Mediterranean Chopped Salad with Chickpeas
Fresh summer vegetables and pantry ingredients combine for a crispy, crunchy healthy salad you'll want to put on repeat! Mediterranean Chopped Vegetable Salad with Chickpeas is satisfying on its own or try it on the side with your favorite Mediterranean-inspired recipe!
Servings: 6
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.
Notes
SUBSTITUTIONS:
- 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
Serving: 1 | Calories: 194kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 33mg | Sodium: 801mg | Potassium: 596mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1363IU | Vitamin C: 109mg | Calcium: 252mg | Iron: 2mg