Balela Salad is a light and healthy salad mixing chickpeas, black beans, tomatoes, onion and parsley topped with a lemony sumac dressing with a hint of spice. This works great as lunch, as a side to dinner or topping to your pita, rice bowls or alongside grilled chicken or seafood. 

BALELA SALAD

I have kept this Balela Salad recipe in the back of my mind for a while now and am excited to finally sharing it with you guys. This is the kind of recipe that I love.

While these types of recipes are easy, they are what I eat day in and day out.

I love a fresh, healthy, clean salad and I hope you guys do too. I love healthy salads like this Easy Lebanese Salad, a good fattoush salad or a big bowl of tabbouleh.

Growing up in a Lebanese family we always had fresh salads on our table.

Whether it was a salad mixing chickpeas and vegetables, greens and vegetables or a gain based salad, they have always been a part of our meals.

Mediterranean salads are so customizable and versatile, a winning combination.

You can use these type of salads on their own for lunch or as a side dish to your grilled chicken or salmon.

Or you can use it as a topping to your pita sandwich or rice bowl, which I do often.

With many of the salads that I share you can easily customize this one to your liking.

Here are some fun ideas to bulk up this salad:

• Add a handful of feta cheese. 
• Mix up the beans–I like black eyed peas or white beans.
• Throw in whatever vegetables you have on hand. I like bell peppers, zucchini, eggplant, red onion, carrots and celery. 
• If you want to get a dose your grains in add brown rice, quinoa or bulgur wheat to the salad.

This Balela Salad is the kind of thing I would prep on a Sunday for the week along with my Mediterranean Roasted Vegetables, Mediterranean Grilled Chicken and rice.

It is so nice to have on hand for those days you don’t have time to cook or make complicated recipes.

The key to eating healthy and clean is being prepared–this is one step in that direction!

If you have 15 minutes, you have time to make this salad. No excuses!

This recipe also fits into many diets–vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan and Mediterranean.

As I look out my window at snow I have to admit I can’t wait until summer when I have fresh produce from my garden and the farmers market to throw in this salad!

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Balela Salad

Yield: 4-6

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Balela Salad is a light and healthy salad mixing chickpeas, black beans, tomatoes, onion and parsley topped with a lemony sumac dressing with a hint of spice. This works great as lunch, as a side to dinner or topping to your pita, rice bowls or alongside grilled chicken or seafood. 

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Ingredients

• 1 - 15 ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 - 15 ounce can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 3 medium tomatoes, diced {about 1 1/2 cups}
• 1/4 of a sweet onion, diced {about 1/3 of a cup}
• 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped

For the dressing::

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1/2 teaspoon sumac
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper {optional}
• 1 jalapeño, seeds removed, finely chopped {optional}
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

1. In a large bowl combine the chickpeas, black beans, tomatoes, onion and parsley. 
2. Using a mason jar or a salad dressing container mix together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, sumac, minced garlic, cayenne pepper, jalapeño, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning.
3. Pour half of the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Taste and add more dressing to your liking. 
4. Refrigerate until ready to eat. 

Notes

If you don't like your food spicy leave out the cayenne red pepper and the jalapeño. 

There are a lot of great additions to this salad: feta cheese, white beans, zucchini, a grain like quinoa or bulgur, eggplant, bell peppers, red onion.