There are chickpea salads — the kind you find in the deli section of the supermarket with canned chickpeas, watery tomatoes, and a sad vinaigrette — and then there are chickpea salads.
This is definitely the latter.
What makes this chickpea salad worth your time is two things working together:
- A sizzled spiced garlic oil that the chickpeas marinate in, so they soak up flavor instead of just being plopped out of the can.
- A luscious whipped tahini sauce that you smear across the plate, then top with the marinated chickpeas, crunchy veggies, and herbs.
The result is a bright and fresh chickpea salad unlike anything you’ve ever had. Whip it up for weeknight dinners, pack it for lunch all week, or serve it to guests when you want something impressive without the effort — there’s no wrong way to make it.
Psst! If you’re looking for a chickpea salad that’s perfect in sandwiches, check out my Chickpea Salad Sandwich recipe!
☀️ So good, you’ll make it all summer long
With nearly 300k views, the video walkthrough of this recipe was a hit over on my YouTube channel! Check it out to see just how easily this chickpea salad comes together ⤵️
Ingredient notes
- Canned chickpeas. The best plant protein in a can. PS: if you love chickpeas as much as I do, check out my blog post on every way to use a can of chickpeas.
- Cucumbers and onions. For a fresh, crunchy contrast to the chewy, creamy chickpeas. Persian cucumbers are ideal, but a small English cucumber works too. We briefly soak the onions in ice water to mellow their pungency.
- Tahini. Whipped into a thick, creamy sauce that the chickpeas get piled on top of, it gives this dish a richness that puts it in a league of its own. Look for tahini made from hulled sesame seeds. I love Al Kanater and Al Arz, both smooth and creamy with minimal bitterness. Skip the crusty bottom-of-the-jar bits and avoid refrigerated tahini, which gets too thick to whisk easily.
- Fresh herbs. Mint and flat-leaf parsley complement the Middle Eastern flavors here. If you want to use just one, go with mint.
- Preserved lemons (optional). Find them pre-jarred at Middle Eastern grocers, online and at well-stocked grocery stores, or make preserved lemons at home. They add a tangy, citrusy funk you can’t get from regular lemons.
- Sumac (optional). A Middle Eastern spice that adds tart, fruity brightness. Find it at Middle Eastern grocers, online, or at spice shops (my fave is from Burlap and Barrel).
Customize and substitute:
Want to cook chickpeas from scratch? Use 8 ounces (227g) dried chickpeas. See my posts on how to cook bean on the stovetop on how to cook beans in the Instant Pot.
No cucumbers? Diced red bell peppers work.
No parsley? Sub with cilantro, or use all mint.
No preserved lemons or sumac? Bump up the lemon zest and juice. See the FAQ section and recipe card for amounts.
Step-by-step instructions
Make the spiced garlic oil: Heat the olive oil in your smallest saucepan, then add the cumin seeds and crushed coriander seeds. Stir very frequently for about 2 minutes or until a few shades darker and nutty in aroma.
Immediately pour the hot spiced oil over the minced garlic and chili flakes.
Let the mixture sizzle and stir to cover the garlic, then rest for 1 minute.
Pour the spiced garlic oil over the drained and rinsed chickpeas and toss to coat. Add the lemon juice, preserved lemon or lemon zest, and sumac, if using.
While the chickpeas marinate, make the tahini dressing: in a bowl, combine together the tahini, lemon juice, ice water, salt, and maple syrup, stirring with a fork until whipped and creamy.
Add the diced cucumbers, ice water-soaked onions, and roasted sesame seeds to the chickpea salad. Toss well to combine, adding salt and lemon juice to taste.
To serve: Schmear the tahini sauce across a plate or platter.
Add the chickpea salad on top. Garnish with the remaining parsley/mint, and a few sprinkles of sumac, Aleppo pepper, and flaky salt.
Riff and customize
While I love the original recipe as written, there are so many ways you can make this chickpea salad your own!
Stuffed pitas: Spoon some tahini sauce into pita halves, then stuff in the chickpea salad.
Grain bowls: Serve the chickpea salad over whatever cooked grains or rice you have in the fridge, then dollop everything with the tahini sauce.
Wraps: Thin out the tahini dressing a bit with lemon juice or water. Slather it across a lavash wrap, then spoon on some arugula and shaved fennel (or lettuce of choice and sliced red bell peppers). Top with the chickpea salad and roll up!
For more veggie action: Stir in another vegetable, such as halved cherry tomatoes, shaved fennel, shredded cabbage, or diced red/orange/yellow bell peppers.
For added protein: Stir a few tablespoons of hemp seeds into the chickpea salad when you add the sesame seeds.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sure! Make the chickpea salad BUT omit the fresh mint, as that will blacken after a day. Store the chickpea salad in the fridge for up to 5 days.
As for the tahini sauce, you can easily prep that ahead of time and store in a sealed jar. It will stay in the fridge for up to one week.
When it’s time to serve, if possible, let the chickpea salad come to room temperature so the flavors taste brightest. If the tahini sauce has thickened, just loosen it with a bit of water and/or lemon juice.
Definitely! If you prefer to cook chickpeas from scratch, soak 8 ounces (227g) of dried chickpeas overnight, then cook them until tender using your preferred cooking method.
This yields about 3 cups of cooked chickpeas, equivalent to two 15-ounce cans.
If you don’t have preserved lemons, you can just use more fresh lemon.
If not using preserved lemons: use 1 tablespoon of lemon zest (zest the lemon(s) before juicing!).
If not using the sumac: Taste the salad and add more lemon juice and zest plus salt to taste.
While these substitutes won’t replicate the exact flavor, they will still provide a delightful tanginess to the salad.
My preference is to schmear the tahini dressing onto a serving platter, spoon the chickpea salad on top and then finish with fresh mint and parsley, followed by a few sprinkles of Aleppo pepper, sumac, and flaky sea salt. It makes for a gorgeous presentation!
This dish is also quite versatile. It can be served as a main dish, a side, or even as a filling for wraps or pita pockets. It’s also wonderful served alongside your favorite cooked grain, like farro, rice, or quinoa.
For more veggie action, serve it over a bed of salad greens or alongside grilled vegetables.
Preserved lemons are one of my favorite ingredients! You can use them in pastas and pasta salads, dressings and vinaigrettes, tahini sauces and yogurt sauces, or even in a mocktail.
Check out my blog post for my ideas on how to use preserved lemons in recipes.
If you have my cookbook, Big Vegan Flavor, the preserved lemons recipe is also in there, along with several fun recipes. For my weekly salads, I rotate between the Preserved Lemon Vinaigrette on page 164 and my red wine vinaigrette.
Come summer, I love making the bright and fresh Preserved Lemon Salsa on page 184, as well as the Pearl Couscous & Chickpea Salad on page 323 (what can I say, I love chickpeas and preserved lemons)!.
More Middle Eastern-inspired recipes
- Classic Hummus & Roasted Red Pepper Hummus: You’ll never go back to store-bought hummus, I promise.
- Muhammara: The only dip I might like more than my homemade hummus 🤫
- Vegan Tagine with Chickpeas: A one-pot meal that’s warming, rich, and oh-so wholesome.
- Lemon Tahini Dressing: Meet the super versatile dressing that’s about to become your new favorite.
If you love this Mediterranean Chickpea Salad, please give the recipe a rating and review below! Your ratings and reviews are the most valuable feedback and they help other readers decide to make the recipe 🙂
Introducing
Big Vegan Flavor
Techniques and 150 recipes to master vegan cooking.
Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
Chickpeas
- 2 (15 oz / 425g) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed (see Note 1)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced, grated, or crushed with a press
- 2 teaspoons Aleppo pepper (or ½ tsp red pepper flakes)
- ¼ cup (56g) extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, lightly crushed (see Note 2)
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (see Note 2)
- 1 tablespoon preserved lemon, minced (or the zest of 1 lemon below / 1 TBSP zest)
- 2 medium lemons, juiced
- 1 tablespoon sumac, more for finishing (optional, see Note 3)
- Kosher salt
Finishing Ingredients
- 1 heaping cup (100g) thinly sliced red onion
- 4 Persian cucumbers (or ~10 oz / 285g English cucumber), diced
- ¼ cup (32g) roasted white sesame seeds
- ½ cup (8g) flat leaf parsley leaves and tender stems, chopped
- ½ cup (8g) fresh mint leaves, chopped
- ⅓ to ½ cup (75 to 112g) tahini, well-stirred (see Note 4)
- 3 to 4 tablespoons ice water
- ½ teaspoon pure maple syrup, more as needed
- A few pinches of flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Add the drained chickpeas to a large bowl. In a small bowl, combine the garlic and Aleppo pepper.
- Lightly crush the coriander seeds by either blitzing once or twice in a spice grinder; using a mortar and pestle; or crushing with the back of a sturdy mug.
- Toast the spices: Heat the olive oil in your smallest frying pan or saucepan over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add the crushed coriander and cumin seeds. Allow to sizzle and swirl the pan frequently to prevent burning. Cook for 2 minutes, or until the spices are a few shades darker and very aromatic. Immediately pour the hot oil over the garlic mixture and allow to sizzle. Stir, then let sit for 1 minute.
- Pour the infused oil over the chickpeas. Stir in the minced preserved lemon (or 1 TBSP lemon zest), 2 TBSP (30 mL) lemon juice, and sumac, if using. Season generously with salt and pepper (I use ~ 1 ½ tsp kosher salt). Set aside to marinate.
- Add the sliced red onion to a bowl of ice water (to mellow out the pungency). Soak for 10 minutes, then drain and pat dry.
- Tahini Dressing: In a bowl, combine the tahini, 3 TBSP (45 mL) ice water, 2 TBSP (30 mL) lemon juice, maple syrup, and ½ teaspoon kosher salt. Stir with a fork until thick and very creamy (I like mine spreadable and thick, but if using less tahini, it will be a bit thinner). Taste, adding lemon juice or salt to taste, or more maple syrup for sweetness.
- Add the diced cucumbers, drained onions, sesame seeds, and half of the chopped mint/parsley to the chickpea salad. Toss well to combine. Taste, adding more lemon juice or salt as desired.
- Schmear the Tahini Dressing onto the bottom of a shallow bowl or plate. Top with the chickpea salad and the remaining mint and parsley. Sprinkle the salad with a bit of sumac and Aleppo pepper and flaky sea salt to taste.
Notes
- If cooking dried chickpeas from scratch, use 8 oz / 227g chickpeas, then cook using your preferred method.
- If you don’t have whole cumin and coriander seeds, use ½ teaspoon each of ground cumin and ground coriander. Add to the oil in step 3 and stir constantly for just 20 to 30 seconds, then immediately remove from the heat.
- If not using sumac, you may want to buy another lemon and add more lemon zest and/or juice to taste.
- I prefer a thick and spreadable consistency for the tahini sauce, so I use the larger amount of tahini (½ cup / 112g). If you prefer a drizzleable consistency or want something lighter, use ⅓ cup (75g) tahini instead. If you end up with leftover tahini sauce, use it with any vegetables, grains, or legumes; or spread on toast.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Love this? Leave a rating below!
This salad is a flavourgasm. I added a red pepper and some cherry tomatoes but the sauce and seasonings were kept as instructed. It is DELISH. 😋
So good Nisha. The flavours just pop and that tahini sauce is delectable. I’ll be making this again for sure.
Such a great dish! I love how you maximize the flavor in your cooking. Between this blog and your cookbook you are changing the way I cook.
Warning: I did the oil in glass jar and it exploded, so definitely use a bowl!
Really yummy and exotic. I didnt have the sumac but will try it in the future. A great unique medly of flavors and good for you too!
amazing!! love this light dinner recipe!!
Thanks for the lovely feedback, Julia!
I love this! I subbed in pre made chili oil!
Sounds tasty, Viveka!
Just soooooo delicious with many vibrant tastes in one mouthful!!! Every recipe is a star Nisha!
Your review made our day, Mary! Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and for trying out the recipe.
Love the recipe. Especially the chili oil. It’s so good.
Hi Pern, thank you so much for your kind review!
I bought a bunch of fresh herbs at the beginning of the week for various Rainbow Plant Life recipes and by the time I made this recipe I only had basil left, so that’s what I used and it came out great. I was able to get away with a lot less oil, less than 1 tbsp I’d say, and it was perfect for my tastes. I mixed the dressing into the salad and even stirred in the basil too before reading that wasn’t the best way to store it for meal prep! Oops! But I am happy to report it tastes great the next day and the basil didn’t blacken like mint might have. Like most people said so much better than I could have imagined! Excellent recipe, thank you! I served it kind of like a fattoush salad, tossed with pita chips, spring greens mix, cucumber, tomato, avocado and sauerkraut.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience, April. It’s great to hear you’re a fan of the chickpea salad 🙂