If the flavors of the sunny Mediterranean are your go-to in summertime, this Mediterranean chickpea salad recipe (or garbanzo bean salad recipe, if you prefer; it’s the same legume) will tick all the right boxes. The mixture of creamy, high-protein chickpeas, olives, fresh sweet peppers and a flavorful vinaigrette adds up to more than the sum of its parts.
The salad is hearty enough to stand on its own as a meatless meal, or you can serve it as a side dish with your other summertime favorites. Okay, you might want to pick something else to go with chickpea burgers, but the salad is great with souvlaki, fish or just about anything grilled.
Ingredients for Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
- Chickpeas (garbanzos): Chickpeas are a staple across the entire Mediterranean region, where they’re valued for their creamy texture and high protein content.
- Sweet onion: The sweet onion still brings a distinct savory note to the salad, but it’s much milder than regular onions.
- Ripe olives: Like the chickpeas, black olives are a signature Mediterranean ingredient. Here they add their savory, briny flavor, and they also add to the salad’s visual appeal.
- Bell peppers: The sweet red and green bell peppers bring their fresh and subtly different flavors to the salad, and their bold red and green colors help make it beautiful.
- Celery: Celery adds crunch and moisture to salads, and a distinct flavor of its own. It also has the happy ability to bring out the flavors of the salad’s other ingredients.
- Parmesan cheese: Parmesan cheese brings the salad a concentrated cheese flavor and lots of savory umami notes.
- Olive oil: A vinaigrette needs both an oil component and an acidic component (usually vinegar). In any Mediterranean-themed salad, olive oil is the regionally appropriate choice for your oil.
- Balsamic vinegar: Balsamic vinegar is a fine choice for vinaigrettes, partly because it’s milder than most vinegars and partly because it has a pleasant sweetness that helps balance the acidity.
- Fresh parsley: Parsley is an underrated salad ingredient, perhaps because its own flavor isn’t as assertive as those of other herbs. Here its fresh green color and flavor add to the salad’s visual appeal, and to its nutritional value as well.
- Sugar: Although balsamic vinegar has a sweetness of its own, this relatively small quantity of added sugar keeps the vinaigrette from being too tart.
- Onion powder: The onion powder reinforces the savory note of the sweet onion and carries that onion flavor through the whole salad, thanks to the vinaigrette (you won’t necessarily get the sweet onion in every bite).
- Dried basil and oregano: Basil and oregano are two of the Mediterranean region’s signature herbs, and they help round out the flavors of the salad. Although both are relatively potent herbs, the quantities used here are small enough not to overwhelm the natural fresh flavors of the other ingredients.
Directions
Step 1: Assemble the salad
In a large serving bowl, combine the beans, onion, olives, peppers, celery and Parmesan cheese. Measure the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, parsley, sugar, onion powder, basil and oregano into a Mason jar or other jar with a tight-fitting lid, and shake them together vigorously to emulsify the vinaigrette. Pour the dressing over the chickpea mixture, and toss the salad until the beans and vegetables are well coated.
Mediterranean Chickpea Salad Variations
- Go green and gold: Our base recipe uses black olives, which are perfectly appropriate, but the Mediterranean region produces many other olive varieties. For an interesting variation on the theme, swap out the black olives for plump, green olives, and add a half-cup of orange segments. It changes the look of the salad, but it’s equally attractive and just as tasty.
- Take your salad to go: If your family is active and seldom sits down for meals, find a bakery that makes good Greek-style pita bread (the kind without a pocket). Instead of serving the salad in a bowl, lay a pita on a napkin and spoon a generous portion of salad over half the pita. Fold it into a taco shape, and wrap it with the napkin to help hold its shape while you eat.
- Double down on vegetables: Got a garden, or a really good farmers market nearby? If so, don’t stop at the bell peppers. Load up your serving bowl with a selection of fresh, seasonal vegetables, until you’re happy with the ratio of chickpeas to veggies (you may need to make more dressing). The end result should look something like this garden chickpea salad.
How to Store Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
Any uneaten salad can be refrigerated in its serving bowl or transferred to a smaller bowl, as necessary. In either case, the bowl should be covered to help preserve its freshness. Alternatively, transfer the salad into a large food storage container with a tight-fitting lid or several individual-size containers.
Can I make up this chickpea Mediterranean salad ahead of time?
With no tender greens to wilt, sturdy salads like this one are good candidates for advance preparation. In fact, sitting overnight gives the flavors of the vinaigrette an opportunity to mingle and mellow. The dressing will tend to pool in the bottom of your bowl, leaving some of the chickpeas dry, so toss the salad again before serving it.
How long will my Mediterranean chickpea salad last?
This salad has no especially delicate or perishable ingredients, so it can remain good for as long as four to five days in your refrigerator. The vegetables will eventually begin to soften, so looking at those will tell you when the salad is nearing the end of its useful life.
Can I freeze the Mediterranean chickpea salad?
Sadly, the completed salad doesn’t lend itself to freezing because the vegetables will become mushy and unpleasant. However, if you like to start with dried beans rather than canned, you can certainly cook the chickpeas ahead of time and freeze them in recipe-size portions. That way, you can thaw them any time to make a batch of salad, rather than opening a can.
Mediterranean Chickpea Salad Tips
Can I use dry chickpeas instead of canned?
You bet! Many cooks prefer the texture of dried beans, so if you have the time to prepare them, they’re a great option. A good rule of thumb is to allow about 3/4 cup of dried chickpeas for every 15-ounce can the recipe calls for, which in this case means you’ll need 1-1/2 cups, or about 1/2 pound, of chickpeas/garbanzos. Cook them however you prefer, whether that’s a long, slow simmer or a relatively quick trip through your Instant Pot or other pressure cooker.
Can I add more cheese? What would be appropriate?
If cheese is your thing, then by all means add some more. Feta’s an easy option, partly because it’s a good fit for the flavors that are already in the salad, and partly because it’s region-apropriate. Feta’s bright white also adds to the salad’s visual appeal. Pearl-sized bocconcini would be a good choice for similar reasons, though it brings a mild creaminess rather than feta’s salty kick. Soft goat cheese or labneh (balls of fresh yogurt cheese) offer interesting and appropriate flavors of their own.
Would other legumes work in this salad?
Nothing else has quite the same texture as chickpeas, but there are other options that would work well with these flavors and even be appropriate to the region. Cooked or canned favas are bigger and meatier than chickpeas, but they’d work. So would cannellini beans, and their white color would make the salad prettier. Even lentils are a good option, if less visually appealing than the larger beans.
