Create this beloved Greek chickpea salad right at home! It’s loaded with delicious fresh vegetables and zesty honey lemon dressing.
Greek food is one of those things that I can eat every single day. I love the freshness of the ingredients and incredible flavor.
Some of my favorites are Greek Salad with Avocado, Chicken Gyros, and Greek Salad Dressing. But a Greek salad just has to be my all time favorite.
I love the balance of fresh vegetables combined with salty olives, feta, and zesty dressing. This Greek chickpea salad with arugula is another variation of a Greek salad but with a little more crunch and texture.
It’s made with fresh veggies such as cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, arugula, chickpeas, olives, feta and incredibly flavorful honey lemon dressing. The best way to prepare this salad is same day that you’re planning on serving it.
Once you toss the salad with the dressing the vegetables will quickly begin to break down and release their juices. But don’t let the juices go to waste. Warm up some naan bread to dip into those juices. I promise you it is insanely delicious!
Ingredients for Greek Chickpea Salad
- Chickpeas – canned
- Sweet mini peppers
- Red onion
- Cherry tomatoes
- Olives – kalamata
- Cucumber
- Feta
- Fresh parsley
- Arugula
- Dressing – olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, garlic, honey, oregano
What are Chickpeas?
Also known as garbanzo beans. Thy are in the legume family. High in protein and mostly used in Indian and Middle Eastern cuisine.
Chickpeas are the main ingredient in hummus and so many other dishes. You can find canned and dry chickpeas. I personally love canned chickpeas because all you have to do is open the can and enjoy.
What is Arugula?
Arugula also known as rocket is a dark green leafy vegetable. It has slight peppery taste and makes one delicious salad whether alone or mixed in with other greens.
Most grocery stores sell arugula in the same produce section as lettuce. You can substitute baby spinach for arugula in this salad.
How to Make Chickpea Salad
- First, prepare the Greek salad dressing by whisking together the olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, garlic, honey, and oregano.
- Next, prepare the salad. In a large salad bowl, combine all of the salad ingredients, except for the arugula. Add the prepared dressing, season with salt and pepper, to taste, and toss to combine. Right before serving, toss in the arugula.
Tips for Making Chickpea Salad with Arugula
- Feta in brine is always better. The taste does not compare to crumbled feta. It’s smooth, creamy, and perfectly tangy. I always try to buy a block in brine when I can.
- Greek salad dressing can be prepared a few days in advance. Just keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
- This salad is best when served the same day. You can easily prepare it last minute. It’s very adaptable. Feel free to use more or less of any of the ingredients.
Serve this Greek Chickpea Salad With:
- Roasted Lemon Rosemary Chicken
- Healthy Chicken Meatballs
- Open-Faced Salmon Burgers
- Vodka Sauce tossed with hot buttery noodles
- Yogurt Marinated Chicken Kebabs
Greek Chickpea Salad with Arugula
- Prep Time: 20
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 6
- Category: Salad
- Method: Chop
- Cuisine: Greek
Description
Create this beloved Greek chickpea salad with honey lemon dressing right at home! It’s loaded with delicious fresh vegetables and is easy enough to make last minute.
Ingredients
- 1 (15 oz.) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 5–6 sweet mini peppers, stem and seeds removed, chopped
- 1 English cucumber, chopped
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- 3/4 cup red onion, chopped
- 1/4 cup kalamata olives, sliced
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 2 Tbsp. fresh chopped Italian parsley
- Few handfuls arugula
- Kosher salt and fresh black pepper
Dressing
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 2–3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
- 2 Tbsp. honey
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
Instructions
- Prepare the dressing: in a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients. Set aside.
- Prepare the salad: in a large salad bowl, combine all of the salad ingredients, except for the arugula. Add the dressing, season with salt and pepper, to taste, and toss to combine. Right before serving, toss in the arugula. Taste the salad..does it need more acidity, salt, olive oil, or maybe an extra sprinkle of feta?
Notes
- This salad is pretty adaptable. Feel free to use more or less of anything listed above. You can also make handful of substitutions. Here are some of my favorites: bell pepper for mini sweet peppers; black olives for kalamata olives; fresh dill or oregano for parsley; fresh spinach for arugula.
- Salad is best served same day.
Keywords: zesty, authentic, easy, chopped
Elizi says
I could eat this every day. Thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
Elizabeth says
I’m obsessed with this recipe. Everything works so well together. I made it with Greek meatballs for my family and we devoured it and then a couple weeks later when it was just me eating dinner at home, I made myself the whole salad and ate a good portion of it for dinner and my husband took the leftovers to work. Fantastic! On repeat at my house.
★★★★★
Katya says
Sounds like a delicious meal! Thank you for feedback Elizabeth.
Karen says
Made this tonight as written and it was amazing!!! Thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
Katya says
Thank you Karen! So happy to hear that.
Sharon says
This salad was a big hit as part of a Greek inspired dinner including Greek burgers topped with tzatziki,tomatoes and red onion; lemon parsley rice pilaf; hummus and pita. It was the perfect side dish and after dinner everyone scooped it up together with the rice, diced burgers, and tzatziki for “rice bowls” for lunches the next day. The funny thing was i discovered when cleaning up i had forgotten to put the spinach in….no one even noticed and it was still amazing!!
Katya says
Sharon it sounds like you had a very delicious Greek dinner party! Thank you for feedback. Makes me happy to hear that you loved the salad.
Valentina says
My husband loves chickpeas. He is so going to love this salad, especially with the homemade dressing. It looks amazing.
★★★★★
Katya says
Thank you!
Karen says
Made this tonight as written and it was amazing!!! Thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
Julia Frey says
I love how you turned a simple Greek salad into a full on vegetarian dinner option. Chickpeas are delicious in this Greek salad and loaded with protein!
★★★★★
Katya says
Thank you!
Dina says
I totally have all of the ingredients to this greek chickpea salad, well besides the arugula, which I will substitute with spinach. Looks so darn delicious!
★★★★★
Katya says
Yes spinach is SO good in this salad!
ND says
The day I saw you post this salad, I went and got ingredients for it. love how filling it is. Chickpea and flavor of greek dressing is such an awesome combo!
★★★★★
Katya says
Thank you! It’s such a delicious combo of flavors.