If you're looking for a quick and flavorful salad, this Mediterranean chickpea cucumber salad is one I highly recommend. It's loaded with crunchy cucumbers, juicy tomatoes, briny olives, and mild red onions, all tossed in a zesty lemon garlic dressing.
You can put this salad together in about 15 minutes, and it's perfect for make-ahead meals, potlucks, and picnics. In fact, it gets even better as it sits and the flavors mingle.
I love making this salad when I have a can of chickpeas in the pantry and some fresh veggies to use up. If you enjoy recipes like my Mediterranean corn, cucumber, and tomato salad or California-style Greek chickpea salad, you'll definitely want to add this one to your rotation.
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Just finished the last of this salad for lunch! Great summer salad and I really like that it keeps for a few days. As the flavor melded, it continued to get better. Great recipe-definitely a keeper.
- Ali
Ingredients
Here's what you'll need to make this Mediterranean chickpea cucumber salad:
- Chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans)
- Cucumber
- Tomatoes
- Red onions
- Fresh parsley (curly or flat-leaf)
- Black olives (I usually use canned, but jarred Kalamata olives work great too.)
For the dressing:
- Olive oil
- Lemon juice
- Garlic
- Pure maple syrup
- Salt and pepper
Please see the recipe card for the complete ingredients, measurements, and instructions.
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the chickpeas, cucumber, tomatoes, red onions, parsley, and olives.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, maple syrup, salt, and pepper.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well to combine.
Serve right away or refrigerate for later. The flavors only get better as the salad rests.
Serving suggestions
Enjoy this chickpea cucumber salad on its own as a light lunch or easy dinner. It's also delicious served on a bed of greens like butter leaf lettuce, kale, or chard.
You can pair it with other salads like herbed quinoa salad, Greek millet salad, or panzanella bread salad.
It also makes a great side for seasoned tofu sandwiches, lemon baked tofu, or vegan pasta casserole.
No matter how you serve it, this fresh and zesty salad is sure to become a go-to favorite for any occasion.
Made this recipe or have a question? Please leave a comment below. 💙 For even more fresh vegan recipes, join my email list. It's less like a newsletter and more like emails between friends.
Love and Veggies,
Amy
📋 Recipe
Mediterranean Chickpea Cucumber Salad with Olives
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 1-15 ounce can chickpeas, (about 1½ cups) rinsed and drained
- 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
- 1 small cucumber, or ½ English cucumber, sliced lengthwise, seeds removed, and sliced into ¼ inch slices
- 1 small red onion, diced
- 1 cup pitted black olives
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
For the dressing:
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Combine the salad ingredients in a large bowl.1-15 ounce can chickpeas, 1 small cucumber, 2 medium tomatoes, 1 small red onion, ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley, 1 cup pitted black olives
- Add the dressing ingredients to a small bottle with a lid. Shake until well combined. (Or whisk together in a small bowl until emulsified.)¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 1 clove garlic, 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup, salt and pepper
- Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well to coat.
- Keep the salad refrigerated until ready to serve.
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Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimation.
Sherry says
Easy to prepare and perfect to bring to a family gathering.
John says
I kept tasting as I was making this, and I found I needed about a teaspoon of salt, half teaspoon of pepper, and I also added a teaspoon of red wine vinegar. For the olives, I basically used one can of pitted olives, each cut in half. And for the lemon, it was just the juice of one whole lemon. All of that mentioned above made this taste great.
Cris says
So good. I added goat cheese crumbles to my salad! Yummy! Thank you for the recipe!
Amy Katz says
Thank you, Cris! So happy you enjoyed it.
Liliana Wells says
I would give this a five star if it were not for the maple syrup. Sweet and savory together are against my culinary philosophy. But, as you said, I can customize my salad.
Ali says
Just finished the last of this salad for lunch! Great summer salad and I really like that it keeps for a few days. As the flavor melded, it continued to get better. Great recipe—definitely a keeper.
Amy Katz says
Thank you so much, Ali! I'm so happy you enjoyed it!
Helen says
I love chickpeas so much so thrilled to see the recipe. Super easy to follow and tasty! I added my backyard kale and Swiss chards too 😌 Cooked some buckwheat groats to compliment the salad.
Thanks so much Amy!
💕 Helen
Amy Katz says
I'm so happy you enjoyed it, Helen! It sounds like you have an amazing backyard garden!
Elizabeth says
Just made this delightful, crisp salad on a rainy Sunday morning. I'm sure it will be even better after the flavors have time to marinade. I am so glad I found you and really love all the plant based recipes. Especially appreciate the simple list of ingredients. Thank you Amy!
Amy says
Thank you, Elizabeth! I'm so happy to have you here!
Janet says
I don’t do oil, any suggestions on substitutions?
Amy says
Hi Janet, you can leave out the oil and it will still be delicious. 🙂
JoAnn M Lakes says
Can you do some oil-free dressing recipes? I love your taste profile.
Amy says
Thank you, JoAnn! For this recipe you can omit the oil and it will still taste great. I will definitely share some oil-free dressings.
Martha says
LOL I love them that much, too! Bought a can to make this recipe with, but I ate the whole can before I could make the recipe!
Amy says
Ha! That's so funny!
BJ says
I don’t use oil, so I added 4 T balsamic vinegar instead. Very tasty and quick to make. I will double or triple the 4-serving ingredient list for company or potlucks in future. Thank you.