Chickpea Salad with Tomatoes, Olives, and Herbs

In this Chickpea Salad with Tomatoes, Olives, and Herbs I’m using less beans and more tomatoes, olives, and herbs for a more carb-conscious version. If Chickpeas are not your favorite, use a different type of bean for this tasty vegan salad. 

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For people with tomatoes in the garden, we’re approaching that point in the summer where some kind of salad that uses tomatoes is going to appear on the table nearly every day, and this Chickpea Salad with Tomatoes, Olives, and Herbs is lovely for a summer side dish, or even as a main-dish salad for a light meal. And if you have some fresh herbs in your garden, this salad is a perfect way to spotlight them.

I’ve always been quite a fan of chickpeas, but when I made this salad again recently to re-shoot the old photos, I decided to reduce the amount of chickpeas to make the salad a bit more carb-conscious. That gave me a chance to use more tomatoes, olives, and herbs, which in my opinion only made the salad better!

This salad was originally inspired by one I saw in Joanne Weir’s From Tapas to Meze (affiliate link) but I improvised on it after thinking about what needed to be used in the garden and what would taste good with chickpeas. You can definitely use less chickpeas like I did, or even skip the chickpeas completely if you prefer and use another type of bean, but please be sure not to skip the fresh basil and fresh parsley, which is what makes the salad so delicious. If you have other fresh herbs in the garden, throw some of those in as well!

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

• can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
• Red Wine Vinegar (affiliate link)
• fresh-squeezed lemon juice, I used my fresh-frozen lemon juice
• tomatoes
• Kalamata olives
• red onion
• chopped fresh basil
• chopped parsley
• salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
• extra virgin Olive Oil (affiliate link)
• Red Wine Vinegar (affiliate link)
• sea salt

What other beans could you use?

If you’re not a fan of chickpeas, this salad would be delicious with other types of beans, especially Cannellini Beans or Pinto Beans.

How can you make this Chickpea Salad lower in carbs?

When I re-shot the photos I made this salad lower in carbs by cutting it down to only one can of chickpeas. But I love the interesting idea in the comments from a reader who suggests replacing chickpeas with chopped pieces of califlower!

How to make Chickpea Salad with Tomatoes, Olives, and Herbs:

(Scroll down for complete recipe with nutritional information.)

1. Whether you soak chickpeas and cook them from scratch or just rinse canned chickpeas, don’t skip the step of marinating the beans in some red wine vinegar and lemon juice while you prep other ingredients!
2. Then cut up tomatoes (and drain in a colander if they’re juicy), slice olives, and chop red onion and toss the other ingredients with the marinating beans.
3. Chop up a generous amount of fresh basil and parsley, or any other fresh herbs you’re using. I used my favorite Herb Scissors (affiliate link) to cut up the basil.
4. Toss herbs with the marinating ingredients.
5. Then whisk together red wine vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper to make the dressing.
6. Add the dressing to ingredients in the bowl, and toss the entire salad again.
7. Season Chickpea Salad with Tomatoes to taste with salt and fresh ground pepper and serve.
8. This will keep pretty well in the fridge overnight, but it’s definitely best freshly made.

Make it a Healthy Meal:

For a healthy dinner this would make a great side dish for something like Grilled Chicken with Lemon and Capers, Grilled Sausage and Peppers, Marinated Beef Kabobs, Slow Cooker Barbecue Chicken, or Chicken Cutlets with Mustard Sauce.

Want More Beans In Your Salads?

Pinto Bean Salad with Avocado and Tomatoes

Balela Middle Eastern Bean Salad

Black Bean Salad with Jicama

Cucumber, Tomato, and Garbanzo Bean Salad with Feta

Black Bean Salad with Black-Eyed Peas

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Yield: 6 servings

Chickpea Salad with Tomatoes, Olives, and Herbs

Prep Time 20 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

This Chickpea Salad with Tomatoes, Olives, and Herbs is a delicious summer salad using fresh garden tomatoes.

Ingredients

Salad Ingredients:

• one 15 oz. garbanzo beans, well rinsed and drained
• 1 T red wine vinegar
• 1 T fresh-squeezed lemon juice (See notes)
• 2 diced tomatoes, cut in 1/2 inch pieces then drained
• 3/4 cup Kalamata olives, sliced into lengthwise slivers
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil (or more)
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley (or more)
• salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Dressing Ingredients:

• 5 T best quality extra virgin olive oil
• 3 T red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. fresh-ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Drain chickpeas into colander and rinse with cold water until no more foam appears.
2. Let beans drain well, then place in large plastic bowl and toss with 1 T red wine vinegar and 1 T fresh lemon juice.
3. Chop tomatoes and drain in a colander while you chop the onions and slice olives.
4. Then add drained tomatoes, chopped onions, and sliced olives to the bowl with the marinating beans.
5. Wash and dry basil and parsley, using salad spinner (affiliate link) or washing in the sink and drying with paper towels.
6. Finely chop herbs, then add to marinating salad ingredients and gently combine.
7. Put 3 T red wine vinegar and 2 tsp fresh lemon juice in a small bowl or glass measuring cup, then whisk in olive oil until dressing is emulsified. Stir salt and pepper into dressing.
8. Gently mix dressing into salad, then season to taste with additional salt and fresh ground black pepper.
9. The salad can marinate at room temperature for an hour or two before serving.
10. I did refrigerate leftovers with pretty good results, but it’s definitely best when freshly made and before being refrigerated.

Notes

I like to use my fresh-frozen lemon juice for recipes that call for fresh squeezed lemon juice.

This recipe was inspired by a chickpea salad in From Tapas to Meze (affiliate link) with additional inspiration from Kalyn’s garden.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 275Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 476mgCarbohydrates: 25gFiber: 8gSugar: 6gProtein: 7g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

Did you make this recipe?

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating (under the PRINT button in the recipe) or share a photo of your results on Instagram! THANKS!

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This Chickpea Salad with Tomatoes is great for any phase of the original South Beach Diet. With the reduced amount of beans, it might work for some low-carb diets; you could also make the salad without beans for a low-carb version.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Salad Recipes for more Salads like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This salad was posted in 2008. It was updated with better photos and a lower-carb option in 2016 and the recipe was updated with more information in 2022.

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