Mediterranean Chopped Salad

This chopped Mediterranean salad is the perfect meal for when you don’t feel like cooking but want something simple and delicious. Perfect for lunch or dinner, this healthy chopped salad recipe has a easy homemade dressing and is ready in just minutes.

If you love simple summer salads, you should also put my Mediterranean Cucumber Tomato Salad or White Bean Tomato Basil Salad on your list of salads to make next.

As someone who works hard to develop recipes for busy women who want to eat healthy even when they are in a rush, here are some of the reasons I think you will love this chopped chickpea salad recipe:

• Simple ingredients
• Easy to make
• Easy to customize – add pasta, feta, protein or more veggies.
• Great for parties, cookouts or picnics (no mayo salad)
• Meal prep friendly
• Healthy – this recipe is vegan, gluten free and vegan

Ingredients

Dressing

• Red wine vinegar: red wine vinegar is a classic Mediterranean salad ingredient. You could also use lemon juice for a different twist on this meal that would still be delicious.
• Extra virgin olive oil: olive oil is a critical ingredient in Mediterranean cooking.
• Dijon mustard: Dijon mustard helps the dressing emulsify and the salty flavor adds depth to the dressing.
• Salt and spices: Italian seasoning and dried oregano: I love this combo of Italian seasoning + dried oregano for Greek or Mediterranean dressing.

Salad

• Cucumber: I like to use English cucumber for salads, as the skin is thin and much easier to digest. Also the seeds of English cucumber are small, so there is no need to scoop out the seeds before serving. Tip:  Be sure to wash the cucumber before use (even though it’s typically sold in a plastic wrapping).
• Grape or cherry tomatoes: I like to use grape or cherry tomatoes because they typically have less seeds and are not as watery as full tomatoes when chopped up. Feel free to use whatever tomatoes you have on hand.
• Bell pepper: Yellow, red, orange bell pepper would all be great in this salad. The bell peppers provide crunch to the salad.
• Kalamata olives and capers: These help to add a salty, briny flavor to the salad. Since this salad doesn’t have any cheese, getting that salty bite from olives and capers really helps to balance out the flavor of the veggies.
• Flat leaf parsley: This helps to add a fresh pop of flavor to the salad. I prefer flat leaf parsley for this (curly parsley is too strong for me). You could also use fresh mint or basil.
• Chickpeas: You can use chickpeas, white beans, or sliced almonds or cashews in place of the chickpeas.

How to make Mediterranean chopped salad

Make the dressing: Combine the dressing ingredients in a bowl (whisk to combine) or add to a jar with tight fitting lid (shake well).

Chop the veggies: Next wash and chop all the veggies into bite size pieces (cucumber, tomato, bell pepper). When cutting the cucumber, don’t slice it too thin or it will wilt in the dressing. Half the pitted olives and chop the capers. Finely chop the flat leaf parsley.

Add veggies to large bowl

Rinse chickpeas: Drain and rinse the chickpeas before adding them to the bowl with the veggies.

Add the dressing and rest: Add the dressing to the salad, mix well and then store in the fridge at least 15 minutes (2 hours is best). Serve cold or at room temperature.

Top tips

• Cucumbers can get soft when soaking in dressing. For the best texture, cut them thicker so they won’t wilt.
• To make this a heartier salad, add cooked pasta or quinoa. Be sure to make more dressing to cover the grains. Add an additional 1 tbsp. red wine vinegar, 1/2 tbsp. olive oil and .25 tsp. salt.
• If you need to prep this salad ahead of time, wait to dress the salad until about 2 hours before serving, this way the flavors have time to come together but the veggies doesn’t get too soggy.

Other additions

• Veggies: artichoke hearts (canned, jarred), hearts of palm, red onion, green onion, roasted red peppers, zucchini, broccoli, baby spinach, chopped romaine lettuce, pepperoncini peppers
• Herbs: Fresh mint, cilantro, chives, oregano
• Protein: cooked chicken, salmon, shrimp, tofu, lentil pasta, chickpea pasta, quinoa
• Healthy fats: Avocado, feta cheese, hemp hearts

Ways to serve this salad

This salad is great as a main salad or appetizer on it’s own. Some great ways to make it a meal include:

• Serve with hummus or baba ganoush, veggies and your favorite pita or tortilla chip
• Serve on a wrap (lentil flatbread, pita, collard greens, gluten free tortilla) with hummus or mashed avocado.
• Add rice or quinoa to make a grain bowl. You could also add a cooked protein or falafel to this as well (see above for ideas)
• Serve with cooked and cooled pasta or quinoa for pasta salad or quinoa salad.

How to prep this salad in advance

To ensure that the veggies have the best texture, I suggest that you chop the veggies and store them in the fridge separate from the salad dressing.

About 2 hours before serving, add the dressing to the salad and stir well until the veggies are well coated with dressing. Stir again right before serving.

How to store leftovers

If you know you are going to want leftovers of this salad, be sure to cut the cucumber in large enough chunks so they maintain their texture as they sit in the vinaigrette.

This salad can be stored in the fridge for 2-3 days once combined.