A delicious and healthy gluten-free Chickpea Salad with Easy Lemon Dressing that takes less than 20 minutes to make!
This isn’t your ordinary chickpea salad folks. This one is loaded with so many goodies that your taste buds will think they’ve turned into party poppers. Just take a look at the textures in that bowl. And the colors, oh the pretty colors.
EASY MEDITERRANEAN VEGAN RECIPE
If you love Mediterranean food, then this gluten-free chickpea salad with kalamata olives and palm hearts salad is going to steal your heart.
Every bite offers an explosion of flavor; there are big pieces of tangy palm heart, savory olives, juicy tomatoes, creamy chickpeas, and fresh peppery basil leaves, all topped with a tart lemon dressing that’s so easy to make.
This isn’t just a salad, it’s a meal, and it’s a meal that takes less than twenty minutes to make. Now do I have your attention?
HOW TO MAKE A HEALTHY AND QUICK CHICKPEA SALAD
It’s so easy it’s almost stupid. Almost. The only thing that prevents it from being a salad for dummies is that it’s so healthy and delicious, all the smart people will make it.
- FIRST
- Make a batch of chickpeas or open two cans and drain and rinse off the brine. Keep the brine, aka aquafaba, and make these.
- SECOND
- Slice the palm hearts, Dice the tomato, Chop some fresh basil, and toss them in a large bowl with the chickpeas.
- THIRD
- Whip up the lemon dressing and fold the chickpeas, palm hearts, tomato, basil, olives, and dressing together until combined. Grate some fresh lemon zest on top, sprinkle some pink Himalayan salt over the salad, and add freshly ground black pepper to taste.
NOTE: Don't skip the lemon zest, it makes the salad!
Eat it!
See, I told you this was super easy.
HOW DO YOU COOK DRIED CHICKPEAS?
- FIRST
- Rinse then soak. They must soak for at least six hours before you boil them. They will expand as they absorb the water.
- SECOND
- Drain and rinse.
- THIRD
- Boil for approximately 90 minutes. Once you've rinsed the beans, put them back in the pot and cover with several inches of fresh water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a low boil and cook for approximately 90 minutes, or until the beans are the texture you desire.
To learn more about cooking dried beans, click here.
WHAT SHOULD I SERVE WITH A CHICKPEA SALAD?
Serve it with a warm and crunchy baguette and some crisp white wine for the perfect summer comfort food dinner.
This Vegan Tomato and Spinach Tart could be the main course and the salad would make a lovely side dish.
These "Honey" BBQ Ribz would be awesome with it.
And don’t forget to make enough so you can have some for lunch the next day.
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Chickpea Salad with Easy Lemon Dressing
Ingredients
- 30 ounce 850 g of cooked chickpeas
- 1 25 oz [708 g] jar of palm hearts, sliced into 1-inch (2.54 cm) pieces
- 2 large tomatoes seeded and diced
- 2 cups pitted Kalamata olives
- 1 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
- Zest from one lemon
- Ground pink Himalayan sea salt
- Ground black pepper to taste
- FOR THE DRESSING
- Juice from 1 large lemon approximately 1/3 cup (80 ml)
- 1 tablespoon 15 ml white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon 15 ml extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ teaspoon .8 g Italian seasoning, crushed
- Ground sea salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- TO MAKE THE DRESSING
- Whisk the lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper together until well combined
- TO MAKE THE SALAD
- In a large bowl, fold the chickpeas, palm hearts, tomatoes, olives, basil, and dressing together until combined. Grate the lemon zest on top, sprinkle a thin layer of the pink Himalayan sea salt over the salad, and add black pepper to taste.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Christine @ Run Plant Based says
This salad looks wonderful, love the flavors and addition of hearts of palm. Can't wait to try, thanks!
Linda Meyer says
Thank you! Let me know what you think.
Vanessa @ VeganFamilyRecipes says
What a pretty chickpea salad! Love that you added palm hearts and kalamata olives (the BEST olives!)! Pinning 😉
Linda Meyer says
Thanks so much, Vanessa! 🙂
Amy Katz from Veggies Save The Day says
You have so many of my favorite ingredients in this salad! In fact, I think I already have everything I need to make it!
Linda Meyer says
Yay! Let me know what you think if you make it.
whereyougetyourprotein says
This looks delicious and so simple to throw together!
Linda Meyer says
Thank you! It's such an easy salad.
veggiesdontbite says
I love chickpeas, and especially in my salad. This sounds so good especially in the heat of the summer! Tangy and salty and yum!
Linda Meyer says
Thank you, Sophia! It's getting me through the heat and humidity Chicago is experiencing this week.
Sarah McMinn says
Oh yum! This looks so good and refreshing!
Linda Meyer says
Thanks, Sarah!
Agness of Run Agness Run says
Yum! This salad recipe is pitch-perfect and the dressing is just awesome. Can I use lime zest instead of lemon zest?
Linda Meyer says
Hi Agness! Thank you so much. You could use lime zest, and if you do I'd change the dressing to a lime dressing so the flavors don't compete.
Lynn Richards says
SO so happy to have found your website. I have been eating plant based for over a month and I'm tired and hungry all the time. I was ready to throw in the towel. But with a meal plan, how can I go wrong?
I tried the salad for lunch today and just about cried from happiness..
How much is in one serving for this? (cause I could eat the whole bowl)
Alex Meyer, MA says
Hey Lynn, We're so happy you found us too! With switching to plant based, keep in mind that plant foods are less calorically dense so eating a larger quantity of whole plant foods is a must : ) We're so happy to hear that you've decided to continue with a plant-based lifestyle and would love for you to reach out again if you have any questions or need support in your plant-based journey! The whole recipe makes about 4-5 servings, but if you're eating it as a meal we encourage you to eat until you're satisfied and disregard serving sizes for whole-food-plant-based meals for the start of your plant-based journey. Let us know if you have any more questions and thanks for the comment!
Gwendolynn Moore says
I'm trying to think of an alternative for the olives?
Linda Meyer says
Capers? Or just omit them, it will still be really good. 🙂
Daphnna says
This looks so great!
How many servings does this yield? How long will it keep in the fridge?
Linda Meyer says
Hi Daphnna, thank you so much. If you serve as an entree, it will make four servings. As a side, it depends on how much each person puts on their plate. 🙂