Chickpea Salad with Tomatoes and Creamy Feta Vinaigrette

This delicious vegetarian salad can be a main meal for four people or a side salad for 6. It's light and bright, but the chickpeas make it filling too.

Jump to Recipe (or scroll for photos and riveting information...)
Advertisement - Continue Below
Looking down into a white bowl with chickpea salad in it, next to some lemon slices, oregano and a blue napkin.

Protein Packed Salad

If you enjoy salads, this chickpea salad with tomatoes and a creamy feta dressing is going to be your next favorite lunch or dinner. I love chickpeas, not only for their flavor and texture, but also because they keep me full for a good long time. Chickpeas are not only a good source of protein, they are a complete protein, which means that they contain all nine of the essential amino acids that help keep our bodies functioning properly. This salad combines this complete protein with some everyday ingredients for a delicious hearty salad.

Ingredients on a counter - cherry tomatoes, celery, parsley, chickpeas, half a red onion and a jar of roasted peppers.

How to Cook Dried Chickpeas

You can use either canned chickpeas or dried chickpeas for this recipe. Canned chickpeas are super convenient, of course, and just require draining and a quick rinse before tossing them in with the other ingredients. If you prefer to use dried chickpeas, I’m in full support! Soak the chickpeas overnight and then pop them into a pot with half an onion, a bay leaf, some thyme and peppercorns and boil until tender. How long it takes depends on how old the chickpeas are – usually 40 to 60 minutes. If you don’t have the time to soak the chickpeas, you can do a “quick soak”. Bring the chickpeas to a gentle boil for 5 minutes and then let them cool in the water for an hour. Then drain and proceed with the second boil. 

Ingredients in a bowl - chickpeas, celery, tomatoes, roasted red pepper, red onion.

Variations

While I’ve called for roasted red pepper, tomato, celery and red onion in this chickpea salad recipe, you can really use whatever vegetables you have on hand. I’ve added marinated artichokes, corn kernels, cucumber, carrots before but you’re not limited in any way. Just pick vegetables that you enjoy and cut them into a size that is politely eaten with a fork.

Four images of the making of a creamy feta dressing with a red food chopper.

Creamy Feta Dressing

The dressing for this salad is really where a lot of the flavor comes from. You can whip it together in a bowl, but a food chopper makes it super quick and very creamy. The feta cheese and lemon give this dressing a nice tang that compliments the creamy chickpeas and the honey sweetens it ever so slightly. This is a dressing that you might like to keep on hand for other salads too.

A hand pouring dressing into a bowl of chickpea salad with a wooden spoon.

What to Serve with Chickpea Salad

While I enjoy this salad on its own as a main meal, you can certainly serve this as a side with grilled chicken like this grilled harissa chicken or some pan-fried fish like this honey soy salmon. Serving it alongside a watermelon feta salad with blueberries, a sesame chicken tortellini salad, and perhaps a beet and orange salad would make a beautiful collection of salads at a buffet. This salad also travels well and makes a good dish to take along to someone’s house or as a packed lunch for yourself. So many ways to enjoy it and it will keep you full for hours!

A plate with a grilled chicken breast and some chickpea salad, knife and fork and a green napkin beside it.

Chickpea Salad with Tomatoes & Creamy Feta Vinaigrette

  • Prep Time: 15 m
  • Total Time: 15 m
  • Servings:
    4
    to 6 people

Ingredients

  • ¼ red onion chopped
  • 2 15-ounce cans of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  • 2 ribs celery diced
  • cup roasted red peppers diced
  • 1 cup grape tomatoes halved
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 ounces feta cheese crumbled
  • Fresh oregano or parsley leaves chopped
Creamy Feta Vinaigrette:
  • 2 ounces feta cheese
  • ½ shallot minced
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • Juice from ½ lemon
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
  • ¼ cup olive oil

Instructions

  1. To make the vinaigrette, place feta cheese in a food chopper with the shallot, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, honey, salt and chopped fresh oregano. Pulse a few times until combined. With the chopper running, pour in the olive oil and process for several minutes until the ingredients are combined and creamy. Season with freshly ground black pepper and chill until ready to use.
  2. To make the red onion less pungent, place the chopped onion in a small bowl and cover with water. Let the onion soak for 5 to 10 minutes and then drain the water.
  3. Combine the soaked onion, chickpeas, celery, roasted red peppers and grape tomatoes in a large bowl. Toss with the vinaigrette and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add the crumbled feta cheese and fresh chopped oregano and toss one more time.
  4. Chill until ready to serve.
Advertisement - Continue Below
Advertisement - Continue Below
Advertisement - Continue Below

Comments (9)Post a Reply

  1. 5 stars
    As a long time vegetarian, chickpeas are a staple in my kitchen. I’ve made many types of chickpea salads (Middle Eastern, Indian, etc), but this creamy Feta dressing really kicks it up a notch! Seriously, that dressing is amazing–in my book, it’s worth its weight in gold!

  2. I made the vinaigrette just as a dressing for regular salads and we LOVE it !! But I look forward to trying the chickpea salad later too !

  3. 5 stars
    Oh my goodness. I absolutely love this salad. As soon as I read it I got the ingredients and was in the kitchen. So good….so good. I can’t wait to share this with my daughter, she will love it too. Keep these delicious recipes coming. You are my super chef.

  4. 5 stars
    Made this today and it is a winner! The dressing is the crown jewel for sure, which I will make again and use for other salads. I took you advice and added in what i had on hand (tomatoes, chick peas, raw red peppers, celery, corn, red onion) – delish!

    1. You could use goat cheese instead of feta cheese but you might just want to use a balsamic vinaigrette for the dressing.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *