Chopped Greek Chickpea Salad

Ingredient notes

For the salad

• cooked chickpeas - Use canned chickpeas or make Instant Pot chickpeas with dried chickpeas.
• english cucumber - These have soft, edible skin, but any variety can be used and peeled, if needed.
• cherry tomatoes - Or any variety tomato will work.
• red onion - Slice these to your liking (I prefer super thin).
• red bell pepper - Any variety of bell peppers will work.
• pitted kalamata olives - An essential ingredient for any Greek salad.
• feta cheese - Use block feta or crumbled feta.

For the Greek dressing

This is a very standard ingredient combination for Greek salad dressing with a perfectly balanced blend of acid, fat, and heat. Feel free to customize it to your liking!

• red wine vinegar - Or other vinegar can be used.
• lemon juice - Freshly squeezed lemon juice is always recommended.
• Dijon mustard - Adds a hint of spice to dressing and acts as a binder.
• extra virgin olive oil - Only the best oil for the best Greek chickpea salad.
• oregano - Can be fresh or dried.
• sea salt and black pepper - to taste

How to make chopped chickpea salad

Place chickpeas, cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, onion, olives, parsley, and feta in a large bowl and cover until ready to serve. I like to leave the feta cheese whole until it’s time to serve, then I crumble before adding dressing.

To make the dressing, combine lemon juice, vinegar, Dijon, and oregano in a mixing bowl. Drizzle olive oil into the mixture and whisk until creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, add Greek dressing to salad. Toss to combine. Devour!

Recipe tips

• There's no added sugar in this Greek chickpea salad recipe, but if you want a touch of sweetness, feel free to add 1 teaspoon of honey to the Greek dressing.
• Add salt very sparingly (if at all) – You may not need to add any salt to the Greek dressing since the chickpeas, olives, and feta have high enough sodium content to flavor this salad.
• When mixing Greek dressing ingredients, feel free to adjust vinegar or olive oil amounts and dial in your sweet spot for the acid to fat ratio. Everyone's palate is different.
• To make ahead, chop all chickpea salad components and mix the Greek dressing up to 2 days in advance. Store salad ingredients separate from the dressing.
• Dress chickpea salad as close to serving as possible for optimal freshness.
• Add other fresh herbs to this salad or to the dressing, including fresh dill, oregano, chives, basil – the sky's the limit!
• If you don't have chickpeas, you can substitute just about any kind of white beans.

Why we love chickpeas in salad

If you're familiar with chickpeas, then you already know how versatile and easy they are to use and how delicious they are. They're also widely available, nutrient dense, and budget-friendly. It's so convenient to pop open a can of chickpeas for Greek salad and they add a nutty, sweet flavor. You can even make hands-free Instant Pot chickpeas with dried garbanzo beans and save even more money. Make them ahead and use just like canned chickpeas.

Do I need special equipment to make chopped Greek salad?

No. The beauty of this chickpea salad is that no appliances are needed, just the basics – a chef knife, cutting board, can opener, and salad serving bowl. The simple Greek dressing only requires a small mixing bowl or mason jar and a whisk or fork.