Mediterranean Chopped Salad with Chickpeas
Fresh summer vegetables and pantry ingredients combine for a crispy, crunchy healthy chopped salad recipe you’ll want to put on repeat! Mediterranean Chopped Salad with Chickpeas is satisfying on its own or try it on the side with Mediterranean-inspired pan-seared lamb chops, fish en papillote and grilled skirt steak!
Why This Recipe is a Keeper!
A fresh, crunchy chopped salad is perfect to have on hand for a quick, satisfying lunch or to pair with grilled chicken, fish or meats.
This Mediterranean salad recipe has all the fresh summer veggie goodness going on with tomatoes, cucumbers, bell pepper, onion, lemon and fresh herbs. Add pantry ingredients like canned chickpeas for protein, Kalamata olives, marinated artichoke hearts, red wine vinegar and olive oil. Top it off with tangy feta cheese and you’ve got a lovely summery Mediterranean-inspired salad you’ll want to put on repeat!
Mediterranean Chopped Salad with Chickpeas is:
- Easy! No fancy knife skills are required. If you can chop an onion, you can chop everything else.
- Low-waste! The marinade from the artichokes is reserved and used as part of the dressing.
- Healthy!
- Satisfying and no cooking required!
- Delicious! This Mediterranean salad recipe has all the bright, sunny flavors of that region you love!
Let’s make it!
How to Make Mediterranean Chopped Salad with Chickpeas:
Recipe Ingredients:
Here’s everything you’ll need to make this chopped salad recipe along with how to prep. See the recipe card below for the exact quantities.
Ingredients Notes and Substitutions:
- Chickpeas: Canned chickpeas work well in this salad recipe. You’ll want to drain them in a sieve or colander, then rinse them well under cool running tap water because the liquid they’re canned in can be quite salty. White beans would also work in this recipe.
- Cucumber: I like to use English cucumbers (also known as hot-house or seedless) in salads because they’re not as seedy or watery as some cucumbers. You’ll find this long and thin variety of cucumber in the produce department wrapped in plastic. Although they’re referred to as hot-house, a hot-house or greenhouse is not required for them to grow. Seedless is also a misnomer; there are some seeds, just not as many as some varieties.
- Yellow Bell Pepper: I prefer to use yellow bell pepper in this recipe purely for the color. Red or orange will also work.
- Cherry Tomatoes: Any variety of small tomatoes will work: Round, grape or teardrop. You can also seed and dice large tomatoes.
- Kalamata Olives: Kalamata olives are large and dark brown (almost black with a smooth, meaty texture. They’re named after the city of Kalamata in the Peloponnese region of Greece. Kalamata olives are my favorite olive!
- Marinated Artichokes: I love Kirkland Signature marinated artichoke hearts! The marinade is so good that I always try to find another use for it such as in this chopped salad recipe.
- Fresh Oregano: If you have fresh, definitely use it but dried will also work.
- Red Wine Vinegar: A staple ingredient in Mediterranean cooking, red wine vinegar has a robust, distinctive flavor. It’s a popular choice for vinaigrettes and is also frequently used in marinades.
Step-By-Step Ingredients:
- Gather and prep all the ingredients.
- Remember to reserve the marinade from the marinated artichokes!
- Combine all the ingredients for the vinaigrette.
- Whisk together the marinade from the artichoke hearts, lemon juice, red wine vinegar and olive oil to measure 1 cup.
- Combine all the salad ingredients in a large bowl including the herbs, olives, feta cheese and dressing.
- MAKE AHEAD: Can be made part-way a day ahead of time. Leave the feta cheese out and the dressing off and refrigerate it until needed. The dressing can also be made a day ahead of time and refrigerated. When ready to serve, add the cheese and dressing.
- Stir the chopped salad and combine! Add salt and black pepper as needed.
- Garnish the salad with fresh parsley sprigs and serve!
- So easy! So fresh! So crunchy and delicious!
Chef Tips and Tricks:
- Keep it healthy! Be sure to taste the chopped salad before adding salt. Ingredients for the chopped salad that already have salt (or are high in sodium) include the olives, artichoke hearts, chickpeas (unless you can find no salt added) and feta cheese. The fresh herbs and acid (vinegar and lemon juice) also add a punch of flavor so additional salt may not be needed.
- Pitting Kalamata olives can be labor-intensive however they are available pitted. When purchasing “pitted” Kalamata olives, I treat them as though they still have the pit. I never take for granted that the mechanical pitting process got all the pits—I look each one over by cutting them in half.
- This Mediterranean Chopped Salad with Chickpeas is also perfect when “composed.” Place all the ingredients on a platter in rows which allows diners to choose more of the ingredients they love and less of the ingredients they don’t.
- This salad can also be served over lettuce greens!
Frequently Asked Questions:
A chopped salad is a salad that includes ingredients that are chopped and uniform in size. The salad is then either composed or tossed together depending on the style of the salad.
Yes! This salad can be made up to a day ahead of time. For the best result, combine the vegetables, chickpeas and fresh herbs but leave the dressing off. Refrigerate until needed. When ready to serve, add the dressing and feta cheese. The fully assembled Mediterranean chopped salad keeps for a couple of days in the refrigerator.
Storage:
- Refrigerate leftovers for up to three days in an airtight container.
Serve with:
- Parmesan and Herb-Crusted Lamb Chops
- Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic
- Grilled Citrus Chicken with Spicy Basil Chimichurri
- Grilled Chicken Burgers with Jalapeño Tzatziki
- Turkish Turkey Meatball Lettuce Wraps with Tzatziki
- Prosciutto-Wrapped Halibut with Herb – Caper Butter
More Mediterranean Salad Recipes You’ll Love:
- Tuna White Bean Salad with Artichokes
- Italian Chopped Salad with Chicken
- Tunisian Salad Platter
- Sicilian Cauliflower Salad
Get all my side salad recipes at Side Salads – From A Chef’s Kitchen
Mediterranean Chopped Salad with Chickpeas
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Ingredients
- 2 cans (15-ounce each) chickpeas (garbanzo beans) - drained and rinsed
- 2 pints cherry tomatoes - (4 cups) halved
- 1 large English cucumber - partially peeled (strips removed), seeded and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 large yellow bell pepper - seeded, membranes removed and chopped
- 1 medium red onion - coarsely chopped
- 1 cup pitted Kalamata olives - halved
- 1 jar (12-ounce) marinated artichoke hearts - drained, marinade reserved, coarsely chopped
- 1 large lemon - juiced (1/4 cup)
- 3 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- Olive oil - as needed
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano - or 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 1/2 cups crumbled feta cheese - or as desired
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper - to taste
Instructions
- Combine the first 7 ingredients in a large bowl. (Remember to reserve the marinade from the artichoke hearts.)
- Whisk together the marinade from the artichoke hearts, lemon juice, red wine vinegar and olive oil to measure 1 cup.
- Pour the dressing over the salad. Add the parsley and oregano. Stir to combine.
- Add the feta cheese and stir. Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
- Use white beans in place of chickpeas.
- I prefer to use yellow bell pepper in this recipe purely for the color. Red or orange will also work.
- In place of cherry tomatoes, you can also seed and dice large tomatoes.
- When purchasing “pitted” Kalamata olives, treat them as though they still have the pit. Cut each one in half to look each one over.
- This salad is also perfect when “composed.” Place all the ingredients on a platter in rows which allows diners to choose more of the ingredients they love and less of the ingredients they don’t.
- Can be made part-way a day ahead of time. Leave the feta cheese out and the dressing off and refrigerate it until needed.
- The dressing can also be made a day ahead of time and refrigerated.
- When ready to serve, add the cheese and dressing.
Nutrition
These are estimated values generated from a nutritional database using unbranded products. Please do your own research with the products you’re using if you have a serious health issue or are following a specific diet.
Made this for lunch today for me and my sister in-law. We both loved it. I will make this for a big family gathering this summer as a nice side. Thanks again Carol for another great recipe.
Hi, Dianne, Thanks so very much and so happy you both enjoyed and you’re most welcome! Appreciate your taking the time to come back and comment.