This Chickpea Salad Recipe mixes chickpeas, orzo, cucumbers, feta cheese and fresh herbs. The dressing is a light lemon dressing that works nicely with the crunchy vegetables. Your guests will love this side dish or it makes a nice weekly lunch with grilled chicken! 

CHICKPEA SALAD RECIPE

Chickpea salads are so versatile, easy to make and are a great way to mix together fresh mediterranean flavors.

This is a great recipe to have on hand for an easy lunch paired with your favorite protein, like grilled chicken.

I also love having a variety of summer salads when I have guests over to pair with grilled meat. 

Today’s Chicken Salad Recipe is full of fresh summer ingredients that I grow in my garden or you can find at the farmers market.

Fresh ingredients like crispy cucumbers are paired with chickpeas, orzo pasta and fresh herbs.

This salad uses fresh parsley, fresh dill, mint and basil so it has a lot of great herby flavor.

The nice thing about salads like this is that you can easily add in whatever vegetables you have in the fridge and are great for meal prep.

I especially love carrots, radishes, celery, peppers, zucchini and tomatoes in my salads. 

I love chickpea salads and make a lot of variations like a Chickpea Tuna Salad, Mediterranean Chickpea Salad, Greek Chickpea Salad, Chickpea Herb Salad, Zucchini Chickpea Quinoa Salad and this Mediterranean Eggplant Chickpea Salad.

WHAT INGREDIENTS ARE IN THIS CHICKPEA ORZO SALAD?

CHICKPEAS: Canned chickpeas { garbanzo beans } are one of the stars of this garbanzo bean salad. They add protein and texture to the salad. You can also use white beans.

ORZO PASTA: I love orzo pasta in salads. It is a small pasta that is great in summer salads. You can use any pasta but I tend to like the small or medium sized pastas in this salad. If you want a healthier option use a whole wheat orzo pasta. 

VEGETABLES: Fresh salads are the best and I love being able to use garden or farmers market vegetables when summer rolls around.

This chickpea salad uses a crisp cucumber and green onions. Feel free to add any of your favorite vegetables. 

FRESH HERBS: I grow a lot of fresh herbs in the summer and love using them in salads. They add so much flavor and take the salad to the next level. This simple chickpea salad uses fresh basil, fresh mint, dill and parsley. Feel free to modify to your liking. 

LEMON DRESSING: The dressing is a light dressing mixing lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. Feel free to add your favorite spices to the dressing too. I especially like sumac and za’atar. 

HOW TO MAKE THIS EASY CHICKPEA SALAD RECIPE

COOK THE ORZO: Cook the orzo according the package until al dente. Run under cold water on the pasta is done cooking. 

COMBINE THE SALAD INGREDIENTS: In a large bowl combine all of the salad ingredients including the orzo. 

MAKE THE DRESSING: In a mason jar or a small bowl combine fresh lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar and whisk or shake to combine. 

DRESS THE SALAD: Pour the salad dressing over the salad and mix well. Taste and adjust salt and black pepper to taste.

Serve or refrigerate in an airtight container until you are ready to use.

HOW CAN I MODIFY THIS ORZO PASTA SALAD?

BEANS: I used chickpeas in today’s salad but I also really like white beans, red beans or even black beans. 

SPICES: Spices are a nice way to add flavor to the salad dressing. Some good ones are sumac, za’atar, cumin, paprika or oregano.

SWEETNESS: If you want a touch of sweetness in this salad add honey to the dress. I would start with 1 teaspoon and go from there.

CHEESE: Feta cheese is often used in my salads but goat cheese, blue cheese, parmesan cheese or sharp cheddar cheese are also great options. 

VEGETABLES: Cucumbers and green onions are the star of this salad. Try adding a variety of other colorful veggies like carrots, red bell pepper, zucchini, radishes, celery, cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes. 

PROTEIN: A chickpea salad is a nice opportunity to add your favorite protein. If you have leftover grilled chicken, shrimp, salmon or steak add it in. Tofu is also a nice addition.

OTHER INGREDIENTS: There are a variety of other ingredients that you might like to add. Try artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, creamy avocado, sun-dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, green olives, black olives, pickled vegetables or pickled red onion.

WAYS TO USE THIS CHICKPEA SALAD

Here are some great recipes to pair this salad alongside. 

This salad is great alongside a protein like these Lebanese Meat Pies, Black Sea Bass, Greek Marinated Chicken Thighs or this Air Fryer Cod. 

Serve this over a bed of arugula, leafy greens or serve it with lettuce wraps.

Add it to a wrap like this Beef Shawarma Wrap, sandwiches, inside a pita pocket, on flatbread or as a topping on a pita pizza like this Spiced Ground Lamb Pita or this Greek Beef Pita Pitza.

Top a rice bowl or hummus bowl with this chickpea salad. I love adding it to this Greek Quinoa Bowl, Mediterranean Salmon Bowl, Mediterranean Buddha Bowl or this Mediterranean Hummus Bowl.

OTHER ORZO RECIPES YOU MIGHT LIKE:

TOMATO SPINACH ORZO SOUP

4 INGREDIENT CHEESY ORZO RECIPE

ONE POT CREAMY TOMATO HERB ORZO

SUMMER ORZO PASTA SALAD

MEDITERRANEAN ORZO PASTA RECIPE

ARUGULA ORZO SALAD

LEMON CHICKEN ORZO

GREEK ORZO PASTA SALAD