Healthy and filling Tomato Chickpea Salad made with just 6 ingredients. Packed with fresh, citrusy, herby flavour and ready in less than 10 minutes!
Love simple salads? Be sure to give my Kidney Bean Salad, Marinated Chickpeas, and creamy Vegan Chickpea Salad a try next!
This Tomato Chickpea Salad is one of those recipes I come back to again and again. It takes about 10 minutes, uses just 6 simple ingredients (plus salt and pepper), and it's bursting with fresh, zingy flavour.
Juicy tomatoes, tender chickpeas and mild, sweet red onion are tossed with lots of cilantro, lime zest and lime juice. As it sits, the tomato juices mix with the lime and olive oil to make their own light, bright dressing, so you don't need to whisk anything up separately.
This started out as the topping for my Loaded Taco Fries with Lime Crema, but it's more than earned a place of its own. Serve it as a side with almost anything. It's especially good with grilled food or fluffy pita breads or flatbreads for scooping, and it disappears fast at potlucks and BBQs. With all that protein and fibre from the chickpeas, it's filling enough for a light lunch too. Eat it as it is, pile it onto greens, or stir in some pasta or leftover rice.
It's also really easy to make your own. Over the years, readers have added fresh corn, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, capers, olives, cucumber, avocado, salad leaves, artichokes, vegan feta, etc., and it's a great way to use up odds and ends in the fridge.
Make it once, and I bet it becomes a regular in your kitchen too!
Mel x
🤍 WHY YOU'LL LOVE THIS chickpea tomato salad
- Great for meal prep - Make a big batch and enjoy all week.
- Quick & easy - It takes less than 10 minutes to make!
- Healthy - It's fresh, nutritious, protein and fibre-rich.
- Meal or side - As a side, it works with pretty much anything, and it's hearty enough to pack up for your lunch.
- Healthy & tastes great - It's like pudding but full of fibre, protein and healthy fats.
- Customizable - Add whatever you've got. Extra raw veggies, canned beans, different herbs, lemon instead of lime, chunks of vegan cheese, leftover rice and grains, etc.
Don't Waste Your Leftover Aqufaba!
Save the aquafaba when you drain the can of chickpeas. You can make all sorts of yummy things with it, like my English Pancakes, no-oil healthy roasted potatoes, oil-free Loaded Taco Fries, Vegan Yorkshire Puddings, Cheese & Onion Roasted Chickpeas, and my scrumptious Vegan Omelette!
Recipe FAQs
Canned chickpeas are already cooked and can safely be eaten straight from the can.
This is a personal choice. I never remove them when I add chickpeas to salad recipes. I think they are pretty unnoticeable. If you prefer to though, then go ahead and remove them.
Yes, this salad keeps well for a few days, but I do recommend reserving the cilantro and adding it just before serving.
Recipe
Tomato Chickpea Salad
Author:Ingredients
- 1 x 15 oz can (1¾ cups) chickpeas (Or 1 x 398ml Canadian can / 400g in UK)
- 1 medium red onion, diced
- 4 to 5 medium juicy tomatoes, diced (or a pint of halved cherry tomatoes)
- 2 big handfuls cilantro or flat-leaf parsley
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, or aquafaba from the chickpea can for oil-free
- 1 large lime, zest & juice
- salt & black pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas and add them to a large bowl along with the onion and diced tomato.
- Zest the lime and add it to the chickpea/tomato mixture along with the lime juice and olive oil. Season well with salt and black pepper to taste. Be generous.
- Add the cilantro leaves and toss gently, then leave to sit for about 10 minutes to allow the flavours to mingle.
- Give it another quick toss before serving.
Rochelle says
How would this be with rice vineagar since I don’t use oils?
Linda says
Made this tonight. Good and easy. I added fresh corn since I had some left over. Added salad greens and guacamole for a full meal. Yum!
Jo says
Looks Lovely! I have all the ingredients with the exception of limes- I have lemons. Will lemons work?
A Virtual Vegan says
Lemon would be good too!
Julie McGrail says
This is a family favorite! I used cherry tomatoes and added feta cheese.
A Virtual Vegan says
So glad you are enjoying it!
Alan says
I've made this once, and plan to again this week. I cook just for myself, so this was enough for about three meals. I found it was fine after 3-4 days. I didn't have any cilantro so I subbed plain old salad in bag. I also added some pasta to part of it one day, and some croutons the next, and both worked out very well. Very tasty and easy to make, this will definitely be part of my regular meal rotation from now on.
A Virtual Vegan says
Great! I'm so glad you enjoyed it Alan and your additions sound lovely. It's a pretty versatile recipe as you have found. Thanks so much for stopping by to let me know!
Shana says
Delicious!
Marla says
Really tasty, healthy and very colorful. Love the combination of flavors and ingredients.
kim says
Simple quick and really good. A staple for us.
Amy says
This is my favorite salad! It's so simple and easy.