Vegetarian Mediterranean Chickpea Salad

by Sandhya Hariharan - @sandhyaskitchen

This Mediterranean Chickpea Salad is a complete meal in itself, which is so satisfying and incredibly delicious. 

What’s more, it is not soggy like many other typical summer salads!

 This easy chickpea salad is a no-cook salad and can be made ahead.  Use tinned chickpeas for convenience and the salad is ready in just 15 minutes. 

 Chickpeas are tossed with tomatoes, cucumber, onion, feta cheese, and olives in a homemade salad dressing. The salad dressing is extremely light and fresh, made with olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, herbs, and seasoning.

This salad will last in the fridge for a couple of days, making it perfect for meal planning, barbecue parties, or even a refreshing lunch dish.

 Did I tell you, that this chickpea salad is versatile? Swap for your favourite beans like black beans or kidney beans instead.

Want to bulk the salad, add the pasta! Make it a Vegan Salad by simply leaving out the feta cheese.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 100g cucumber, sliced
• 100g olives - Kalamata olives and green olives
• 150g cherry tomatoes, sliced
• 150g feta cheese, cubed

For the dressing

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 red wine vinegar
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried basil
• Salt & Pepper to taste

 Toppings

• Fresh Basil leaves
• Fresh Oregano

 

Place the dressing ingredients into the salad shaker. Shake well until combined.

Add the salad ingredients along with the dressing to a bowl. Gently toss to combine.

Refrigerate at least one hour before serving. Garnish with plenty of herbs and enjoy!