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I’m secretly hoping that I’ve inspired a bunch of you to start cooking your chickpeas from dry after my last post. And if that’s the case, I’m guessing you’d like some more ways to use those beauties! Enter my favourite summer salad. It’s crisp and crunchy, filled with colourful veggies, protein and fibre rich chickpeas, tossed with the perfect zingy lemon-y, garlic-y Greek salad dressing you could hope for.

One of my fav cooking memories was when my mother-in-law took me to a Greek cooking class at this cute little local food shop in our hometown. We made olive stuffed chicken, greek salad, and these amazing hot fresh little greek doughnut holes with honey and fresh orange. It was a delight. The chef told us the secret to good Greek salad dressing is simplicity – fresh squeezed lemon, good olive oil, some crushed garlic, a pinch of oregano, salt and pepper to taste. Mmmmm I love that formula. Over the years I’ve tweaked my recipe just a bit to make it taste exactly how I prefer it – just the tiniest glug of maple syrup to cut through the tartness, and some apple cider vinegar to cut down on the amount of lemons needed (have you seen lemon prices lately?!).

Once again, let me tell you about how this recipe should work for you – not the other way around. Want a make ahead salad that will keep in the fridge for a few days even after dressed? Skip the lettuce, add more cucumber and peppers, and use whole small cherry tomatoes. Short on veggies? Add more lettuce or chickpeas and use whatever veggies you have on hand (avocado, shredded carrots, and radish are all good options), it will be fine! You can use more vinegar if you’re short on lemons, sub dried basil for oregano, and leave out the chickpeas if you don’t have any. One of the best parts of home cooking is you don’t have to follow any rules or meet someone else’s standard. You’re feeding and nourishing your family. Make adjustments that work for you and have some fun with it!

To make a full meal, I like to serve this salad with a protein, like my perfectly cooked pan seared chicken, beef korma, falafel, or grilled shrimp. A few flatbreads grilled or broiled briefly with olive oil, salt and pepper, and spicy yogurt dip or hummus and we’re ready to eat. If you have a really hungry crowd, a pot of rice couldn’t hurt either.

Be sure to leave me a comment and tell me how this went for you, and any changes you made if so! I love hearing from you guys. Talk to you later 🙂

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Greek Salad with Chickpeas

My favourite greek salad dressing with a bright, crunchy veggies and the added fibre and protein from chickpeas. My go to summer salad!

Course Salad

Keyword chickpeas, Dairy free, gluten free, greek salad, summer

Prep Time 10 minutes

Servings 6

Author Garnish at Home

Ingredients

Dressing:

• 2 lemons, juice of
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 4 tbsp olive oil, extra virgin I like to eyeball just under a 1:1 ratio of oil to vinegar/lemon
• 1/2 tsp pure maple syrup
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp dried oregeno or basil in a pinch
• pinch red chili flakes
• few good pinches of sea salt to taste
• several grinds of fresh ground black pepper to taste

Salad:

• 1 romaine heart* washed and chopped
• 1/2 cucumber, sliced and quartered
• 1 bell pepper, chopped I like orange or yellow for the colour contrast
• 2 tomatoes, chopped or sub a few handfuls of cherry tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas** or 1 can, drained and rinsed
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 8-12 pitted kalamata olives, halved
• 1/3 cup feta cheese, cubed or crumbled use goat's milk feta for dairy-free

Instructions

Salad Dressing:

• Add the salad dressing ingredients to a jar or container and shake or whisk vigorously until combined. Taste and adjust seasoning accordingly. If it is too tart, add a bit more olive oil. If it is too mellow, add more lemon, vinegar, or salt. If you want it spicier, add more red chili flakes or garlic. Keep in mind the flavours will intensify as the dressing has a chance to marry flavours in the fridge. Refrigerate until ready to use. Will keep in the fridge for 4-5 days at least.
  

Salad:

• Add the romaine to a large bowl, followed by the chickpeas, veggies, and lastly the green onions, olives and feta cheese.
• Just before ready to serve toss with the dressing.
• To make ahead, add all of the salad ingredients to the bowl except the tomatoes (tomatoes get soggy in the refrigerator). Add tomatoes and toss with dressing just before ready to serve.
  

Notes

* you can also substitute 2 cups of any cooked grain you like in place of romaine lettuce, such as farro, quinoa, couscous, etc. I usually omit chickpeas when I make a grain salad.

**chickpeas are optional, this is still a delicious greek salad without them.

Featured in this Post:

This post includes affiliate links, meaning I made a small commission at no extra cost to you, should you decide to click through the links and purchase anything. These are my honest opinions and I would never recommend anything to you I didn’t absolutely love and use on a regular basis. Hope you find these lists helpful!

Apple Cider Vinegar – make sure to look for an organic variety that comes “with the mother” as this contains the beneficial good bacterial strains. Apple cider vinegar is said to aid in weight loss, lowering blood sugar/fighting diabetes, and lowering cholesterol/improving heart health. On a side note, this is also my secret remedy for killing… warts!! I have a kiddo who is notorious for getting them and this stuff kills them every time. Sorry if that’s TMI… 🙂

Pink Himalayan Salt – I love that this salt is free from additives and contains 84 trace minerals, many of which we are unlikely to get from any other food source. Plus it tastes great! I use it in place of table salt in all of my recipes.

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