May 17, 2020

by Olena

Chickpea Salad

Name: Chickpea Salad
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 15 min
Cuisine: North American
Ingredients: 2 x 14 oz cans chickpeas, drained & rinsed; 1 long English cucumber, cut into bite size pieces; 3 medium tomatoes, cut into bite size pieces; 2 medium ripe avocados, diced; 1/4 cup red onion, diced; 1/2 cup parsley, dill or cilantro, finely chopped; 1 large lime or lemon, juice of; 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil; 1 tsp salt; Ground black pepper, to taste

avocadobeans and legumescucumbertomato

May 17, 2020

by Olena

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★★★★★

5 from 16 reviews

Chickpea Salad with tomatoes, cucumber, avocado and easy Mediterranean dressing. This protein packed salad takes only 15 minutes to make.

Ingredients are so simple, this healthy salad is affordable year round. 🙂

Chickpea Avocado Salad

This is the best chickpea salad recipe I ever made! It is super tasty and is based on traditional Ukrainian cucumber and tomato salad I grew up with, minus the garbanzo beans.

Juicy tomato, creamy avocado, crunchy cucumber and simple dressing with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and freshly cracked pepper.

Natural juices from tomato and cucumber are released as soon as you add salt, so you don’t need much oil. And red onion slices are big enough for kids to pick out and adults to enjoy.

This chickpea avocado salad is so filling, it can be lunch. Meal prep for a week, serve alongside grilled chicken breast or grilled salmon, bring to a potluck. Sprinkle with feta cheese. Possibilities are endless!

Ingredients You Will Need

Chickpeas known in the US and garbanzo beans known in Europe are legumes of yellow colour and round shape. That is what hummus is made of. Chickpeas are extremely high in protein and super good for you.

For this chickpea salad you have 2 options of garbanzo beans to use:

Canned: I recommend to buy organic low sodium chickpeas in BPA free cans. They are not cheap or always available. BPA has been proven to interfere with our hormones, cause cancer and fertility issues.
Cooked: A few years ago I learnt how to cook dried beans and now I make Instant Pot chickpeas. It is once in a few months time investment that I do for my family’s health and budget.
Cucumber and Tomato: Large or mini tomatoes work. When choosing large, best to pick not too soft fruit so it doesn’t leak too much. Also sharp knife helps a lot to cut through their skin. Cukes do not have to be seeded.
Avocado: Pick avocado with brown skin and slightly soft to the touch.
Red onion and fresh herbs: Red or white onion are sweet and less sharp than yellow. Any fresh herbs like parsley, cilantro, dill or basil will be great.

How to Make Chickpea Salad Recipe

Chop veggies: No matter the size of vegetables, make sure to chop them into bite size pieces a bit larger chickpeas’ size for the maximum flavour in every bite.
To dice avocado, using chef’s knife, cut avocado in half lengthwise. Hold half with a pit in one hand, gently tap sharp edge into the pit deep enough to twist the pit out, twist the knife and discard the pit. Remove with the spoon and dice.
Make dressing by whisking olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Combine everything and stir gently. I like to use metal spoon so it doesn’t make veggies mushy. Also do not stir too long.

How to Store and Make Ahead

You can make chickpea salad up to 1 day ahead.

Veggies: Add all ingredients except dressing and avocado to a salad bowl.
Make dressing.
Cover and refrigerate both until ready to serve, up to 1 day.
Dice avocado before serving and combine. You might have to warm up dressing to melt the oil.

Store leftovers for up to 1 day. Because there are no leafy greens, salad holds up well.

Pictured is grilled Fajita chicken with chickpea avocado salad and pita bread.

Variations, Substitutions and Serving

This salad is packed with plant-based protein, blood cleansing cilantro, vitamin C loaded tomatoes, heart healthy avocado and cancer fighting red onion. I’m selling it super hard to you, right?! I just want everyone to eat healthy. True fact. 🙂

You could add any leafy greens like kale, Romaine lettuce or spinach.
And of course a little bit of freshly grated garlic adds more oumph.
My aunt always added sliced radishes.
Add 1/4 cup crumbled feta but then reduce salt.
Toasted pine nuts make this salad more Mediterranean.
Add diced jalapeno and 1 tsp cumin for a Mexican twist.

Chickpea salad is perfect mid-summer when days are hot and garden is abundant. Use what you have.

To serve, pick one of my 5 easy chicken marinades and voila.

Enjoy! 🙂

More Bean Salad Recipes

Chickpea Salad

Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 16 reviews

Chickpea Salad with tomatoes, cucumber, avocado and easy Mediterranean dressing. This protein packed salad takes only 15 minutes to make.

Author: Olena of ifoodreal.com
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 8 servings 1x
Category: Salad
Method: No cook
Cuisine: North American

Scale

Ingredients

2 x 14 oz cans chickpeas, drained & rinsed
1 long English cucumber, cut into bite size pieces
3 medium tomatoes, cut into bite size pieces
2 medium ripe avocados, diced
1/4 cup red onion, diced
1/2 cup parsley, dill or cilantro, finely chopped
1 large lime or lemon, juice of
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp salt
Ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

In a large bowl, add chickpeas, cucumber, tomatoes, avocado, red onion and parsley.
In a small bowl, add olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and whisk.
Pour dressing over salad and gently stir to combine.
Serve cold on its own or with grilled chicken breast, grilled salmon or pick one of 5 easy chicken marinades and cook chicken.

Store: Refrigerate in an airtight glass container for up to 1 day.

Make Ahead: You can make this salad up to 1 day ahead. Refrigerate beans and veggies except avocado in a bowl and dressing in a jar. When ready to serve, dice avocado, warm up dressing to melt the oil and combine.

Notes

I cook my own chickpeas in Instant Pot. You can also cook beans and legumes on the stove.
If you are using canned chickpeas, I recommend to start with less salt and adjust to taste.
Use medium ripeness avocados and tomatoes (not too mushy), so they hold their shape better once mixed.
You could add any leafy greens like kale, Romaine lettuce or spinach.
And of course a little bit of freshly grated garlic adds more oumph.
My aunt always added sliced radishes.
Add 1/4 cup crumbled feta but then reduce salt.
Toasted pine nuts make this salad more Mediterranean.
Add diced jalapeno and 1 tsp cumin for a Mexican twist.

★ Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating in the comments.

avocadobeans and legumescucumbertomato

Hello and welcome to iFOODreal.

My name is Olena Osipov. I'm a mom to 2 boys and a wife to Alex. And this is our healthy family recipes blog. I grew up in Ukraine on real food. As an adult, I tried many diets without results. Now for over 10 years, I cook quick and easy healthy meals for my family. I can help you with “What’s for dinner?” too.

What You Will Find Here

Healthy family recipes with simple ingredients. Many are inspired by my Ukrainian heritage. I share mostly dinner recipes because it just never ends... I’m obsessed with healthy freezer meals. And more than in love with my Instant Pot.

A Little More About Me

Originally from Ukraine, I now reside on magic Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada with my family. I started this blog in 2012 when I ended up at home with 2 small kids unemployed and a wee bit chubby.

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