This is the best Chickpea Salad I’ve ever had in my life.
Yotam Ottolenghi – I salute you.
Chickpea Salad
I first published this about a month after I started this website back in 2014. The fact that I, a self confessed Carb/Carnivore/Cheese Monster, published a vegan salad so early on (patience having never been my greatest virtue) and have taken it upon myself to reshoot the recipe, rewrite the post and make a recipe video for a chickpea salad should speak volumes.
It’s that good.
Make this for someone who is not a fan of chickpeas and I bet even they love it. First hand feedback from a Chickpea Hater. Well, Hater is a harsh word. Let’s say this person is meh when it comes to chickpeas. But her reaction to this Chickpea Salad was nothing short of enthusiastic!
The thing that makes this chickpea salad so amazing is the simple Spiced Chickpeas
I am near obsessed with this salad. I make it a LOT because I find it’s truly one of those salads I find satisfying to have as a meal. And unlike most meat-free salads, I don’t have to fight the urge to raid the pantry an hour later (thank you Mr Chickpeas, for keeping me nice and full!).
Those chickpeas. Honestly. You think chickpeas are blah? Toss them in a simple spice mix and pan fry for a couple of minutes.
OMG. What a transformation!!
Dressing for chickpea salad
The dressing is simple but a cut above your usual vinaigrette. Classic Yotam Ottolenghi – bright and zesty with lemon flavours but not too sharp because it’s combined with sherry vinegar and a touch of sugar.
It’s one of my favourite vinaigrettes!
I take no credit for these chickpeas. Or this entire Chickpea Salad, actually. It’s adapted from a recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi’s Jerusalem cookbook which I am so obsessed with, I am seriously contemplating doing a “Julie & Julia” on it.
Yotam Ottolenghi changed the way I cook. Making vegetables interesting, and salads sexy. Sorry if that word offends anyone in the context of food, but I swear I can’t think of a more suitable word in my limited vocabulary!
This is one such salad. 🙂 – Nagi x
Make a meal of it – try this with a side of:
Easy Soft Flatbread Recipe (No Yeast) with Hummus (try this traditional Hummus with Lamb!)
Crispy Couscous Pancake with Tomato & Onion (another Yotam Ottolenghi recipe)
Add a main – Chicken Shawarma or Lamb Shawarma, Lamb Koftas or Moroccan Meatballs
PPS Try serving it up with a dollop of yoghurt and pita bread. The Chickpea Salad is terrific for stuffing into pita bread!
WHAT TO SERVE WITH CHICKPEA SALAD
I usually serve this Chickpea Salad on its own as meal with a dollop of yoghurt and pita bread. Try it with my easy homemade flatbread!
As a side, this Chickpea Salad will pair beautifully with a simple protein (because the chickpeas have lots of flavour, you wouldn’t want the main with big punchy flavours) like Crispy Pan Fried Fish or this Lemon Pepper Chicken.
If you want to create a Middle Eastern Menu, try your hand at an Arabian Feast! Or have a browse of all my Middle Eastern recipes – it’s one of my favourite cuisines, I love the punchy flavours. I make this salad without the chickpeas as a side for full flavoured mains, such as Chicken Shawarma, Lamb Shawarma and Koftas.
MIDDLE EASTERN RECIPE COLLECTION
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
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Middle Eastern Spiced Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
Chickpeas
- 400g / 14 oz can chickpeas, drained but still wet (Note 1)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Chickpea Spices
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 1/2 tsp All Spice
- 1 tsp ground cardamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
Salad
- 2 cucumbers , diced
- 2 tomatoes (or 3 medium tomatoes), diced
- 1 red onion (small) , diced
- 1/4 cup coriander leaves , roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup parsley , roughly chopped
Dressing
- 1 1/2 tbsp sherry vinegar (Note 2)
- Zest of half a lemon
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 1 garlic clove, smashed (Note 3)
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Combine the Dressing ingredients in a jar and shake. Set aside for 20 minutes to allow the flavours to develop.
- Place chickpeas in a large bowl. Scatter over Spices, then toss to coat. The wetness of the chickpeas will make the spices stick.
- Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large pan over high heat and fry the chickpeas for a couple of minutes. Shake the pan so the chickpeas roll, or stir gently (so the spice coating doesn’t come off). Transfer into bowl and cool slightly.
- Combine the Salad Ingredients in a bowl. Drizzle with a bit of Dressing and toss. Transfer to serving bowl.
- Top salad with chickpeas (warm or at room temperature). Drizzle with more Dressing. Toss very gently, if desired (don’t toss too much otherwise spice comes off chickpeas). Serve immediately.
- Great served with a dollop of yoghurt and pita bread to stuff the salad into.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
Computer, coffee and Dozer eyeing off the Vegemite toast. Just another morning of work.
Delicious and so filling! This one is a keeper ⭐️
Hi Nagi, I want to make this next week but not sure what you mean by “All Spice”. Is it the spice we call “Allspice” in the US?
This is the best salad I have ever made, hands down. The flavour come together so we’ll. I used it as a meal replacement as I live in a hot and humid culture and I need something a bit more light but flavorful. Highly recommend. I used red wine vinegar because that’s what I had and raw cane sugar. Amazing!!🤩
Amazing salad for sure. Will be part of my line up. Taste like it’s making me healthy as I eat it… Lol. Wow!
Looove this! My 10 year old stole all the chickpeas, requested them in her lunchbox!
Really lovely flavors in this dish! I prefer it to be “bean-heavy” so when I make it, I double the chickpeas to 2 cans and double the spices as well; everything else remains the same. For serving, I sprinkle with crumbled feta and a few pomegranate seeds.
I doubled this recipe so we’d have leftovers for lunch the next day. The chickpeas are devine. Salad dressing was delicious (I used red wine vinegar instead of sherry vinegar). Also added avocado and capsicum to the salad to use up what I had at home. Served with BBQ lamb chops for a simple and delicious meal…no complaints at our house toight!
I’ve made this a few times. This time I sautéed the onion in the oil instead of putting it raw in the salad, then tossed the spiced chick peas with the onion. It was excellent – best yet. Thanks Nagi.
Make this whole recipe, do, but then top it with Nagi’s yogurt garlic sauce recipe. You’ll be delighted.
It’s just so good, thanks Nagi! Lovely paired with the Morrocan lamb meatballs
Amazing, even though I didn’t have sherry vinegar and cilantro handy. It was a big hit at dinner.
Can you cook up the spiced chickpeas before hand ( 2 days) and add the salad vegetables, coriander and dressing just prior to serving?
Made this to take to a dinner party. Even the really fussy teens ate it and went back for seconds. Hubby who HATES chick peas loved it. Paired amazingly with our hosts Slow Cooked Lamb Shawarma from your site. This is going on the rotation for dinner parties for sure.
I’ve never been a big fan of chickpeas, unless it’s hummus, but this is a game changer! The spices in this recipe just elevates the flavours of everything! I served it with with chicken shawarma, it was so delicious! Even better, it’s super healthy! Thank Nagi for another great recipe!
Silly question…do you peel the chickpeas?
Made this to serve with the chicken shawarma recipe. It was delicious! Wouldn’t change a thing. The whole family loved it, including the couple of us that don’t care for garbanzos.
This looks delicious. How long do you think it would keep for? I just made the Greek chickpea and it was delicious!
Soooo good. Made exactly as per recipe and everyone loved it. I reckon the fried chickpeas by themselves would be a delicious snack.
Hi Nagi, what brand of Sherry vinegar do you recommend?
I have read that some can be sour. I live in Germany, and it’s easier to buy it from Amazon 😂
The cheakpeas giventhis salad a really uniq flavor. So delicious and easy to make. I just love your recipes.