Use fresh ingredients to make a delicious chickpea tahini salad. The easy side dish or light lunch is ready in 10 minutes and great for meal prep. Serve the Mediterranean side salad with grilled meat entrees like al faham chicken or Adana kebab and saffron rice for a complete meal.
I can eat a salad every day and never tire of it. That’s one of the reasons why I love this chickpea tahini salad. It’s versatile and delicious, so you can throw this recipe together using what you have.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Chickpeas: Chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, are a great source of plant-based protein. I use canned chickpeas for convenience, but you can use dried chickpeas – just set aside the time to soak and cook them before including the chickpeas in the salad.
- Vegetables: I enjoy the combination of red onions, juicy Roma or cherry tomatoes, and crisp cucumbers.
- Dressing: Prepare a simple homemade lemon tahini dressing with creamy tahini sauce, extra-virgin olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic clove, salt, and black pepper.
Additions and Substitutions
Tahini chickpea salad is a versatile dish, so don’t be afraid to use this recipe as a starting point and make it your own.
- Substitute the chickpeas with other white beans, like Northern beans, navy beans, butter beans, or Cannellini beans, as I do to make Turkish piyaz.
- Try other fresh herbs like dill, basil, or mint leaves instead of parsley.
- Include honey or maple syrup in the dressing if you want it to be sweeter.
- Tahini is a sesame paste made from sesame seeds, and the nutty flavor complements the mild earthiness of the creamy chickpeas. You can replace the tahini dressing in the recipe with blackberry vinaigrette, avocado green goddess dressing, or miso vinaigrette.
- Add chopped kalamata olives, green onion, baby spinach, green bell pepper, or leafy greens.
- Diced fruit is an excellent addition to the salad. I have made it with fresh strawberries and blueberries.
- Crumble cheese like goat, Gorgonzola, or feta cheese over the top.
- Include couscous, quinoa, or bulgar. Add hard-boiled eggs to make a more filling side dish.
How to Make Chickpea Tahini Salad
The full recipe with measurements is in the recipe card below.
Step 1: Drain and rinse the chickpeas in a colander. Transfer them to a salad bowl or serving dish.
Step 2: Use a sharp knife to dice the vegetables and add them to the chickpeas.
Step 3: Whisk tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper in a small bowl until smooth. Pour it over the salad and stir to combine.
How to Use Dry Chickpeas
If all you have is dried chickpeas, use them in the salad. However, you will need to prepare and cook them beforehand. Here’s how you do it:
- Soak one cup of dried chickpeas (about 3 cups of cooked chickpeas) in a large mixing bowl overnight.
- Drain the chickpeas and transfer them to a large pot. Cover the chickpeas with water and a teaspoon of salt. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat.
- Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 hours, or you can pressure cook them in the Instant Pot for 12-15 minutes, depending on how long you soaked the chickpeas.
If you enjoy this side dish, try more salad recipes!
Serving Suggestions
Serve the simple salad dish with savory meals like Moroccan meatballs or roasted chicken. The side perfectly complements kabobs and other grilled meat entrees such as kabob koobideh, joojeh kabob, or grilled chicken drumsticks.
You can also use the vegetables as a filling for sandwiches, falafel gyro, Middle Eastern protein bowl, or spoon it over a buttery grilled sweet potato.
More Tasty Pairings:
- Butter Bean Hummus
- Vegetable Crudite
- Piyaz
- Pita Bread or Pita Chips
What to do with the Leftovers
- Can I make this recipe ahead of time? Add the dressing to the bottom of a mason jar, followed by chickpeas. Top them with the tomatoes, cucumber, and onion. Finish the mason jar salad with fresh parsley. Pour the contents of the jar onto a plate when you’re ready to eat and enjoy!
- Refrigerate: Store the leftovers in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
- Repurpose: Use the salad as a filling for spinach protein wraps, pitas, or sandwiches.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do canned chickpeas need to be cooked?
Drain and rinse the canned chickpeas before adding them to the salad since they are pre-cooked.
More Salad Recipes:
Chickpea Salad
- Small Bowl
- 2 cups canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- ½ medium red onion, finely diced
- 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered
- 2 Persian cucumbers, finely diced
- ½ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons tahini paste
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- lemon juice, 1 lemon
- 1 garlic clove, finely minced
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas in a colander. Transfer them to a salad bowl or serving dish.
- Use a sharp knife to dice the vegetables and add them to the chickpeas.
- Whisk tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper in a small bowl until smooth. Pour it over the salad and stir to combine.
- The nutritional information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for professional advice.
TW
Sunday 12th of June 2022
I could eat this every day. I didn't have parsley, so I made it with mint instead.
Tressa Jamil
Sunday 12th of June 2022
Oh, I have totally done that too! The mint lends a nice freshness to it.