If you love a good falafel and hummus plate but want something lighter, fresher, and easier (and SO good), this Mediterranean Chickpea Salad with Whipped Tahini is about to become your new favorite. It’s got all the familiar flavors and textures you love but in a breezy package with minimal cooking.
Chickpeas are briefly marinated in a punchy spiced garlic oil with lots of lemon, then paired with crunchy cucumbers, fresh herbs, nutty sesame seeds. It’s all plated across a bed of creamy whipped tahini for the perfect balance of wholesome and indulgence.
Easy enough to whip up for a weeknight dinner or to meal prep, but impressive enough to serve for guests (without trying too hard). Bonus: it’s vegan, gluten-free, nut-free, soy-free, pantry-friendly, and stays delicious for days.
Table of Contents:
1. Why you’ll love this recipe
2. Ingredient notes
3. Step-by-step Instructions
4. Tips for making this recipe
5. Frequently Asked Questions
6. Recipe card with notes
Why you’ll love this recipe
A true flavor bomb.
This is not your basic chickpea salad featuring canned chickpeas, tomatoes, and red wine vinaigrette. This is the kind of salad that’ll make your tastebuds sing.
An infused oil featuring garlic and spices, lots of lemon, and fresh herbs turn humble canned chickpeas into a bright, zesty flavor explosion of Middle Eastern flavors. You won’t be able to put down your fork!
Gourmet but pantry friendly and minimal cooking
Despite feeling gourmet, you can whip up this killer salad with mostly pantry staples—canned chickpeas, tahini, lemon, garlic, some spices, and olive oil.
Feel free to take this dish to the next level by adding the optional preserved lemon and sumac, but don’t sweat it if you don’t have those—this salad is still delicious without them!
Bonus: the super quick infused oil is the only cooking required (just a couple minutes), making this dish a hot summer day’s dream.
Super versatile
The beauty of this salad, aside from its flavor, is its versatility. It’s easy enough to make for a weeknight dinner or to meal prep for lunches during the week, but also beautiful and fancy enough to serve at your next dinner party or al fresco get-together.
The salad stays good for up to 5 days, and the whipped tahini lasts a week, making it a true MVP for busy days.
Ingredient notes
Canned Chickpeas
Chickpeas are the best plant protein you can find in a can, and they make the base of so many great meatless dishes: tacos, soup, and even buffalo quesadillas.
Tip: If you really want to go all out, cook the chickpeas from scratch! Use 8 ounces (227g) of dried chickpeas. Cook them ahead of time using your Instant Pot or on the stove.
For Instant Pot instructions, check out the bean cook time chart in the Introduction of my first cookbook, The Vegan Instant Pot Cookbook or check out my post on how to cook beans in the instant pot.
Spiced Garlic Oil
Instead of your standard oil + vinegar vinaigrette, this chickpea salad takes things up a notch with an infused oil.
Whole cumin and coriander seeds are toasted in olive oil, then the hot oil is poured over minced garlic and chili flakes.
The infused oil is the only cooking involved in the recipe, and it is so worth it for many reasons:
- Toasting spices brings out their nutty aromas and flavors, especially when you toast them in oil (since spices are fat-soluble)
- Pouring hot oil over garlic cuts through the raw bite of garlic
- Garlic and chili flakes also have fat-soluble compounds, so they taste even better when lightly cooked by the hot oil
- The flavor of the spices, garlic, and chili flakes infuse into the oil, which becomes the base of the chickpea salad dressing.
This is the same (very fun) technique I use in my (extremely delicious) chili garlic noodles and garlic peanut noodles.
Substitutes: I use Aleppo pepper, which is a mild and fruity-flavored chili flake originally from Syria (affiliate link). If you don’t have it, you can use red pepper flakes; they are much spicier though, so use just ½ teaspoon instead of 2 teaspoons.
If you don’t have whole cumin or whole coriander seeds, use ½ teaspoon pre-ground cumin and ½ teaspoon pre-ground coriander. Toast them in the oil for just 20 to 30 seconds, stirring constantly to prevent burning.
Lemon (and optionally preserved lemons & sumac)
To balance the richness of the spiced oil and to perk up ordinarily drab canned chickpeas, we need a lot of brightness and acidity.
This recipe relies on three ingredients for a bright and complex acidity: (1) freshly squeezed lemon juice; (2) preserved lemons; and (3) sumac.
Substitutes: If you don’t have preserved lemons or sumac, not to worry; you can just use fresh lemon zest and extra lemon juice. Instructions are in the recipe card and in the FAQ section
But, if you want to take this recipe over the top, I recommend seeking out preserved lemons and sumac.
Preserved lemons are just lemons that have been fermented in their own lemon juice and salt. You can make them yourself—I have a detailed blog post on how to make preserved lemons (it does take 3 weeks to ferment so you plan accordingly)—or you can buy them at Middle Eastern grocery stores, online (affiliate link), or specialty grocery stores (my local Whole Foods sells them).
Sumac is a fun spice used in Middle Eastern cooking that’s mouthpuckeringly tart but also fruity. It offers a more complex acidity than lemon juice but without the liquid. You can buy sumac at Middle Eastern grocery stores, online, or specialty grocery stores, spice shops (my favorite one, unsurprisingly, is from Burlap and Barrel) (affiliate links).
Cucumbers and Onions
To contrast with the chewy, creamy chickpeas, this salad adds diced cucumbers and crisp red onion for a nice fresh crunch.
I prefer Persian cucumbers as they tend to be the crunchiest and sweetest; you can find them at many grocery stores these days or at your local farmers market in summer.
To prevent the onion from overpowering the salad, I briefly soak it in ice water, which tones down its pungency. The result? A refreshing crunch and a mild onion flavor.
Substitutes: Use a small or medium English cucumber in place of Persian cucumbers. If you’re not a fan of raw onion in salad, you can simply omit it (or replace it with diced red bell peppers).
Tahini (and sesame seeds)
Tahini—a creamy paste made from ground sesame seeds—often gets pigeonholed as that thing you need to make hummus but it has so many applications in plant-based cooking.
It transforms a simple tofu scramble into something gourmet, lends chickpea curry a nutty indulgence, and can even be used as the base of a sauce (have you tried my tahini pasta or baked sweet potatoes yet??).
Here, we’re making a whipped tahini dressing that we’ll use to plate the chickpea salad. The dressing couldn’t be simpler—all you do is stir together tahini with ice water, more lemon juice, salt, and a touch of maple syrup.
The tahini dressing adds a lovely creamy and rich base for the chickpeas, and also makes it more filling.
Fresh herbs
Fresh herbs are the ideal finishing touch to nearly any warm weather salad. They add lightness, flavor, and pop. To complement the Middle Eastern flavors, I use fresh mint and flat-leaf parsley.
If you want to use just one herb, use mint—it’s fabulous here! Not a fan of parsley? Omit or use cilantro.
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.
Tips for making this recipe
It’s all about the lemons!
A fair amount of lemon goes into this recipe, so be sure to have enough lemons. I typically use up to 5 tablespoons of lemon juice, so you’ll want at least two juicy lemons on hand.
Toast the spices carefully
In the spiced infused oil, you briefly toast cumin and coriander seeds in hot oil until aromatic.
Depending on the type of pan you’re using and the power of your burner, the spices might cook more quickly than the time listed in the instructions, so rely on your senses rather than the suggested cook time.
Once the spices have darkened by a few shades and smell nutty, remove the pan from the heat and pour the hot oil over the garlic and chili flakes.
If you have a thermometer, the oil should be around 325ºF/163ºC to 350ºF/175ºC.
If the spices burn, they will taste bitter, so start the toasting process again with a fresh batch.
Tips for using tahini
Whenever using tahini, whether for a pasta salad, potato salad, or hummus, I always recommend using tahini made from hulled sesame seeds, as tahini from unhulled sesame seeds is bitter.
Lately, I have been loving the Al Kanater tahini, which has a creamy, smooth consistency, lovely nutty flavor, and minimal bitterness (and a squeeze bottle!) (affiliate link).
You can find tahini at most grocery stores these days, as well as online and Middle Eastern grocery shops.
Avoid using (1) bottom-of-the-jar crusty bits of tahini and (2) refrigerated tahini, as it can become very thick and is much harder to whisk.
Stretch out this meal and customize
This recipe already makes a lot of food, but if you want to stretch it out more or bulk it up, here are a few suggestions:
- Stuffed Pitas: Spoon some tahini sauce into pita halves, then stuff in the chickpea salad.
- Grain Bowl: Serve the chickpea salad over whatever cooked grains or rice you have in the fridge, then dollop everything with tahini sauce.
- Wraps: Thin out the tahini dressing a little bit with lemon juice or water. Lather it across a lavash wrap or other large wrap. Spoon on some arugula and sliced 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)!.
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 :)
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)
- ¼ cup (32g) roasted white sesame seeds
- ½ cup (8g) flat leaf parsley leaves and tender stems
- ½ cup (8g) fresh mint leaves
- 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.
- Dice the cucumbers. Finely chop the parsley and mint.
- 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 cucumbers, drained onions, sesame seeds, and half of the 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.
Leave a Comment & Rating