This Mediterranean chickpea salad is made simply with garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas), tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, artichokes, feta cheese, olive oil and spices. It’s great in a pita, on a pizza or on it’s own for filling and delicious plant-based meal.

Greek food is one of my absolute favorites. I’m always down for a greek salad or Greek lemon rice soup! We live pretty close to Greek town here in Chicago, and find ourselves at our favorite spot nearly every week getting the same order of a greek chicken salad and soup. They are both so fresh and and delicious every time.

My love Greek salad and flavors was the inspiration for this Mediterranean chickpea salad. The flavors are so bright and come together so nicely for a fun, lettuce-free salad that is totally customizable based on what you have in your fridge and pantry too.

This chickpea salad recipe:

has plant-based protein from the chickpeas
contains fiber from the veggies & chickpeas
works on a gluten and dairy free diet (omit the feta cheese to make this recipe dairy free)
can be customized with the veggies that you like best or have on hand
tastes great the next day too when all of the flavor have married together

Chickpeas are so hot right now — from chickpea pasta, to chickpea snacks. Are you of them fan too?! These beans are packed with protein, and fiber and super versatile so I’m here to say the hype is totally justified!

Mediterranean chickpea salad ingredients

ingredients for Mediterranean chickpea salad

chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans)
cherry tomatoes
pitted olives
cucumber
jarred/canned artichokes
red onion (optional)
baby carrots (optional)
hearts of palm (optional)
avocado (optional)
feta cheese
red wine/balsamic vinegar
olive oil
lemon juice
oregano
garlic powder
salt and pepper

how to make this chickpea salad

Putting this salad together is super simple, you simply drain and rinse a can of chickpea, chop, dice and add all the veggies. Toss together and add cheese, olive oil, vinegar, Italian seasonings and mix so that all of the ingredients are covered in oil. Refrigerate, and enjoy!

different ways to eat this Mediterranean chickpea salad

as is, with a fork! Add romaine lettuce if desired.
on top of a pizza. May I suggest this gluten and dairy free one from Simple Mills, and also like this one that you can find in the frozen section.
in a pita or a wrap. This salad makes for a perfect plant-based lunch. I like adding it to a sprouted wrap

healthy greek salad with roasted chickpeas

how to make crunchy chickpeas

One way to take this salad up a notch and to snack on chickpeas on there own is to roast them until crispy. Crispy chickpeas are a great fiber and protein filled snack that are fun to add to a trail mix, top a salad with or even use on top of a pizza (yes, it’s good!).

So how do you get chickpeas crispy? The trick is to remove as many of the skins/outer layer of the chickpea as possible and make sure they are very dry before tossing in avocado oil which is better for high heat cooking vs. olive oil. Then, bake at 415 degrees for about 20 minutes flipping halfway through.

Once you’ve mastered this you can get creative by adding other spice and herbs like Italian seasonings, paprika, everything but the bagel seasoning and more!