Chickpea Tuna Salad

This Chickpea Tuna Salad has lots of tuna, red pepper, celery, and parsley to make this a lower-carb bean salad that’s loaded with flavor! And this salad has a delightful lemony dressing and I wouldn’t mind a squeeze of lemon added at the table as well!

PIN the Chickpea Tuna Salad to try it later!

For a few years now I’ve been re-shooting the photos for old favorites like this Chickpea Tuna Salad, and often I can’t resist adjusting the recipe a bit to make it lower in carbs! For this favorite summer salad I doubled the tuna, used a generous amount of chopped red bell pepper, switched red onion for lower-carb green onion, and added celery to make this a bean salad that now has only about 14 net carbs per serving (and 20 grams or protein!)

And salads like this are something I love to make and keep in the fridge to grab for lunch or easy dinner when it’s too hot to cook. The salad was inspired by the wonderful tuna packed in olive oil that I love so much but you can use any good quality tuna that’s available where you live, although I recommend tuna packed in olive oil.

I love the combination of beans, tuna, and parsley, and parsley is one of the world’s healthiest foods because it contains lots of anti-oxidants. And the chopped red peppers and the celery are both healthy ingredients that add some crunch. For sure if I was still going off to teach school every day, this is a salad I’d love for a delicious No-Heat Lunch; if you like these flavors, please give this salad a try!

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

• canned tuna, preferably Genova Tuna Packed in Olive Oil (affiliate link)
• canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
• red bell pepper
• chopped celery
• sliced green onion
• chopped parsley
• extra virgin Olive Oil (affiliate link)
• fresh-squeezed lemon juice, I used my fresh-frozen lemon juice
• Spike Seasoning (affiliate link)
• salt and pepper to taste

What beans can you use if you’re not a Chickpea fan?

If you don’t want to use chickpeas in the salad, Cannellini Beans would be my pick for another type of beans, but any kind of white beans will work with these ingredients.

What other herbs can you use in the salad with chickpeas and tuna?

If you’re not a fan of the grassy flavor of parsley, I think fresh basil or fresh mint would both be delicious in this salad.

How low in carbs is the updated Chickpea Tuna Salad?

I’m not tagging the recipe Low-Carb because I know a lot of low-carb eaters avoid beans, but the updated version of this tasty salad has only about 14 net carbs per serving, and 20 grams of protein!

How to Make Chickpea Tuna Salad:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. Drain garbanzo beans into a colander and rinse. Drain well or pat dry.
2. Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, Spike Seasoning (affiliate link), salt, and pepper.
3. Put beans into a bowl, mix with dressing, and let beans marinate. 
4. Finely chop red bell pepper and slice or chop celery.
5. Finely chop parsley. Slice green onions
6. I used my favorite Genova Tuna Packed in Olive Oil (affiliate link) for this salad and I recommend using olive oil tuna. 
7. Drain the tuna well. Then break apart with a fork, keeping it chunky.
8. Add red pepper, celery, green onion, and parsley to the beans and combine.
9. Then gently stir in drained tuna, being careful not to overmix.
10. Season to taste with fresh ground black pepper and salt.
11. You might like extra lemon to squeeze on at the table if you’re a big lemon fan!

More Salad Recipes with Dried Beans:

Check out 24 Amazing Salads with Dried Beans to see lots more ideas for tasty salads with beans.

Weekend Food Prep:

This Chickpea Tuna Salad recipe has been added to a new category called Weekend Food Prep where you’ll find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!

Continue to Content

Print

Yield: 6 servubgs

Chickpea Tuna Salad

Prep Time 20 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

For all the tuna and parsley fans, this Chickpea Tuna Salad is a perfect easy salad to make for lunch! And this salad recipe has been updated so it now has more tuna, celery, and a generous amount of red bell pepper, for a bean salad with only 14 net carbs per serving.

Ingredients

• two 5 oz. cans tuna packed in olive oil (see notes)
• one 15 oz. can chickpeas
• 1 large red bell pepper
• 1 cup sliced or chopped celery
• 1/2 cup sliced green onion
• 1 cup chopped parsley (see notes)

Dressing Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 T fresh-squeezed lemon juice (see notes)
• 1/2 tsp. Spike Seasoning (see notes)
• salt and fresh-ground pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Drain the can of garbanzo beans into a colander and rinse well with cold water.
2. Let beans drain well or pat dry with paper towels so the beans aren't wet.
3. Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, Spike Seasoning (affiliate link), salt, and pepper to make the dressing
4. Put the beans into a bowl, mix with the dressing mixture, and let beans marinate while you prep the other ingredients.
5. Finely chop up the red bell pepper and slice or chop the celery
6. Finely chop one cup of parsley; curly or flat parsley will work, whichever you prefer.
7. Slice about 1/2 cup green onions
8. I used my favorite Genova Tuna Packed in Olive Oil (affiliate link) for this salad and I highly recommend using tuna in olive oil. 
9. Drain the tuna well, catching the oil and discarding it. Then break tuna apart with a fork, but keep it slightly chunky
10. Add chopped red bell pepper, chopped celery, sliced green onion, and chopped parsley to the bowl with the beans and combine.
11. Then gently stir in the drained tuna, being careful not to over-mix so you still have chunks of tuna in the salad
12. Season to taste with fresh ground black pepper and salt to taste.
13. I ate this with extra lemon to squeeze on at the table, which you might like if you're a big lemon fan like I am!

Notes

I used my fresh-frozen lemon juice. Use more or less lemon juice to taste.

Use any all-purpose seasoning blend if you don't have Spike Seasoning.

Recipe created by Kalyn with inspiration from White Bean Salad with Tuna and Parsley.

Nutrition Information

Yield

6

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 275Total Fat 14gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 11gCholesterol 22mgSodium 270mgCarbohydrates 20gFiber 6gSugar 4.4gProtein 20g

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 updated version of Chickpea Tuna Salad has only 14 net carbs per serving, but it’s probably still not suitable for strict Keto. Beans are allowed for any phase of the original South Beach Diet, but they’re limited to small portions for phase one, so I would eat this Chickpea Tuna Salad as a lunch for phase two or three. 

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, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe for Chickpea Tuna Salad was first posted in 2007! The recipe was last updated with changes to make it lower in carbs, better photos, and more information in 2024.

Share This: