Chicken and Chickpea Salad

There’s something about the onset of spring that has me craving salads. They’re the perfect blank canvas you can customize however you like to satisfy many different cravings. Want something slightly sweet? This simple summer chopped salad is a favorite! Craving something with grains as the base? My black bean and brown rice salad is a go-to. In the mood for seafood? This shrimp and edamame salad is a flavor and texture explosion that’s fantastic as a salad or a dip!

And then there’s there’s the kind of salad that’s a personal favorite: The kind of salad that includes a bunch of deliciously fresh produce but no lettuce. I’m not here to hate on lettuce at all but there’s something so satisfying about a salad overflowing with vibrant ingredients that does not include lettuce that makes the salad feel a little more satiating and unique.

Perhaps the biggest bonus of making a lettuce-less salad? They’re much easier to prep ahead of time and hold their texture in the fridge. No droopy lettuce allowed!

Chicken and Chickpea Salad Recipe

Today’s salad does not include any lettuce, but I’m going to go out on a limb here and say you saw that coming. Instead, it’s overflowing with Mediterranean-inspired flavors. We’re talking golden, buttery chickpeas, crisp red onion, tangy feta cheese and deliciously briny kalamata olives. It’s the kind of dish that satisfies your hunger while also giving you that feel-good “I just ate something healthy” vibe. And if you’re someone who is all about texture like me, this one will be right up your alley as so many different textures work together in the recipe — the tender chicken and garbanzo beans, the crunch of the red onion, cucumber and bell pepper, the juiciness of the cherry tomatoes, the creaminess of the feta — it’s basically a party in your mouth!

This chicken and chickpea salad recipe is also quick to throw together and lends itself well to meal prep. (Remember the whole “no soggy lettuce” thing?) It’s a fantastic recipe to prep on a Sunday and enjoy for lunch throughout the week. You can also change it up as leftovers diminish by adding barley or brown rice and leftover cooked pasta to stretch the recipe further.

Ingredients

Here is everything you need to make this salad:

• Chicken (rotisserie chicken is perfect for this recipe)
• Chickpeas
• Cucumber 
• Tomatoes 
• Red onion (I prefer to soak diced red onion in water for about 15 minutes before adding it to this salad to remove some of the bite)
• Bell pepper 
• Feta cheese
• Kalamata olives

And this dressing is a personal favorite because it’s so simple to make at home and includes ingredients I almost always have on hand:

• Olive oil
• Red wine vinegar
• Honey (completely optional — only add if you like a little sweetness)
• Garlic powder
• Oregano
• Fresh lemon juice
• Salt and pepper

See? Nothing too fancy!

Instructions

I love the way this salad recipe is essentially a “dump everything in a bowl and call it a day” recipe.

• Step 1

Prep the chicken. Dice the cooked chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces. (Rotisserie chicken is fantastic in this recipe but if you don’t have cooked chicken on hand, you can always check out my paleo chicken marinade for an effortless way to cook chicken.) If you prefer your chicken warm, feel free to keep the chicken breasts hot until it’s time to toss them into the salad.

• Step 2

Whisk together salad dressing ingredients (or shake to combine if making the dressing in a glass jar).

• Step 3

Chop your produce and combine all salad ingredients together into a large bowl. Pour dressing on top of the salad and toss to completely coat all of the ingredients.

• Step 4

Enjoy!

Variations of Chicken and Chickpea Salad

If you’d like to change things up a bit, this chicken chickpea salad is a versatile one as the flavors compliment a variety of veggies and proteins. For a more flavorful chicken, prepare the chicken breast ahead of time using my easy baked chicken recipe. And if you’re in the mood for seafood, I love swapping out the chicken for salmon or shrimp. If you’d prefer to make this recipe vegetarian-friendly, you can simply omit the chicken or even add falafel into the mix!

This chicken chickpea salad recipe also tastes fantastic with some cold, cooked pasta stirred in (I prefer rotini) and pairs well with my summer pasta salad if you’re looking for a delicious duo of sides to share together at an upcoming party or cookout.

Also, for some shortcuts, I recommend using rotisserie chicken in this recipe, as well as pre-sliced olive and roasted red peppers if you like a little bit of smokiness. It’s a fun recipe to play around with and I hope you love it as much as we do. If you decide to give this one a try, please let me know what you think by rating the recipe. Your feedback is appreciated so, so much!

Chicken and Chickpea Salad

Chicken and Chickpea Salad

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• Author: Julie

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Description

A protein-packed salad recipe with a Mediterranean flare, this chicken and chickpea salad is filled with satiating fiber and is a beautifully vibrant dish thanks to lots of colorful veggies.

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Ingredients

For the salad:

• 8 ounces chicken breasts, cooked and diced (rotisserie chicken works great!)
• 15 ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 2 English cucumbers, diced (I prefer English cucumbers as they do not have seeds but regular cucumbers will work just fine)
• 1/4 cup red onion, diced (and soaked in ice water for approximately 15 minutes to remove some of the bite — not necessary but it helps!)
• 1 cup kalamata olives, sliced in half (pits removed)
• 1/3 cup feta cheese, chopped

For the dressing: 

• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• Optional: Tiny squeeze of honey if you’d like a little hint of sweetness

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Instructions

1. Combine all salad ingredients together in a large bowl.
2. Whisk together all dressing ingredients.
3. Drizzle dressing on top of salad and gently toss to mix everything together, making sure all ingredients are coated in the dressing.
4. Serve immediately and enjoy!

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