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This quick and easy tomato chickpea salad is fresh, clean, filling, and super versatile. This one is a staple in my house and keeps very well.
Red and White Garbanzo Bean Salad
This salad is one I like to serve when I am at a gathering and know there are a lot of people with different diets, allergies, or who love and appreciate fresh food.
Chickpeas are a favorite protein in a lot of Mediterranean countries. Hummus is chickpeas’ claim to fame – but chickpeas have a beautiful flavor and texture especially when combined with other lovely fresh ingredients.
This salad is quick to come together, and great warm or chilled, perfect to pack for meal prep, and is vegan – so it works with lots of different diet plans. While it is higher in carbs because of the chickpeas and tomatoes, there are no grains, making this a healthy dish that fills you up for a long time, without spiking your blood sugar or making you crave carbs later.
This dish is one of my favorite budget side dishes, as chickpeas are incredibly inexpensive, and you can use cherry tomatoes from your garden. (Cherry tomatoes are one plant you can actually get to grow and produce year-round indoors with pretty minimal work, too – check out this Aerogarden Hydroponic Kit to grow your own year-round on your counter indoors, and don’t forget to grab some Heirloom cherry tomato pods.
How to make Tomato Chickpea Salad
To make this recipe you’ll need:
- Chickpeas – one of my favorite “legumes”, chickpeas have a nutty flavor. For nuttier chickpeas you can lightly brown them with some olive oil, salt, and pepper in the oven. Ps: garbanzo beans are another name for chickpeas – they are the same thing.
- Cherry tomatoes – these add a fresh, sweet, and acidic taste to the salad. The fresher the better when it comes to tomatoes. I like to grow them in my garden during the summer, my kids love picking them for this recipe.
- Shallot – shallots have a more delicate flavor than an onion, if you don’t have any on hand you can substitute an onion and some garlic.
- Italian seasoning or fresh herbs – fresh herbs will make this salad really pop. If you only have dry herbs that will work. If you want to level up your cooking consider growing some in your yard so you have them readily available. I love this system for growing them in the kitchen during the winter.
- Red wine vinegar – red wine vinegar is the byproduct of fermented red wine, it has a sharp flavor and a ton of tang. It’s important to use a high quality red wine vinegar for the best flavor.
- Extra virgin olive oil – Olive oil will bring fat and richness to this dressing. When using olive oil quality matters. You can see the quality by how dark the olive oil is, the darker the better.
- Garlic salt – garlic salt is about 3 parts salt, 1 part garlic. It’s a nice way to add some garlic taste and the salt that every recipe needs.
- Fresh cracked pepper – Salt and pepper are an essential part of any recipe. Go for fresh cracked pepper whenever possible, it has a stronger taste. Fresh cracked pepper also adds a little bit of heat to balance out the acid of the vinegar and fat in the oil.
Once you have gathered the ingredients, we will use the following method:
- Mix. Mix all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Add the chickpeas, tomatoes, and shallots to a large bowl then toss in the dressing and mix till everything is coated with the dressing.
- Chill. I like to chill the salad in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving so that everything has a chance to soak in the dressing and absorb its flavor.
- Enjoy! Enjoy this fresh salad as a side dish or a light lunch or dinner.
Tips and Tricks to Perfect Chickpea and Tomato Salad
Making this Tomato Chickpea Salad is really easy, here are some tips and tricks to take it to the next level.
Toast chickpeas. I highly recommend you toast the chickpeas with a few teaspoons of olive oil, a pinch of salt, and pepper in the oven and let them cool before making the salad. It adds a nuttiness to the chickpeas that makes the flavor more bold and complex.
Add cheese. Cheese adds a creamy richness that makes everything better. That rule holds true in this case. I like to add about ½ cup of crumbled feta cheese to my tomato chickpea salad to give it that extra rich dairy kick.
FAQ:
Yes, I like to mix it up. Some of my favorite alternate spices for this recipe are: harissa, smoked paprika, sumac, or za’atar. Feel free to add whatever spices satisfy your palate.
Oh ya. A few pinches of red pepper fake (depending on your desired spice level) or a squirt of Sriracha in the dressing will give it that hit of heat.
Tomato Chickpea Salad stores well in the refrigerator for 2-3 days and will deepen in flavor during that time. Since everything is sitting in the dressing it will soften and you wont get as much of a crunch from the chickpeas later on. I recommend adding leftovers to lettuce to make a nice Mediterranean salad so you get the crunch from fresh lettuce.
What to Serve With Tomato Chickpea Salad
This light and fresh salad is delicious with all kinds of recipes, and since it is vegan and lower carb, you can work it into lots of different diets and eating plans, too.
We love serving this with our baked chicken breasts, deliciously addictive ranch baked chicken thighs, griddled greek gyros, tender and delicious grilled chicken souvlaki, or with tons of tzatziki piled on top!
For more of our mediterranean inspired dishes, please see some of our favorite Greek recipes below:
Tomato Chickpea Salad Recipe
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Tomato and Chickpea Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 15 oz can chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 8 oz cherry tomatoes sliced in half
- 1 shallot finely minced
- 1 tablespoon freeze dried Italian seasoning or fresh minced basil thyme, sage, oregano, and rosemary.
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- Fresh cracked pepper
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine olive oil, red wine vinegar, Italian seasoning, garlic salt, and pepper. Stir vigorously to mix.
- In a large bowl, combine chickpeas, minced shallot, and sliced cherry tomatoes.
- Drizzle dressing over chickpeas and tomatoes, toss well to coat.
- Serve warm or chill for at least 1 hour.
- Serve.
