Hereโs a trick to make a seriously delicious Chickpea Salad using a can of chickpeas: MARINATE them in the dressing! They absorb flavour, and turn bland into extreme tastiness in just 20 minutes.
This chickpea salad tastes as bright as it looks, and works as a main course with crusty bread, or as a side for roasts, fish, prawns or simple pan seared garlic chicken thighs.
Chickpea Salad
I know itโs tempting to just grab a can of chickpeas, add green fluffage, toss with dressing and call it a day. And that has happened many a times around here,ย being a handy and somewhat virtuous quick meal option.
But I never deemed any of those โgood enoughโ to share here. I just feel likeย you need toย do something to chickpeas to make them tastier โ because dressing simply doesnโt stick to chickpeas.
In thisย Middle Eastern chickpea salad, theyโre spiced and pan fried.
And in todayโs, weโreย marinating the chickpeas. Toss in dressing > warm in microwave > 20 minute marinade > chickpeas absorb flavour = tastier chickpeas. YES!
Warming the chickpeas briefly in the microwave makes them absorb the flavour of the dressing so much more effectively!
Iโm calling it a Greek Marinated Chickpea Salad only because the dressing / marinade is based on Greek Salad. For no other reason. I do not hold this out to be authentically Greek! Weโre just borrowing the oregano infused dressing from Greek Salad!
What you need
Hereโs what you need for this chickpea salad:
Chickpeas โย Iโm just using canned here for convenience, but Iโve popped directions for cooking dried chickpeas in the recipe notes;
Spinach โ or anything similar that can be sliced thinly so it kind of melds in well with the chickpeas;
Tomatoes โ for pops of juicy freshness. Cherry or grape tomatoes, or large ones chopped into small pieces;
Red onion โ I like to do a simple quick pickle in vinegar, sugar and salt to make them floppy, bright pink, and add flavour. It takes just 30 minutes on the counter โ or you can take the speedy option and microwave it for 2 minutes (which makes them instantly โpickledโ) then just cool them;
Feta โ youโll typically find some kind of โtreatโ in my main course salads โ whether itโs nuts, croutons, bacon, parmesan. Today, itโs feta โ on theme!
Dressing โ red wine vinegar (loads of alternatives in the recipe), extra virgin olive oil, garlic and oregano (the Greek influence), and mustard (for thickening โ we need it, to stick to the chickpeas better).
How to make this Chickpea Salad
I think this recipe sounds more involved than it actually is โ and you can totally talk it up to your friends. โWeโre having a marinated chickpea salad with wilted spinach and pickled red onion with an oregano infused Greek dressingโ, youโllย loftily tell them.
But in reality, itโs actually a very low effort dish!
This salad also plates up quite nicely โ rather than using a bowl like most salads, use a flat plate and pile it up high!
What to serve with chickpea salad
This is one of those salads that works as a main course or as a side dish.
As a main course, itโs a great dinner for hot summer nights, or lunch all year round. I like to serve it with crusty bread on the side, or with flatbreads that you can tear and use to scoop up the chickpeas.
It also travels extremely well, being one of those rare salads that keeps well for a few days. Think โ work lunches, taking to picnics with friends.
As a side dish, with the exception of Asian dishes and Indian food, I canโt think of many things I wouldnโt serve it with. Fabulous alongside a roast chicken, lamb or roast pork. Garlic prawns, pan seared fish, a simple baked chicken breast, sticky honey garlic chicken, pork chops or steak.
Itโs a natural fit alongside anything Mediterranean, Italian or Middle Eastern, and the flavours are on theme with Mexican food.
Have I convinced you yet that itโs basically a great all rounder and that you must try it immediately??! ๐ โ Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Greek Marinated Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
- 800g/ 14oz (2 cans) chickpeas, well drained (Note 1)
Dressing / Marinade:
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar (Note 2)
- 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove , minced using garlic press
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp dijon mustard (or other non spicy smooth mustard)
- 3/4 tsp EACH salt and pepper
Quick pickled onion (pickling optional, Note 3):
- 1/2 red onion , finely sliced
- 1/2 cup red wine vinegar (Note 2)
- 1 tsp white sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
Salad:
- 250g/ 8oz cherry or grape tomatoes , halved (or 2 normal tomatoes)
- 3 cups (packed) spinach, sliced 1/2 cm / 1/5" thick (Note 4)
- 100g/ 3oz feta
- 3/4 cup chargrilled peppers , drained and sliced 1cm / 1/3โณ thick (optional, Note 5)
Instructions
- Shake Dressing in a jar.
Marinated chickpeas:
- Place chickpeas in a microwaveable bowl. Toss with half the Dressing.
- Microwave 1 1/2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until warmed through.
- Set aside 20 minutes to marinate (warm chickpeas = absorbs flavour).
Quick Pickled Onion:
- Mix ingredients in a bowl, set aside 30 minutes until onion is wilted. Drain.
- Speedy option: microwave for 2 minutes until hot, cool 10 minutes then use.
Assemble salad:
- Place spinach in a big bowl, add marinated chickpeas (including all residual Dressing in the bowl). Add tomatoes, pickled onion and peppers, if using.
- Pour over remaining Dressing, toss well. Transfer to serving plate, crumble over feta, serve!
Recipe Notes:
- STOVE: soak overnight in lots of water. Pick out anything that doesnโt look like chickpeas that floats to the surface. Place in a saucepan and cover with 10cm/4โ of water. Simmer on medium for 40 โ 50 minutes until they are cooked through to your taste (start checking at 30 min, cook times can vary wildly depending on chickpea age). Skim off any skin that floats to the surface. Drain, proceed with recipe.
- PRESSURE COOKER: No soaking required, cover with 10cm/4โ of water and cook 45 minutes on high.
Nutrition Information:
More chickpea recipes
More recipes using my favourite legume!
Life of Dozer
Nowhere to be seen while I filmed the chickpea saladโฆ.zero interest! Stark contrast to the intensive staring, heavy breathing and uncontrollable salivation when Iโm shooting things like a big, fat, juicy prime ribโฆโฆ.
This is absolutely delicious! The combination of flavours is perfect and it smells and looks amazing. Thank you Nagi!
Hi, Good ingredients but the dressing is way too tangy for me.
Navi this salad is so very good. My hubby & I absolutely loved it. I hate to admit we almost ate the whole thing the first night! Thanks again for a great recipe.
Nagi, sorry forgot to rate the recipe & I apologize for the type o with your name-actually I think auto correct did it!
I finally made this dish last night and it was very delicious.
I had to stop myself from eating the lot. I didt have any red wine vinegar so I substituted balsamic vinegar with a tiny drop of red food colouring and a teaspoon of sugar. It made the onions very tasty and gave them a pretty red colouringโฆ.
Finally made this salad and it was so yummy! I added the chargrilled peppers as recommended and Iโm glad I did. It tasted amazing the next day too.
Havenโt made thisโฆ.yetโฆ but will very soon! It Looks absolutely delicious
Thanks! N x
Hi Nagi, I plan on making this soon. Iโll post another comment and rate the recipe once Iโve made it. However, I was wondering which brand of roasted peppers youโd recommend/use. Thank you ๐
Hi Steph..I donโt have a specific brand. My local Coles carries 3 or 4 different ones. Just pick one you would like to eat! N x
Will do! Thanks for taking the time to respond. I hope you and Dozer are well ๐
Great Salad, I LOVED the olive oil/ mustard dressing, however I found the salad a bit too tangy for my liking, I might just reduce the amount of pickled onions or red wine vining next time!
Holy smokes!!! This is one of my favorite salads. The explosion of flavors is addicting. The only changes I make are I add a tablespoon more of red wine vinegar, about a table spoon of maple syrup or a little sugar, and plus up the garlic. I also make the pickled onions in bulk and keep them in my fridge since the te are amazing and can keep for quite awhile, and I use dried chickpeas I hydrate. Yummo!
The second time I made this salad I bought capsicums in oil and used the oil for the dressing, as well as the red wine vinegar I used from the pickled onions. It was so much tastier than when I first made it!!
Who knew chickpeas and cabbage can be so yummy! I used cabbage and massaged it with some marinade and let it sit for about half hour, before assembling everything together. Thereโs a block party, so I figured this was something very easy to share with the neighbors. And the pickled onions are sooo good! Thanks Nagi!
OMG! This is the best chick pea salad ever! I love the recipes on this site. They are always so clearly explained with an accompanying video and they always taste amazing. Donโt skip the red peppers in this. They are a really nice addition to this salad. Thank you Nagy!
Hello Nagi,
Iโm confused about how many chickpeas to use. Is it two 14 ounce cans?
Iโm in Canada and our cans are 19 ounces. So should I use a can and a half approximately?
Hi Christine, itโs 800g/14oz in total that you need, our cans are 400g each here. N x
So good! Just had the leftovers for lunch.
Hi Nagi, Iโd love to make this salad. Unfortunately, I donโt have a microwave, should I just try to heat the chickpeas in a pot instead or what would you suggest?
Hi Constantin โ the recipe notes should help you here ๐ N x
I love this salad. But every time I make the pickled onions, mine never get as pink or as โfloppyโ as in the picture/video above. Iโve tried both the regular (leave it for 30 min) and the microwave method but neither seem to give that result. Am I missing something?
I donโt mind chickpeas but this recipe makes me love chickpeas! This could be my new favourite salad
ME TOO Rachael! Me too ๐ N x
This salad was delicious! 22 year old son enjoyed it, spooned over a bed of lettuce. Spouse, who is not a big garbanzo bean fan, said it was a โdo- overโ. It was a hit even without the feta cheese.
Absolutely love this dish. Great on those hot days when meal preparation using any form of heat is unappealing.
Down right scrumptious!
A really tasty and healthy salad. The dressing has great flavour. Itโs substantial enough as a meal on its own or as a side salad.