Chickpea Avocado Salad with tomatoes, cucumber and easy Mediterranean dressing. This protein packed garbanzo bean salad is ready in 15 minutes!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This chickpea avocado salad is super tasty and is based on traditional Ukrainian cucumber and tomato salad I grew up with, plus the chickpeas.
It definitely has Mediterranean flare to it and is vegan, gluten-free and high in fiber. It’s full of flavor, great salad to meal prep and enjoy all week, or bring to picnics and pool parties.
Reader’s Review
I think this was the best recipe I found for a chickpea salad! I added quinoa, and added red wine vinegar to the dressing, and the proportions of chickpeas to tomatoes and cucumber and onion are perfect.
Amara
Ingredients for Chickpea Avocado Salad
- Chickpeas: I recommend to buy low sodium chickpeas in BPA free cans or cook your own chickpeas in Instant Pot.
- Cucumber: Cukes can be seeded or not, cut into bite sized pieces.
- Tomato: Large or small tomatoes work. When choosing large tomatoes, best to pick not too soft fruit, so it doesn’t leak too much.
- Avocado: Pick ripe avocados with brown skin and slightly soft to the touch.
- Red onion: My preference is for red onion or white onion because it’s sweet and less sharp than yellow onion.
- Fresh herbs: Any fresh herbs like fresh parsley, fresh cilantro, fresh dill or fresh basil will be great.
- Simple dressing: Olive oil, fresh lime juice or lemon juice, salt and pepper.
How to Make Chickpea Avocado Salad
Here is a quick overview how to make it. Full recipe card is located below.
- Chop veggies: No matter the size of vegetables, make sure to chop them into bite-sized pieces a bit larger chickpeas’ size for the maximum flavor in every bite.
- 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 the avocado.
- Make salad dressing by whisking olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a small bowl.
- Combine everything and stir gently. I like to use metal spoon so it doesn’t make chickpea salad with avocado mushy. Also, do not stir too long.
Tips for Best Results
- If using not low sodium chickpeas: Don’t add salt but rather adjust after tasting at the end.
- Dress just before serving: Natural juices from tomato and cucumber are released as soon as you add salt, so it’s best to add salad dressing right before enjoying.
- If not everyone loves the onions: Slice red onion in larger pieces or just big enough for kids to pick out and adults to enjoy.
- Ripeness of avocado matters: Look for a ripe but firm avocado to avoid it becoming mushy when tossed with the salad ingredients.
Variations
- Leafy greens: You could add chopped kale, romaine lettuce or spinach.
- Ukrainian flare: My aunt always added sliced radishes. And of course, a little bit of freshly grated garlic adds more oumph.
- More Mediterranean: Add 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese but then reduce salt. Use block of feta for the best texture. Toasted pine nuts make this salad more Mediterranean too.
- Mexican twist: Use lime juice in the dressing, then add diced jalapeno and 1 teaspoon cumin.
- More protein: Grilled chicken breast or air fryer shrimp would be a great addition.
Serving Ideas
Garlic Butter Steak Bites
Greek Chicken Kabobs with Easy Marinade
Chicken Meatballs Recipe
Sirloin Tip Steak
How to Store
Store: Store leftovers for up to 1 day. Because there are no leafy greens like in lettuce salad, chickpea avocado salad holds up well. Do not freeze.
Make ahead: Add all ingredients, except dressing and avocado, to a salad bowl. Cover and refrigerate both until ready to serve, up to 1 day.
Before serving, add avocado and dressing, toss and serve. You might have to warm up the dressing to melt the oil.
More Salad Recipes You’ll Love
- Mediterranean chickpea salad
- Avocado corn salad
- Avocado salad
- Chickpea tuna salad
- Dense bean salad
- Spinach avocado salad
Chickpea Avocado Salad
Ingredients
- 2 x 14 ounce cans low sodium chickpeas, drained & rinsed
- 1 long English cucumber, cut into bite size pieces
- 3 medium tomatoes, cut into bite size pieces
- 2 medium 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 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon 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 any protein and side dish.
Notes
- 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.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Holy cow lady! I have spent a lot of time reading your recipes and have found them super interesting, hilarious, and relaxing. I was visiting my bro and pa in Vancouver and I googled healthy blueberry loaf. (I am from Manitoba) I have recently broken my leg badly and reading your site has been good for my soul and excellent to stock up my mind with inspiration for when I am more mobile.
I read your Ukrainian tomato ‘relish’ recipe at one point, but I am having difficulty locating it again. Where can I find it?
Many thanks
Hey girl. It’s is called Adjika. Search for it on the blog. Hope you feel better soon!!!
Super easy – and so delicious. Thank You.
You are so welcome, Annette! I’m making this salad with nutritional greens today.
Ahh mazing!! Just made this today… so refreshing! Thanks Olena for sharing all your wonderful, healthy & simple to make recipes! Enjoying your blog/site very much – so have people with whom I’ve shared your site with!! You make cooking fun!!
Hi Tricia. So happy to hear!!! And thank you so much for sharing the recipes and making our world healthier.:)
Delicious! Fresh, healthy ingredients combine to create amazing flavors and textures. I used mostly cilantro but had picked some fresh parsley from my mom’s yard so I chopped that up and threw it in too – so many beautiful, summer flavors together in one salad. I commented yesterday on the spinach strawberry salad that I added cubed chicken to fuel my husband’s meat preference and I used the other half of that cubed chicken (boneless skinless tenders baked in the oven with EVOO, fresh garlic, salt, pepper, and little hot chili powder) in this salad today.
You are quite on a salad kick, Kandi.:) Me too, with all this heat…
Lookin’ good!
Perfect response – we need to learn, at least myself I had to do this, how to just eat real food and trust that our bodies will get what they need. Go to Europe, most people will not even think about what kind of nutrition they need and how to calculate the food. They eat a steak because it tastes delicious, not to get a certain amount of protein. Since I stopped being aware of nutrition/calories, weight has gone done to my surprise. I recommend watching “In the defence of food” on netflix. Thank you Olena for being so clear. You are one of the leaders of this movement.
I have fallen a victim of the North American way to analyze our diets “under the microscope” and it has done nothing but bad things to my self esteem and life. So I will propagande against any type of diet for now. Thank you for sharing your voice!!!
Do you have the nutrition info posted regarding this recipe? I have seen it at the bottom on some of your others, but I can’t find it for the Chickpea Avocado Salad. Thanks!
Sorry, I don’t.
I wish you’d post the nutritional facts about recipes. I hesitate to try them without those as I watch both my fat and carb intake.
I stopped counting calories because they don’t mater if you eat healthy and real food. I have struggled so many years calculating and overthinking food which led me to a very unhappy place. I do not post calories to lead by example and to encourage mindful intuitive and healthy eating which should not lead to any overweight issues. I proved it myself once I stopped counting and am much happier person now. My mission is to make more women happy because so many of them are suffering and struggling. So no calories.:) I hope you try this delicious salad, it’s so good and healthy you can eat until you get sick of it and nothing will happen to your fat deposits, trust me.
I total agree.I’m trying to eat healthy as a way of life,not a diet of calorie counting and worrying.eat fresh,real foods and you’ll be ok.I’m making this salad today!Thanks again Olena
Very welcome, Shirley.:) Enjoy! Great time of the year for it.
Hii
I want to make this salad in my fireless cooking competition
Great!
I could eat this every day, so fresh!!
I agree.
I know you said wait to add salt, pepper and lemon juice until just before serving if I make this a day early but can I at least add the lemon juice to keep the avocados from turning brown? Thanks for the recipe!
Yes you can. It is mostly the salt that draws moisture from vegetables and makes salad soggy overnight.
This has to be the best salad creation I have ever had. In addition, its a great way to get rid of the things that spoiling in the refrigerator. I have made this recipe multiple times and its always a hit! I cant thank you enough for turning my life around and making me realize that healthy could also be delicious!
You are welcome! That is how we cook – use up what you have and anything goes in this salad. A bit of oil, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper will make any salad delicious. My staple “dressing” LOL
So if I am making this salad a day ahead of time do I add the oil and salt before I store it for the night or right before I eat it.
You add salt, pepper and oil right before you eat it. Store just chopped veggies.:)