This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This Chickpea Quinoa Salad recipe is a light, bright and colorful dish packed with veggies and protein. A healthy and nutritious salad that’s so easy to make and can be enjoyed as a side dish or a main course.
A light but filling and healthy quinoa salad that you can enjoy for a nutritious lunch or as a side dish at any meal. With red and yellow peppers, onions, cucumbers, parsley, and oregano, this simple Chickpea Salad recipe will make you happy and satisfied.
Though it comes together in just 10 minutes (besides the quinoa cooling time), this Chickpea quinoa Salad will keep you full for hours. It’s filled with not only veggies but protein and fiber too for a well-balanced and nutritious lunch. Want to add more protein with this chickpea salad? Top it off with sliced grilled chicken breast.
Love quinoa? Check out my Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad, Mexican Chicken Quinoa Salad and Easy Hummus Quinoa Veggie Bowl for more ideas!
Why You’ll Love This chickpea Salad
- It’s healthy and nutritious. This salad is full of veggies, protein, and fiber!
- It’s bright and colorful. If your goal is to “eat the rainbow”, this salad will help you achieve that go. It’s so nutritious and good for you. Plus it’s just so pretty and cheerful to look up!
- Quick and easy to make. After the quinoa is cool, this recipe comes together in just 10 minutes.
- Great for leftovers. This is one of those dishes I prefer eating on day 2!
Ingredients You Will Need
Here’s a quick rundown of the ingredients you’ll need for this easy quinoa salad. See the recipe card for measurements.
- Uncooked quinoa – rinsed under cold water
- Chickpeas
- Cucumber – chopped
- Cherry tomatoes – quartered
- Bell peppers – seeded and diced
- Red Onion – diced
- Fresh parsley – chopped
- Fresh oregano – leaves picked and chopped
- Olive oil
- Apple cider vinegar
- Feta cheese – crumbled
- Salt and pepper – to taste
How To Cook The Quinoa
- Add drained quinoa, kosher salt, and cold water to a saucepan.
- Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and allow to simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let it sit covered for 5 minutes.
- Fluff the quinoa with a fork. Allow it to cool completely while you prep the veggies.
How To Make Chickpea Quinoa Salad from scratch
- Prep all of the veggies.
- Place all of the prepped veggies and drained chickpeas in a large salad bowl.
- Add cold and cooked quinoa into the bowl with the veggies.
- Drizzle with oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.
- Toss to combine all salad ingredients.
- Serve in bowls and top with feta.
Recipe Notes and Tips
- Cook the quinoa ahead of time and refrigerate so it is cold and ready when you add the veggies. This will save you even more time when it’s time to make your chickpea salad.
- Veggies: You can add any of your favorite veggies to this salad. Add in some baby spinach for some extra greens in your salad.
- Use yellow and red bell peppers for a splash of color. If you have or prefer green peppers you can use that as well.
- Make a batch of this quinoa salad on your meal prep Sunday so you can have it for lunch during the week. If you pan on meal prepping, save the dressing on the side and add it in when ready to mix
- To make this chickpea salad vegan-friendly, skip the feta cheese.
- Dressing: we used simple cider vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper dressing. You may use lemons in place of the vinegar.
- You can add about a tablespoon of honey to balance out the acidity.
Frequently Asked Questions
This Easy Quinoa Chickpea Salad can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days. Store in an airtight salad bowl or individual meal prep containers.
Yes! One of the reasons I love this easy quinoa chickpea salad is because it’s so perfect for meal prep. You can whip up this salad on Sunday and have it ready to go for lunch most of the week. In fact, I think this salad tastes even better on day 2 after the flavors have had time to set!
One note, though, when prepping in advance – go easy on the oil and vinegar. Remember you can always add extra as needed.
This chickpea salad is literally almost vegan. To make it vegan-friendly, skip the feta cheese or add in any of your favorite vegan crumbled cheese.
This Chickpea salad lasts 3 days in the fridge. The veggies will tend to get soggy the longer it stays in the fridge.
More Salad Recipes:
- Strawberry Spinach Salad
- Brussel Sprouts Salad
- Salmon Avocado Salad
- Black Bean Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad
- Greek Quinoa Salad Bowl
What to serve with chickpea salad
- Asparagus Stuffed Chicken Breast
- BBQ Chicken Breast
- Chicken Francese Recipe
- Grilled Lemon Garlic Chicken
- Cilantro Lime Chicken
- Lemon Garlic Salmon
If you try a recipe and you like it, leave us some feedback in the comment section below, and don’t forget to rate it! We would love it if you shared it with friends and family.
Finally, please use our hashtag #healthyfitnessmeals on INSTAGRAM for a chance to be featured! FOLLOW Healthy Fitness Meals on FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST | TWITTER for all of our latest blog posts and recipes.
Chickpea Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinse under cold water
- 1 can chickpeas, 15oz, drained and rinse
- 1 English cucumber, chopped
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 2 medium bell peppers, seeded and diced
- 1 red onion, diced
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- A few fresh oregano sprigs, leaves picked and chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
- Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
To cook the quinoa
- To a sauce pan add drained quinoa, 1/2 tsp kosher salt and 1 3/4 cup cold water.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Turn heat off and allow the quinoa to sit covered for 5 minutes. Fluff quinoa and allow it to completely cool until you prep the veggies for the salad. Alternatively, you can make this ahead.
To make the salad
- Place all prepped veggies together with the chickpeas to a large salad bowl. Add cold quinoa; drizzle with oil, vinegar and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to combine.
- Divide into bowls and serve topped with crumbled cheese.
Notes
- Cook the quinoa ahead of time and refrigerate so it is cold and ready when you add the veggies. This will save you even more time when it’s time to make your chickpea salad.
- Veggies: You can add any of your favorite veggies to this salad. Add in some baby spinach for some extra greens in your salad.
- Use yellow and red bell peppers for a splash of color. If you have or prefer green peppers you can use that as well.
- Make a batch of this quinoa salad on your meal prep Sunday so you can have it for lunch during the week. If you pan on meal prepping, save the dressing on the side and add it in when ready to mix
- To make this chickpea salad vegan-friendly, skip the feta cheese.
- Dressing: we used simple cider vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper dressing. You may use lemons in place of the vinegar.
- You can add about a tablespoon of honey to balance out the acidity.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can this be made with bulgar instead of quinoa?
Yes you sure can