This Greek inspired Chickpea Cucumber Salad is a great meal prep recipe for a weekday lunch. It's full of flavor and nutrition and ready in 10 minutes! Protein-packed chickpeas are combined with crisp cucumbers, juicy tomatoes, fresh herbs, and creamy feta cheese. All tossed in a bright lemon vinaigrette made with some favorite pantry staples.😊
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review: "Loved the flavor & how easy it was to make! 🙂" Carla
As a dietitian, I fully appreciate a great salad that uses a budget-friendly main ingredient like chickpeas. This chickpea cucumber feta salad hits the spot and covers all the nutritional bases! Chickpeas provide plant-based protein, dietary fiber to support a healthy gut, iron, and magnesium. Tomatoes provide powerful antioxidants, and cucumber adds potassium and vitamin K.
This makes a great summer salad for when fresh veggies like cucumbers and tomatoes are in peak season, but I honestly make it year round. Meal prep it and store it in a mason jar for a light lunch, or serve it in a nice salad bowl as a side salad the next time you host or bring a dish to a party!
If you like this recipe, you may also enjoy my Chickpea Salad with Honey Lime Dressing, Mediterranean Costco Quinoa Lentil Salad, White Bean Salad with Cucumbers Mediterranean Jar Salads, or an Easy Tomato Dill Salad with Lemon.
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Key Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
This chickpea cucumber salad is made with simple ingredients. Below are some ingredient notes. Check the recipe card at the bottom for ingredient measurements.
Salad Ingredients
- Chickpeas - also known as garbanzo beans. I use a can of chickpeas for this recipe. If you prefer to use dry chickpeas, cook and dry them before roasting. Here is some extra help for how to cook dried chickpeas if you need it.
- Cucumber - crunchy cucumbers like English cucumber or Persian cucumbers (also known as mini cucumbers) work best for this recipe. Both have fewer and smaller seeds and thinner skin than regular cucumbers.
- Tomatoes - I use cherry or grape tomatoes. Fresh tomatoes add a pop of flavor and also contain vitamins C, potassium, and a powerful antioxidant called lycopene that helps protect cells from oxidative stress.
- Red Onion - red onion adds a bit of sweetness and crunch. If you prefer a more mild onion flavor, use a shallot or soak your red onion in water before adding it to the salad.
- Fresh herbs - this recipe calls for a combination of fresh parsley and fresh dill. If you want you can also add fresh mint, fresh basil, or fresh oregano, too.
- Feta Cheese - I suggest using a block of feta and crumbling it yourself with your hands or a knife. Feta adds a salty component.
Dressing Ingredients
- Lemon Juice - fresh lemon juice adds a ton of flavor and brighteness. It also contains ascorbic acid, a natural preservative.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil - extra virgin olive oil to coat the veggies and add heart-healthy fats that support hormone health and brain health.
- White Wine Vinegar - a light bodied and mild vinegar to add a punch of tang. Feel free to use red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar if you prefer a stronger vinegar taste.
- Garlic Powder - I use garlic powder instead of fresh garlic because it's more concentrated and a little goes a long way. If you want, you can use 1-2 cloves of fresh garlic instead.
- Salt & Black Pepper - the perfect way to tie all the flavors together.
How to Make a Chickpea Cucumber Salad
Below are the instructions for how to make this chickpea salad recipe with some visuals that I hope are helpful! Check the recipe card at the bottom for the full recipe.
- Step 1 - Drain and rinse a can of chickpeas. Dice the tomato, cucumber, red onion, and fresh herbs. Combine it all in a large bowl.
- Step 2 - Top the salad with the dressing ingredients including lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil, garlic powder, and salt and pepper. Toss until everything is coated.
- Step 3- Add crumbled feta on top and gently toss again.
Hint: If you are making it in advance to serve later, combine everything except the feta cheese. Add the feta right before serving.
Video of How to Make Chickpea Cucumber Salad
Here's a video of how to make this recipe that I hope is helpful.
Variations
The great thing about this chickpea cucumber salad is you can customize to your taste! Below are some ideas.
- Vegan - you can easily make this recipe vegan by replacing the feta cheese with avocado or tahini, both of which will add similar creaminess as the cheese does.
- Spicy - if you're a fan of spicy flavors, add jalapeño peppers or crushed red pepper flakes.
- Deluxe - add more veggies to amp up the flavor and nutrition even more. Red bell peppers, chopped celery, cauliflower, or broccoli would all be good additions.
- Salty - add more saltiness with briny olives or capers.
- Dijon - adding a tablespoon of Dijon mustard takes the simple dressing used in this salad to another level.
- More Protein - the chickpeas add plant-protein. But feel free to add your favorite protein on top. Chicken, tofu, shrimp, or salmon all work great with these flavors.
- Different Dressing - use a Red Wine Vinaigrette Dressing for more of a Greek flavor.
Storage for Chickpea Cucumber Salad
- Refrigerator - store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
Expert Advice
- To save time, use canned chickpeas. Rinse your can of chickpeas to improve the flavor and texture of the final dish.
- Buy a block of feta and crumble it yourself for the best flavor.
- If possible, use freshly squeezed lemon instead of lemon juice from the bottle.
Dietitian tip
Chickpeas (garbanzo beans) are one of the main ingredients in this recipe. They provide dietary fiber for gut health and 12g of plant-based protein per cup! And legumes like chickpeas are also high in vitamins B6 and B12. Make it easy to incorporate legumes into your eating pattern by meal prepping recipes that taste great and store well like this one.
FAQ
While healthy means something different to everyone, this is a nutrient-rich option. It contains plant protein from the chickpeas, dietary fiber to support gut health from the legumes and vegetables, and heart-healthy fats that also support brain health and hormone health from the olive oil. This fresh recipe also contains antioxidants and vitamins and minerals including vitamins A, C, and K, potassium, and magnesium. It is also gluten-free.
Find feta cheese near the other cheeses in the dairy section of most grocery stores. You can buy it in a block and crumble it with your hands or buy it already crumbled. I suggest buying it in the block and crumbling it yourself because the feta that comes crumbled often has added ingredients and tastes drier.
Garbanzo beans and chickpeas are different names for the same legume. They can be used interchangeably so look for either name when doing your grocery shopping to make chickpea salad recipes like this one.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Perfect for Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with this Chickpea Cucumber Salad:
Looking for Nutrition Education?
Here are some nutrition education articles from a dietitian:
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do! I would love to hear from you! If you made this recipe, please leave me a review below or tag me in a photo or story on Instagram. Your reviews help support me and make it possible for me to continue to create the recipes you know and love. 🙂 IG: @mallorythedietitian
📖 Recipe
Easy Chickpea Cucumber Salad with Feta and Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), 15 oz rinsed and drained
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered about 15 tomatoes
- 4 persian cucumbers, diced or 1 english cucumber
- ¼ cup red onion, diced about a quarter of an onion
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped more to taste
- 2 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped more to taste
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese 4 oz or half a block
For Dressing
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoon white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 1 lemon (juice of) about 2-3 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder more to taste
- ½ teaspoon salt more to taste
- black pepper more to taste
Instructions
- Drain and rinse a can of chickpeas. Dice the cucumber and tomatoes, and chop the red onion and fresh herbs. Combine it all in a large bowl.
- Top the salad ingredients with the dressing ingredients. Toss until everything is coated.
- Add crumbled feta on top and gently toss again.
Video
Notes
- To save time, use canned chickpeas. Rinse your can of chickpeas to improve the flavor and texture of the final dish.
- Buy a block of feta and crumble it yourself for the best flavor.
- If possible, use freshly squeezed lemon instead of lemon juice from the bottle.
- Refrigerator - store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
- To save time, use canned chickpeas. Rinse your can of chickpeas to improve the flavor and texture of the final dish.
- Buy a block of feta and crumble it yourself for the best flavor.
- If possible, use freshly squeezed lemon instead of lemon juice from the bottle.
Nikki
Hi! I love the recipe but the red onion is missing from the ingredient list! I totally forgot to buy one at the store because of this! Other than that its a perfect recipe
Mallory
Hi Nikki, THANK YOU so much for pointing that out! I just added it to the ingredient list. I'm so happy to hear that you loved the salad! Thank you so much again. 😊
Darcy Gassaway
AMAZING! I made this for lunch and it was so good. I added an orange pepper to the salad and Dijon mustard to the dressing. It was so delicious. I will definitely be making this again.
Mallory
Hi Darcy, Thank you so much for taking time to leave a comment and review!! I'm so happy to hear that you enjoyed it!!! 🙂 Orange pepper & dijon sound like amazing additions! I hope that you have a wonderful day! -Mallory
Lauren
This was easy to make and SO fresh! (I did use preserved salted dill and it just fine)
Would reccomend!
Mallory
Hi Lauren, Thank you so much for taking time to leave a comment!! I'm so happy to hear that you enjoyed it! 🙂 Love to hear that the preserved salted dill worked cause it's a little easier than one more thing to rinse & chop! Thanks again and I hope you have a wonderful day! -Mallory
Carla
Loved the flavor & how easy it was to make! 🙂
Mallory
Hi Carla, thank you so much for taking time to leave a rating and comment!! It truly means so much to me that you enjoyed the recipe and found it easy to make. I hope you have a wonderful day and thank you so much again! -Mallory
Christina Norris
Love this easy-to-make cold dish for summer dinners. So healthy!
Thank you.
Mallory
Hi Christina, Thank you so much for taking time to leave a rating and comment!! I'm so happy you enjoyed it and found it easy to make! 😊 I hope you have a great day! -Mallory
Diana
I made this today and loved it but I’m a little confused on the nutritional menu. It shows 1077 mg for one and a half cups. It’s not adding up for me. Could you help with that understanding?
Mallory
Hi Diana! I'm so happy you enjoyed the recipe! 😊 the 1077mg is how much sodium is in a cup and a half serving. It could be less depending on how much sodium the can of chickpeas that you use has. I hope that helps!! -Mallory
Ruby Den(n)is
Simple yet informative.馃憤 It鈥檚 refreshing to read something this useful....