My Tomato Chickpea Salad is healthy, filling, packed with fresh, citrusy, herby flavour and can be made in minutes!
This Tomato Chickpea Salad recipe was inspired by the topping on my Loaded Taco Fries with Lime Crema and is healthy, fresh, packed with flavour and easy to make with just 6 ingredients (plus salt and pepper).
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What you need
- Chickpeas - from a can or chickpeas you have cooked at home yourself
- Tomatoes - Nice large, juicy ones. WIth such few ingredients it's important they are nice and tasty.
- Red onion - It's important it's red as they are much milder and better for eating raw than white onions. You could use fresh chives or green onions instead.
- Cilantro - The leafy part of this salad. Flatleaf parsley works really well too if you aren't a fan of cilantro.
- Olive oil, lime juice, salt & pepper - These come together with the juice from the tomatoes to make the dressing for the salad. Lemon juice could be used instead of the lime.
How to make Tomato Chickpea Salad
(For detailed measurements and instructions, see the printable recipe card).
This tomato chickpea salad recipe is really easy to make. Here's how:
- Open a can of chickpeas, drain and rinse (make sure to save that lovely aquafaba. You can make all sorts of yummy things with it like my oil-free Loaded Taco Fries, Vegan Yorkshire Puddings, Cheese & Onion Roasted Chickpeas and my scrumptious Omelette).
- Chop some tomatoes and red onion then mix with the chickpeas.
- Drizzle over some olive oil and lime juice and season well to taste
- Add some cilantro leaves and stir again.
- Leave to sit for at least 10 minutes for the flavours to mingle.
Variations
Chickpea Tomato Salad is really versatile and the flavours go with just about anything. Make it your own by adding whatever you have in your fridge or pantry. Some ideas include bell peppers, capers, corn (fresh, canned or defrosted frozen), olives, cucumber, avocado, salad leaves, artichokes, vegan feta cheese, canned beans, vegan ricotta etc, but anything goes so get creative!
Making ahead & storage
This salad is best on the day it is made but leftovers can be stored in the fridge and are ok for up 2 days after. The cilantro leaves get a bit limp after the first day but it's all still perfectly edible. With that in mind, I wouldn't make it more than a few hours ahead to serve to guests, but I might, and often do if it's just for us!
How to serve
Serve on its own for a light meal with some bread to mop up the juices or serve as a side. Here are some foods that it works really well with:
- veggie burgers like my White Bean Artichoke Burgers and my Zesty Black Bean Burgers
- baked tofu
- vegan quiche
- vegan spanakopita
- curries or other spicy foods
- BBQ tofu
- grilled food
- top tacos and burritos
- flatbreads
- grilled baby potatoes
- other vegan salads
It's also really great as a simple meal in itself with some cold rice (or any other grain) stirred through it to bulk it out a bit.
Recipe FAQs
Canned chickpeas are already cooked and can safely be eaten straight from the can.
This is a personal choice. I never remove them when I add chickpeas to salad recipes like this one and they are pretty unnoticeable. If you would prefer to though, then go ahead and remove them.
📖 Recipe
Tomato Chickpea Salad
Author:
Ingredients
- 1 x 15 oz can (1¾ cups) chickpeas , (or 1 x 398ml Canadian can / 400g in UK)
- 1 medium red onion , diced finely
- 4-5 juicy tomatoes , diced
- 2 big handfuls cilantro , stems removed (flatleaf parsley is a good sub)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil , omit to make oil-free
- 1 large lime zest & juice
- salt & black pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas and add them to a large bowl along with the onion and diced tomato.
- Zest the lime and add it to the chickpea/tomato mixture along with the lime juice and olive oil.
- Season well with salt and black pepper to taste. Be generous. It really brings out the flavours.
- Add the cilantro leaves and toss gently.
- Leave to sit for about 10 minutes to allow the flavours to mingle.
- Give it a quick toss again before serving.
NOTES
Storage and making ahead This salad is best on the day it is made but leftovers can be stored in the fridge and are ok for up 2 days after. The cilantro leaves get a bit limp after the first day but it's all still perfectly edible. With that in mind, I wouldn't make it more than a few hours ahead to serve to guests, but I might, and often do if it's just for us!
NUTRITION
Nutritional information is provided for convenience & as a courtesy. The data is a computer generated estimate so should be used as a guide only.
This recipe was originally published on January 27th, 2017. I've updated the post with new photographs and information and now I am republishing it for you. The recipe itself remains the same. I hope you enjoy it. Thank you for following A Virtual Vegan!
Linda says
Made this tonight. Good and easy. I added fresh corn since I had some left over. Added salad greens and guacamole for a full meal. Yum!
Jo says
Looks Lovely! I have all the ingredients with the exception of limes- I have lemons. Will lemons work?
A Virtual Vegan says
Lemon would be good too!
Julie McGrail says
This is a family favorite! I used cherry tomatoes and added feta cheese.
A Virtual Vegan says
So glad you are enjoying it!
Alan says
I've made this once, and plan to again this week. I cook just for myself, so this was enough for about three meals. I found it was fine after 3-4 days. I didn't have any cilantro so I subbed plain old salad in bag. I also added some pasta to part of it one day, and some croutons the next, and both worked out very well. Very tasty and easy to make, this will definitely be part of my regular meal rotation from now on.
A Virtual Vegan says
Great! I'm so glad you enjoyed it Alan and your additions sound lovely. It's a pretty versatile recipe as you have found. Thanks so much for stopping by to let me know!
Shana says
Delicious!
Marla says
Really tasty, healthy and very colorful. Love the combination of flavors and ingredients.
kim says
Simple quick and really good. A staple for us.
Amy says
This is my favorite salad! It's so simple and easy.