Chopped Chickpea Salad (Make Ahead)

This chopped chickpea salad has bulgur wheat, crunchy veggies, feta cheese, and a delicious lemon vinaigrette is a delicious make-ahead salad that tastes even better on day 2!

Salad is such a great choice for lunch, especially when you know you won't have access to a microwave! Some of my favorite salads include caprese chicken salad meal prep bowls, chickpea, barley and butternut squash jar salads, and this chopped chickpea salad.

Filled with mediterranean flavors, this salad is packed with good for you ingredients that come together with the perfect blend of flavors and textures: salty feta, crunchy veggies, smooth bulgur and a tangy vinaigrette!

You could serve this salad as a side dish or as a full meal as itself. And the best thing about this salad is make-ahead friendly and actually tastes even better on day 2! So this could work for a pot luck, picnic, or work lunch.

Recipe video

While this recipe is super simple to prep, sometimes it helps to have a visual. Watch the video below to see exactly how I prepped this salad. You can find more of my recipe videos on my YouTube channel.

Don't forget to pin this post to save it for later!

Which ingredients will we need?

This is a riff off of a tabouli salad, but I left out the parsley, tomatoes and cucumber...basically anything that doesn't work well for meal prep. For this chickpea salad recipe, you'll need:

• Bulgur Wheat- find this with the rice/grains or the health foods section of your grocery store. I used this brand of bulgur wheat!
• Chickpeas- you can use a can or cook your own from scratch. See my Instant Pot Chickpeas recipe here!
• Veggies- I used celery, radish, red onion and bell peppers. Chop them up nice and small.
• Feta Cheese- this adds such a delicious salty/briney flavor to the salad. Do not skip!
• Lemon Vinaigrette- I used my favorite White Wine Vinaigrette and jazzed it up with a little lemon zest. Simple, tangy and so good on this salad.

Can I swap the bulgur wheat for something else? 

Sure! You could swap for quinoa or rice (same amount). Or you could leave it out (reduce the amount of vinaigrette you use though).

How long does this salad last for?

This recipe is good in the fridge for up to 4 days. It cannot be frozen.

Is this salad gluten-free?

Due to the bulgur wheat, this recipe is not gluten-free. You could swap the bulgur for quinoa to make it GF!

Wondering what to serve with this recipe?

I consider this to be a complete meal as it has grains, vegetables and protein, however you could also serve smaller portions and serve it as a side dish! It would be a great picnic or potluck recipe.

Here are some ideas of what you could serve it with:

• Tzatziki and pita bread- I love this Super Speedy Tzatziki, which is perfect with grilled pita or naan bread.
• Baked Falafels- skip the frying in oil with these delicious crispy baked falafels!
• Rice or Cauliflower Rice- the lemon rice/cauliflower rice would go great with this mediterranean chickpea salad! See 7 Easy Rice Recipes and 7 Cauliflower Rice Recipes
• Chicken- this Curry Yogurt Marinade or this Lemon Garlic Greek Chicken Marinade seem like they would pair well with this salad.

This post was originally published in 2017 but has been updated with fresh photos and a video in 2019! Same great recipe.

Did you make this? Tag me on social @sweetpeasandsaffron and be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe!

Chopped Chickpea Salad (Make Ahead)

4.5 from 12 votes

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: 20 mins

Total Time: 40 mins

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With bulgur wheat, crunchy veggies, feta cheese, and a delicious lemon vinaigrette, this salad is perfect for meal prep, and tastes even better on day two!

4 meal sized portions

Ingredients

• ▢ ⅔ cup bulgur (uncooked)
• ▢ 15 oz can of chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
• ▢ ½ cup feta cheese (crumbled)
• ▢ 3 ribs celery (finely chopped)
• ▢ 1 bell pepper (finely chopped)
• ▢ ½ cup radish (finely chopped)
• ▢ ¼ red onion (finely chopped)

Honey Lemon Vinaigrette:

• ▢ 3 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon honey
• ▢ ½ teaspoon dijon mustard
• ▢ 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• ▢ ½ teaspoon lemon zest

Instructions 

• Cook bulgur according to package directions and allow to cool.
• Shake together all vinaigrette ingredients.
• Toss together all salad ingredients.

Storage

• Store in sealed containers in the fridge for up to 4 days. This salad keeps well after tossing in the vinaigrette.

Tips:

Nutritional information is for one meal-sized salad portion (roughly 2 cups)

Video

Nutrition Information

Serving: 2cups, Calories: 434kcal, Carbohydrates: 56g, Protein: 16g, Fat: 18g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 17mg, Sodium: 260mg, Potassium: 601mg, Fiber: 14g, Sugar: 13g, Vitamin A: 1174IU, Vitamin C: 44mg, Calcium: 168mg, Iron: 4mg

Author: Denise Bustard

Course: Lunch

Cuisine: Mediterranean

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