Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
Aug 08, 2018
Quick and easy Mediterranean Chickpea Salad is full of flavors and great for meal-prep. It's nutritious, gluten-free and good for you!
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One of my favorite summer salads, this Mediterranean Chickpea Salad has lots of flavors, is super easy to make and good for you!
It has always been hard for me understand the weather here. One moment it’s super grey and cold and the next day it’s so hot that we need to turn on the air conditioner. It was never like this in Delhi. When it was hot, it was hot and there was never a respite until of course it rained during monsoons.
But this is Seattle and always unpredictable when it comes to weather. It has been hot this week (after few cold days last week) and when it gets that hot, I feel like eating only salad. First of all they are light on my stomach and don’t make me feel all heavy and bloated.
Second, I don’t have to turn on my stove to make a salad! Isn’t that the hardest part about summer? When it’s already hot, the last thing you want to do is turn on your gas. I mean I still do turn it on, there isn’t really a choice but if I can skip doing it for meal, I would gladly do it.
So these days for lunch, it’s always a quick salad. Some days it’s the Black Bean & Corn Salad while other days it is this Mediterranean Chickpea Salad.
I love Mediterranean food. It’s so rich in flavors, and the fact that it is so vegetarian friendly makes it one of my top favorite cuisines. There’s this little Mediterranean restaurant around here and we go there at least once a week.
Other than their lentil soup which I love, I also adore their salads. The other day I got inspired from their salads and made this Mediterranean Chickpea Salad. Actually they don’t have a chickpea salad but I thought it would be nice to add some chickpea to make more nutritious.
This Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
✓ gets done in 15 minutes!
✓ packed with protein rich chickpea & nutritious veggies
✓ great for lunch-boxes or meal-prep
✓ can be made vegan by skipping the cheese
I used a super simple dressing for this salad, just some olive oil, lemon juice, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper. I also added a touch of sumac but if you can’t find it, that’s okay. You can skip it, no big deal.
You can also add several other things to your dressing like garlic powder, onion powder or even red chili flakes to spice it up.
If you want your salad to taste a little sweet, you may also add a touch of honey or maple syrup. I did not add any.
TIP: for the best results, cover and refrigerate the salad for 30 minutes for the flavor to inter-mix. I personally enjoy this salad cold. It’s also a great salad for meal-prep.
Hope you guys like this easy and delicious Mediterranean Chickpea Salad Recipe! Here’s how you make it.
Method
To a large bowl add chickpeas, chopped red onion, diced peppers, diced cucumber and olives. Set it aside.
To a small bowl or measuring jar, add olive oil, lemon juice, dried oregano, smoked paprika, ground sumac, black pepper and salt. Whisk to combine.
Pour dressing over the bowl of salad and toss to combine. At this point, you may cover and refrigerate the salad for 30 minutes for the flavors to combine.
Add crumbled feta cheese and parsley and serve immediately!
This Mediterranean Chickpea Salad keeps well in the refrigerator for few days. If I am making this salad for meal-prep, I would probably not add the cheese while storing it. Add the cheese at the time you are going to eat it and enjoy!
If you’ve tried this Mediterranean Chickpea Salad Recipe then don’t forget to rate the recipe! You can also follow me on Facebook and Instagram to see what’s latest in my kitchen!
Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
- 15 oz can chickpeas rinsed & drained, or use 1.5 cups boiled chickpeas
- 1/2 large red onion chopped
- 1 medium red bell pepper diced
- 1 medium green bell pepper diced
- 1/2 medium cucumber diced
- 1/3 cup black olive sliced
- 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Dressing
- 1 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/2- 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano or to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon ground sumac
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper or to taste
- salt to taste
Instructions
- To a large bowl add chickpeas, chopped red onion, diced peppers, diced cucumber and olives. Set it aside.
- To a small bowl or measuring jar, add olive oil, lemon juice, dried oregano, smoked paprika, ground sumac, black pepper and salt. Whisk to combine.
- Pour dressing over the bowl of salad and toss to combine. At this point, you may cover and refrigerate the salad for 30 minutes for the flavors to combine.
- Add crumbled feta cheese and chopped parsley and serve immediately!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What is sumac?
It’s a spice commonly used in Mediterranean cuisine..has a tart flavor!
Just going to binge all these recipes
Looks very yummy and makes a perfect lunch for me!