Chickpea Cucumber Salad (2024)

Published: Apr 5, 2017 · Modified: Jun 23, 2022 by Amy Katz

Chickpea Cucumber Salad is loaded with Mediterranean flavors from tangy olives, mild red onions, and a lemony dressing. This 15 minute vegan salad recipe can be made in advance for easy meals, potlucks, and picnics.

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Special diet: gluten-free, nut-free, soy-free, vegan

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Inspired by a vegan Mediterranean diet, this simple and delicious salad combines pantry staples with fresh seasonal produce.

If you enjoy chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans) and dishes like Mediterranean cucumber salad and tomato basil cucumber salad, this is the recipe for you.

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Why you'll love this recipe
Ingredients
Variations
Amy's tip
Instructions
Serving suggestions
Storing
Recipe FAQs
More vegan chickpea salad recipes
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Why you'll love this recipe

It's loaded with flavor yet only requires 10 ingredients (plus salt and pepper).
You can make it in 15 minutes.
It's easy to customize to suit your tastes and utilize the ingredients you have on hand.

Ingredients

Chickpeas
Cucumber
Tomatoes
Red onions
Fresh parsley (Curly or flat-leaf)
Black olives (I use canned, but you can use your favorite jarred variety such as Kalamata.)

And for the dressing you'll need olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, pure maple syrup, and salt and pepper.

Variations

Use cherry or grape tomatoes, or any heirloom variety
Add other vegetables such as red bell pepper or radishes
Swap out the black olives for cubed avocado
Add vegan feta cheese
Use other fresh herbs such as mint or basil
Substitute dried herbs for fresh, like oregano or Italian seasoning

For the complete list of ingredients with measurements plus recipe instructions, please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

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Amy's tip

To help prevent the cucumber from becoming bitter from the compound cucurbitacin, cut off both ends before slicing.

Instructions

To prepare this salad, combine the ingredients in a large bowl. Mix the dressing ingredients together, pour over the salad, then toss well and enjoy.

Serving suggestions

This Mediterranean chickpea cucumber salad can be eaten as a complete meal for lunch or a light dinner. You can also serve it on a bed of greens such as butterleaf lettuce, kale, or chard.

Or try it with alongside a grain salad such as herbed quinoa salad or Greek millet salad, or even panzanella bread salad.

It also works well as a starter or side with seasoned tofu sandwiches, lemon baked tofu or vegan pasta casserole.

Storing

Leftover salad can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Recipe FAQs

Is it best to eat cucumbers with or without the skin?

Cucumbers can be eaten with the skin on. It contains both fiber and antioxidants. However, if you're not a fan of the skin, feel free to peel them.

Is it okay to eat cucumbers that feel slimy on the outside?

If the skin on the cucumber feels slimy or has a white film on it, it's past its prime and should not be eaten.

How should you cook chickpeas?

If you would like to cook your own chickpeas from dried instead of using canned, there are several ways you can prepare them. Options include cooking on the stove, using a slow cooker, and using a pressure cooker like an Instant Pot. For complete instructions for all of these methods, How to Cook Dried Chickpeas from Food52 is a wonderful resource.

More vegan chickpea salad recipes

Mango Chickpea Salad
Balela Salad (Trader Joe's Copycat)
Vegan Chickpea Spinach Salad
Vegan Pesto Chickpea Salad

And for even more recipes, join the Vegan Mediterranean Diet Recipes Facebook group for support, inspiration & fun!

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