This Greek chickpea salad has chopped tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, red onion, feta cheese, and of course, chickpeas. There’s a simple olive oil and lemon dressing, and the whole salad takes less than 20 minutes to whip up. 
I have a thing for Greek salads. As in, I’ve eaten seven of them in the past seven days. Most of them have been at restaurants, like I’m some kind of restaurant critic on a quest to find the best Greek salad in the city. Although that would be a fun job, I’m just a girl who really likes Greek salads, staying for the summer with my grandparents who happen to like going out to eat.
As delicious as some of those restaurant Greek salads have been, though, this homemade Greek chickpea salad may be even better because by making it myself, I can ensure that there’s a perfect topping : lettuce ratio. The toppings are the best part, so I definitely don’t skimp on those. 
On the first day I made this Greek chickpea salad, I enjoyed it over mixed greens. The next day, I had it all by itself for lunch, no lettuce, with just some fruit on the side.
The most time consuming part of making the salad is chopping all of the veggies, but I turned on my favorite music while I chopped and time flew by. All in all, the whole salad came together in just under 20 minutes, and chopping took maybe 15 of those minutes. 
I found that using half of a bell pepper and half of a red onion worked best, which leaves some leftover veggie halves. I try to always come up with a way to use leftover veggies as soon as possible since I don’t like wasting produce, so after I made the chickpea Greek salad, I sautéed the extra pepper and red onion to use in omelets. Another option would be to double this recipe to avoid the leftover veggie “problem.”
Anyway, this would be a great thing to pack for a vegetarian lunch, bring to a neighborhood cookout, or enjoy at home to get your Greek salad fix. You could add olives, roasted eggplant or brussels sprouts, change up the dressing, add other spices– the possible adaptations are endless!
If you try out the recipe, feel free to let me know in a comment or take a picture and tag me @livbane on Instagram. Hope you enjoy!
- 1 15 oz. can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 large tomato, chopped
- 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
- 1/2 red OR yellow OR orange bell pepper, chopped
- 1 small cucumber, chopped
- 1/2 red onion, finely chopped
- optional: 1/3 cup chopped black olives
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon dried or 1 tablespoon fresh oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried or 1 tablespoon fresh parsley
- salt and lots of black pepper, to taste
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
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Combine chickpeas, chopped bell pepper, red onion, tomato, cucumber, optional olives, and garlic in a large bowl. Add olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, parsley, and salt and pepper, and stir well.
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If serving immediately, add feta cheese and stir very gently just before serving. If serving later, place salad in refrigerator for up to 4 hours and add feta cheese just before serving, stirring gently to combine.
This looks pretty delicious Liv. I never really go for greek salads because I can’t stand olives. And if you take out the olives can you really call it a greek salad 😉 haha
Megan recently posted…4 secrets to avoiding disappointment
I always take out the olives, too, which is a-okay! I think the feta, tomato, cucumber, and olive oil dressing make it enough of a Greek salad, although it may not be quite as authentic 🙂
Love the shot of all the chopped veggies! And toppings > lettuce. Haha I think I usually go for a 4:1 ratio, at least.
Ellen @ My Uncommon Everyday recently posted…(Paleo) Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
The worst is when there aren’t many and after a few bites, you end up eating a big bowl of just lettuce!
This looks so good Liv! So colorful too. I love chickpeas and feta on salads! So so good. 🙂 Have a great day girl!
Thanks, Alyssa! The more colors, the better, right? Hope you have a great day, too!
I love chickpeas, and greek salads! Give me all the pepperoncinis lol
Yum! This looks great–I love chickpeas. I also love the picture of the rainbow of veggies on your cutting board. 😀 I never really mind taking time to chop a lot of vegetables. It actually feels pretty therapeutic most of the time!
Claire @ My Pink & Green Life recently posted…Travel: Camping at Lake Maria State Park
I agree! Especially if I’m not in a hurry while I’m cooking, chopping veggies does feel almost therapeutic!
Mmm I need to find a good vegan feta cheese 🙂
Ellie recently posted…Feeling bleh and my emotional hunger
You’ll have to let me know if you find one- I’m curious, too!
Liv! These photos (heart eyes emoji)!
I am the same with Greek salad – i can’t get enough of it. I especially love the olives + feta cheese combo. But i love that you added chickpeas for some protein because that’s my single complaint about it. Pinning this!
Beverley @ Born to Sweat recently posted…The Kettlebell Workout You Can Do In Under 30 Minutes
The chickpeas seem to go perfectly in Greek salad! Thanks for pinning, Beverley!
Greek salads forevaaa! I love topping mine with tuna salad, but chick peas would be a fun way to switch it up!
Kate recently posted…Life at diabetes camp as a dietary intern
Tuna salad sounds like a great way to up the protein!
this looks amazing! I love chickpeas and greek salad so i know i will LOVE this!
rachel @ Athletic Avocado recently posted…Burrito bowl Stuffed Peppers {Paleo, Vegan + Whole 30 Options!}
A perfect match!
Just stumbled upon your blog through Alison’s! Love it:) Chickpeas have been SO good lately, I’ll have to try this. So fresh for summer, too!
Hey Colby! Nice to “meet” you. I’ll head over to check out your blog, too!
I love greek salads! Extra olives and feta for me please 🙂
Diana @ Live Lean Eat Green recently posted…5 Things You HAVE To Do In The Pacific Northwest!
This is a great idea – combine tasty Greek salad with something more substantial like chickpeas. Will have to try it!
Elissa recently posted…Blueberry and coconut chia pudding with blueberry cashew cream
Thanks, Elissa! Hope you get a chance to try it!
Just found your recipes when I was searching for healthy baked apple recipe for my son. This salad looks really delicious. I’m a Greek food lover as well. I’m also super impressed that you cook all this delicious food in a dorm! Amazing. Keep up your amazing dedication to healthy food.
Oh so glad you found my site! Thanks so much for your kind words and hope you get a chance to try my skillet “baked” apples. I’m at home for a few days during my spring break this week and my family requested a batch of those apples already!
where’s the tomatoes and olives??