Tomato Chickpea Salad

Name: Tomato Chickpea Salad
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 1 x 15 oz can (1¾ cups) chickpeas ( , (or 1 x 398ml Canadian can / 400g in UK)); 1 medium red onion (, diced finely); 4-5 juicy tomatoes (, diced); 2 big handfuls cilantro (, stems removed (flatleaf parsley is a good sub)); 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (, omit to make oil-free); 1 large lime (zest & juice); salt & black pepper to taste

Published: Jul 20, 2021 by Melanie McDonald · This post contains affiliate links · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. · 12 Comments

What you need

Chickpeas - from a can or chickpeas you have cooked at home yourself

Tomatoes - Nice large, juicy ones. WIth such few ingredients it's important they are nice and tasty.

Red onion - It's important it's red as they are much milder and better for eating raw than white onions. You could use fresh chives or green onions instead.

Cilantro - The leafy part of this salad. Flatleaf parsley works really well too if you aren't a fan of cilantro.

Olive oil, lime juice, salt & pepper - These come together with the juice from the tomatoes to make the dressing for the salad. Lemon juice could be used instead of the lime.

How to make Tomato Chickpea Salad

(For detailed measurements and instructions, see the printable recipe card).

This tomato chickpea salad recipe is really easy to make. Here's how:

Open a can of chickpeas, drain and rinse (make sure to save that lovely aquafaba. You can make all sorts of yummy things with it like my oil-free Loaded Taco Fries, Vegan Yorkshire Puddings, Cheese & Onion Roasted Chickpeas and my scrumptious Omelette).

Chop some tomatoes and red onion then mix with the chickpeas.

Drizzle over some olive oil and lime juice and season well to taste

Add some cilantro leaves and stir again.

Leave to sit for at least 10 minutes for the flavours to mingle.

Variations

Chickpea Tomato Salad is really versatile and the flavours go with just about anything. Make it your own by adding whatever you have in your fridge or pantry. Some ideas include bell peppers, capers, corn (fresh, canned or defrosted frozen), olives, cucumber, avocado, salad leaves, artichokes, vegan feta cheese, canned beans, vegan ricotta etc, but anything goes so get creative!

Making ahead & storage

This salad is best on the day it is made but leftovers can be stored in the fridge and are ok for up 2 days after. The cilantro leaves get a bit limp after the first day but it's all still perfectly edible. With that in mind, I wouldn't make it more than a few hours ahead to serve to guests, but I might, and often do if it's just for us!

How to serve

Serve on its own for a light meal with some bread to mop up the juices or serve as a side. Here are some foods that it works really well with:

It's also really great as a simple meal in itself with some cold rice (or any other grain) stirred through it to bulk it out a bit.

Recipe FAQs

Do canned chickpeas need to be cooked?

Canned chickpeas are already cooked and can safely be eaten straight from the can.

Should I remove the chickpea skins?

This is a personal choice. I never remove them when I add chickpeas to salad recipes like this one and they are pretty unnoticeable. If you would prefer to though, then go ahead and remove them.

This recipe was originally published on January 27th, 2017. I've updated the post with new photographs and information and now I am republishing it for you. The recipe itself remains the same. I hope you enjoy it. Thank you for following A Virtual Vegan!