This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
This light, lemony Chickpea Quinoa Salad is bursting with Middle Eastern flavors (preserved lemons + sumac!) and trust me when I say, you’ll want to serve this up all summer long. Healthy, vegan and super flavorful, this salad satisfies! Video.
Check out our 25+ Incredible Chickpea Recipes and our 20 Amazing Quinoa Recipes!
Meet your new favorite salad! Not only will love how easy Chickpea Quinoa Salad is, I know you will fall in love with the flavors. Chickpeas and quinoa are tossed with cucumber, tomatoes, kalamatas, red onion, fresh dill and parsley and tossed in a very flavorful Preserved Lemon Dressing. Tart sumac (optional) gives it a sassy little punch.
Chickpea Quinoa Salad | 60-second video
The best thing is, you probably have everything on hand to make this right now – and please don’t worry if you don’t have preserved lemons (take a peek at the recipe notes) but they do truly elevate here.
Ingredients in Chickpea Quinoa Salad
Lots of fresh ingredients go into this salad- besides chickpeas and quinoa, you’ll need tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, bell peppers and loads of fresh herbs!
How to Make Chickpea Quinoa Salad
It starts with cooking the quinoa and making the preserved lemon dressing.
Preserved lemons, if unfamiliar, are a flavorful Middle Eastern condiment, and in a nutshell, are lemons preserved in salt.
Here they are chopped finely and added to the dressing. If you don’t have them- don’t worry- see the recipe notes!
Bookmark this Preserved Lemon Dressing- it’s super tasty!
Cook the quinoa while you prep all the veggies.
Here I’ve used canned chickpeas but feel free to cook from scratch- you’ll need 1 1/2 cups cooked.
Then simply assemble the salad.
Give a toss with the Preserved Lemon Dressing and taste, adding more salt and lemon, to your liking.
If making this salad ahead, re-taste for salt and lemon before serving. Salad will keep up to 5 days in the fridge.
What to serve this with?
Enjoy this fresh and happy salad- please leave a rating and a comment below- always appreciated!
xoxo
You may also like:
Quinoa Asparagus Salad (aka Spring Tabouli)
Carrot Salad with Quinoa and Almonds
Southwest Black Bean Quinoa Salad
Moroccan Salad with Blood Oranges, Quinoa, Olives, Almonds and Mint
Print
Lemony Chickpea Quinoa Salad
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 15
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: salad, vegan salad
- Method: tossed
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Lemony Chickpea Quinoa Salad with cucumber, tomato, kalamata olives dill, parsley and Preserved Lemon Dressing. A healthy vegan salad with Middle Eastern flavors that can be made ahead!
Ingredients
Preserved Lemon Dressing
- 1/4 cup preserved lemons, finely chopped (or see notes)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon sumac (optional)
Chickpea Quinoa Salad
- 3/4 cup quinoa (dry, uncooked)
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 15–ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained ( 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas)
- 1/2 cup red onion, finely chopped (see notes)
- 1 English cucumber, diced (2 cups)
- 1 bell pepper (yellow is nice) diced
- 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved ( or chopped radish)
- 1/4 cup kalamata olives, chopped or halved
- 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 1/4 cup dill, chopped (or sub mint, or use both!)
- Other optional additions: avocado, feta, radishes
Instructions
Place quinoa, water and pinch of salt in a medium pot, bring to a boil, cover, simmer on low 12-15 minutes until all the water is gone. Uncover, fluff, cool slightly.
Make the dressing, by mixing all in a bowl.
Prep all the veggies. If sensitive to onions, dice, then soak in cold salted water while you chop the rest.
Place the chickpeas, onions, cucumber, bell pepper, tomatoes, olives, dill and parsley to a large bowl. Add the quinoa and dressing and give a good toss.
Taste, adjust salt and lemon to your liking. If making ahead, taste once more right before serving as the quinoa and chickpeas have a tendency to soak up the salt and lemon, so you might want to add a little more.
Notes
If no access to preserved lemons, substitute zest from one whole lemon plus 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add more lemon juice to taste.
Salad will keep 3-4 days in the fridge.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 253
- Sugar: 3.4 g
- Sodium: 607.4 mg
- Fat: 12.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 30.3 g
- Fiber: 6.1 g
- Protein: 7.5 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: chickpea salad, middle eastern salad, chickpea quinoa salad, vegan chickpea salad, preserved lemon dressing, vegan salad recipe, preserved lemon recipes
Refreshing, flavorful, healthy and beautiful. A perfect summer dish!
★★★★★
Awesome to hear Karen- thanks!
6/5!! This is such a great dish! Thank you for introducing me to sumac (now a fave). I leave out the onion because of sensitivity in my hh and it is still fabulous. Perfect summer dish, love it tossed over arugula.
★★★★★
Awesome Gladie- I am so happy you like this one!
This salad was soooo good. It canals be played with by adding veggies you have on hand- it’s very adaptable.
Thanks Monica!
This is fabulous!!! I added alittle extra lemon and used crispy English cucumbers. I also added spices to my water (an Italian mixed spice with garlic, lemon, salt, oregano, parsley & a chicken roast spice with simalar spices and 2 tbsp of vegan butter). Basically you can’t go wrong with this dish by adding stuff to the quinoa water to jazz it up! Or just add broth instead of water like the recipe says.
Thanks Ronna!
Absolutely delicious. Thanks
★★★★★
Awesome, thanks!
the dressing seems quite thick and strong in taste, could be because i blended but what is the best way to thin out the dressing? more olive oil?
Yes, shoot the dressing best not blended. I might try to use it, toss it with the salad, and then add a little olive or water directly to the salad if needed.
Oh so delicious and healthy!! This is the first time I used preserved lemons and sumac. Love it!!!
★★★★★
so happy you gave this a go!
Hi,
I haven’t made this recipe yet, but could I please ask to also put quantities in 1bs or grams as it’s difficult to find an accurate conversion chart online. Most have options for flour or butter, but not for ingredients such as onions ,quinoa or herbs. I’m sure it will be a lovely dish to make once I’ve worked out how much of each ingredient I need.
Did you see the recipe card at the bottom of the post?
Hi Sylvia,
Yes, I could see the recipe but measurements were in cups which I am not familiar with. Anyway, I made the salad and it was delicious.
Many thanks
★★★★★
You can switch to metric- there is a tab at the top. 🙂
Wonderful! I had to improvise a lot since I didn’t have all the ingredients on hand, but it still turned out great!
Perfect Susie!