Mediterranean Chickpea Tomato Basil Salad (Printable)
Bright Mediterranean salad with chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumber and basil in lemon-olive oil. Ready in 15 minutes.
# List of ingredients:
→ Salad
01 - 1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
02 - 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
03 - 1 English cucumber, diced
04 - 1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced
05 - 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
06 - 1/4 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and sliced (optional)
→ Dressing
07 - 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
08 - 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
09 - 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
10 - 1 small garlic clove, minced
11 - 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
12 - 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, or more to taste
13 - 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
# Steps:
01 - In a large salad bowl, add chickpeas, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, fresh basil, and olives if using.
02 - In a small mixing bowl or jar, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, minced garlic, dried oregano, sea salt, and black pepper until fully emulsified.
03 - Pour dressing over the assembled salad ingredients and toss gently until evenly coated.
04 - Taste and adjust salt or pepper as desired.
05 - Serve the salad immediately, or refrigerate up to 30 minutes to intensify flavors before serving.
# Expert Advice:
01 -
- Your friends will think you’ve mastered Mediterranean flavors (when secretly it takes 15 minutes).
- The salad is always crisp, never soggy, and it’s vegan without feeling like you swapped taste for virtue.
02 -
- I once skipped drying the rinsed chickpeas and ended up with a watery salad—never again.
- Letting the salad sit for 30 minutes in the fridge made the flavors pop so much I started doing it every time.
03 -
- Drying your chickpeas thoroughly lets the dressing cling properly and keeps the salad crisp.
- Emulsify the dressing completely until it looks creamy—this gives every bite a silky finish.