Avocado Chickpea Salad is a deliciously easy summertime side dish. It's perfect for picnics and potlucks, and it's a nice change from the usual potato salad and coleslaw that can usually be found at cookouts. Serve it as a side dish alongside a sandwich or on top of a bed of lettuce as a hearty main dish salad. This super easy recipe is vegan and gluten-free.
Avocado Chickpea Salad
I’m sure all of us have those recipes that we make often but never write down. You know the ones – that you just throw together, and it may taste a little different each time you make it. For me, that recipe is this Avocado Chickpea Salad. The first time I made it, Dennis and I had decided to go on an impromptu picnic in the park. I looked in the fridge to see what I could make to take with us, and threw together a salad of chickpeas, tomato, and avocado. We really liked it, so I continued to make it for picnics and cookouts, sometimes with a little extra garlic, and other times with more lemon, but always with avocado, chickpeas, and tomatoes. Eventually, the time came to write it down.
There's just something that I really love about avocados and chickpeas together. Creamy avocado pairs so nicely with the firm bite of chickpeas. Cherry tomatoes add a pop of color, and scallions give the salad a little crunch.
How to make Avocado Chickpea Salad
This salad couldn't be easier to make!
- First you mix together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, sea salt, oregano, basil, and black pepper to make your dressing.
- Then you mix together the avocado, tomatoes, chickpeas, scallions, and parsley.
- Next you pour the dressing over the salad and gently stir to combine everything.
- Finally, you pop the salad into the fridge for an hour or two to allow the flavors to combine.
Because of avocados brown easily, this salad won't last very long in your fridge, so I recommend serving it the same day you make it. The lemon juice will prevent immediate browning, but but the avocado will begin to brown after a day or so.
Variations for you Avocado Chickpea Salad
Mix things up and make this recipe your own! You can easily alter the recipe to fit the ingredients you have on hand, if you don't have tomatoes, avocados, or chickpeas on hand.
- You can use white beans instead of chickpeas.
- Add a little tofu feta to the mix.
- Sprinkle some red pepper flakes on your salad for a spicy kick.
- You can even swap the lemon juice for lime juice and the chickpeas for black beans for a south-western style salad!
I like to serve my salad as a side dish, but I've also been known to make a main dish out of it by piling it on top of a big bowl of chopped romaine. It's also great stuffed into a pita or rolled in a flat bread wrap.
Avocado Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon oregano
- ¼ teaspoon basil
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 large ripe avocado diced
- 1 cup cooked chickpeas
- 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes cut in half
- 2 scallions thinly sliced
- ¼ cup flat leaf parsley chopped
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, oregano, basil, and black pepper.
- In a large bowl, gently mix together the avocado, chickpeas, tomatoes, scallions, and parsley.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and gently mix to coat.
- Refrigerate for an hour or two to allow the flavors to mingle together before serving.
Other summertime salad recipes you might enjoy include:
- Tomato and Feta Pasta Salad
- Caesar Pasta Salad
- Brown Rice Salad
- German Potato Salad
- Double Broccoli Quinoa Salad
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