kind of spices the blend has, but it resembles Za'atar blend and has a few more added ingredients.

Talking about Za'atar, I first bought it from a local store and have been using it to make Za'atar flatbread which is so easy to make. What is Za'atar? Za'atar is a Middle Eastern spice blend that is made with a blend of sumac, thyme, oregano, sesame seeds and salt.

I used that Arabic spice blend in this easy chickpeas salad and it was so flavorful. I would definitely recommend using the Za'atar but it is not a must ingredient. The salad dressing is flavorful as is and does great in the salad. The Chickpea salad can be serves as a salad or can be served along side some earthy bread like this Vegan Aish Baladi flatbread to make it as a wrap.

Ingredients and substitutes

Check the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact measurements and printable detailed recipe.

Chickpeas - Also known as Garbanzo beans or Chana in Hindi, this is the base of this Mediterranean salad. You could use canned chickpeas or use the dry ones after cooking them. I have explained in detail how to use either of them in the recipe.

Vegetables - I love using the English cucumber for this recipe. You could also use the regular cucumber if that is what you have in hand. Apart from this, I have used cherry tomatoes, red onion and finely chopped parsley.

Olives - Olives are one of our favorite, be it in a pizza or in a bread, like the Vegan Moroccan Olive Bread. I used the Kalamata olives today in the salad recipe, but experiment with what flavors you like the best and use it.

Dressing - I dress the Mediterranean chickpea salad with a basic vinaigrette. I use red wine vinegar for a unique flavor. Apart from the regular, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, garlic and salt, the dressing has a little bit of mustard powder. Again, it is optional and can be skipped if you don't have mustard powder in hand.

Step by step process

• Start with chopping the vegetables and placing them in large mixing bowl. I chop the vegetables and start layering them in a bowl as I go.

• If using canned chickpeas, drain the chickpeas and rinse it well under running water. I use canned chickpeas if I am making it without prior planning (which is most of the time). It works great and is definitely a time saver.

• If using fresh chickpeas, soak the beans overnight and then cook it with salt until the chickpeas are tender and soft, but not mushy. I use my Instant Pot to cook the chickpeas. Soak them overnight and then change the soaking water and add fresh water along with a teaspoon of salt. Now set the Instant Pot in pressure cook mode on high and cook for 20 minutes. Let the pressure release after 10 minutes and drain the chickpeas and use it in the recipe.

• Add the drained / cooked chickpeas to the mixing bowl along with the rest of the vegetables.

• Add the Arabic spice or the za'atar spice to the bowl and give it a good toss.

• In a small bowl, add all the ingredients mentioned under the dressing and mix it well using a whisk.

• Add the prepared dressing to the chickpeas / vegetable bowl and mix it well to coat.  Cover the Mediterranean Chickpea Salad with a plastic wrap and leave it in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

Expert tips

• When cooking chickpeas make sure to add some salt. This way the chickpeas soaks the salt when cooking and does not taste bland.
• If Za'atar spice is not available, add any spice blend of your choice. I have even used Italian spice blend and it works great as well. To give it an Indian twist, we could add chat masala or cumin powder.
• When soaking and cooking fresh chickpeas, make extra and freeze it. This way we can have chickpeas ready to make this salad anytime we want.
• If you prefer spicy salad, add some cayenne chili powder or even finely chopped chilies to the salad.

Frequently asked questions

Similar recipes to try

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Recipe

Mediterranean Chickpea Salad

This Vegan Mediterranean Chickpea Salad is so delicious and loaded with flavors and colors that will make you come back for more. Serve as a salad or stuffed inside pita bread to make it meal.

5 from 5 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Appetizer, Salad

Cuisine: Mediterranean, Middle Eastern

Diet: Vegan

Prep Time: 20 minutes

chilling time: 2 hours

Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 161kcal

Author: Sandhya Ramakrishnan

Ingredients

• ▢ 3 cups Chickpeas / garbanzo beans Canned or dry beans soaked and cooked
• ▢ 2 cups English Cucumber chopped into 1 inch cubes
• ▢ 1 cup Cherry tomatoes sliced or halved
• ▢ ½ cup Red onion thinly sliced
• ▢ ½ cup Kalamata olives (sliced) I used Greek variety
• ▢ 3 tbsp Parsley chopped finely
• ▢ 1 tbsp Za'atar Spice or Arabic spice blend optional

For the dressing

• ▢ 2 tbsp Olive oil
• ▢ 2 tbsp Lemon juice
• ▢ 1 tbsp Red wine vinegar
• ▢ to taste Salt
• ▢ 1 tsp Pepper
• ▢ 2 cloves Garlic minced
• ▢ ½ tsp Mustard powder

Instructions

• Start with chopping the vegetables and placing them in large mixing bowl.
• If using canned chickpeas, drain the chickpeas and rinse it well under running water. If using fresh chickpeas, soak the beans overnight and then cook it with salt until the chickpeas are tender and soft, but not mushy. I use my Instant Pot to cook the chickpeas. Soak them overnight and then change the soaking water and add fresh water along with a teaspoon of salt. Now set the Instant Pot in pressure cook mode on high and cook for 20 minutes. Let the pressure release after 10 minutes and drain the chickpeas and use it in the recipe.
• Add the drained / cooked chickpeas to the mixing bowl along with the rest of the vegetables.
• Add the Arabic spice or the za'atar spice to the bowl and give it a good toss.
• In a small bowl, add all the ingredients mentioned under the dressing and mix it well using a whisk. Keep aside.
• Now add the prepared dressing and mix it well to coat. Cover it with a plastic wrap and leave it in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
• Enjoy with some fresh bread or warm soup or as is!

Notes

Expert tips

• When cooking chickpeas make sure to add some salt. This way the chickpeas soaks the salt when cooking and does not taste bland.
• If Za'atar spice is not available, add any spice blend of your choice. I have even used Italian spice blend and it works great as well. To give it an Indian twist, we could add chat masala or cumin powder.
• When soaking and cooking fresh chickpeas, make extra and freeze it. This way we can have chickpeas ready to make this salad anytime we want.
• If you prefer spicy salad, add some cayenne chili powder or even finely chopped chilies to the salad.

Nutrition

Calories: 161kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 140mg | Potassium: 300mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 315IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 58mg | Iron: 3mg

Tried this recipe?Mention @Sandhya.Ramakrishnan or tag #MyCookingJourney!