This chopped chickpea salad with 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.
Why you’ll ♡ this chopped chickpea salad
- it’s a delicious vegetarian meal
- it is very make ahead friendly and tastes even better on day 2!
- it is loaded with veggies, but leaves you feeling full
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.
Chopped Chickpea Salad (Make Ahead)
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup bulgur (uncooked)
- 15 oz can of chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
- 1/2 cup feta cheese (crumbled)
- 3 ribs celery (finely chopped)
- 1 bell pepper (finely chopped)
- 1/2 cup radish (finely chopped)
- 1/4 red onion (finely chopped)
Honey Lemon Vinaigrette:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 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.
Katelyn
I love this recipe!!! I don’t have access to a microwave at work, so cold lunches like this are perfect. Just made a big batch of this yesterday for lunches for the week! I doubled the recipe to have enough for both me and my husband. I also subbed the bulgar for farrow since that’s what was in my pantry. It came out amazing!! I also love how versatile it is, we were planning on putting it into wraps or serving with lettuce in a salad. It’s also such an easy recipe, I love that you don’t really have to cook anything besides the grains! Will definitely be making this again, thank you!
Denise
Hi Katelyn, I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it. This is one of my faves!
Carla
Made this for my husband the other day, he loved it! It was definitley refreshing and yummy, and I would make it again! I added some chopped cucumber, too! This is a fabulous recipe and awesome meal prep! 🙂
Denise
Hurray! I’m so happy to hear this, Carla. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review 🙂
Bethany
Just made these for lunch. Put the dressing on the bottom (below the beans) so I didn’t have to bring dressing to work. SO GOOD!! Definitely a new favorite in my lunch rotation. Thank you!!!
Denise
So happy you enjoyed, Bethany! It’s honestly one of my favorite recipes 🙂
Kathy
Loved it! Made it with couscous because that is what I had in my pantry…ohhhh, so good…even Hubby loved it! Will try with bulgar next time…thanks for a great recipe!
Denise
Nice! So happy you enjoyed, Kathy 🙂
JB
Do you have the nutrition facts if the Bulgar was omitted? Just looking for calorie count specifically. Thank you!
Denise
Hi JB, unfortunately I do not. You could try putting it through a calorie counter like My Fitness Pal 🙂
Adam
Loved this salad!
Denise
So happy to hear that, Adam!
Emma
What could I use instead of white wine vinegar? Rice vinegar?
Thanks!
Denise
You could go with any vinegar…red would be good, but I bet rice vinegar would work as well!
Rebecca
Made this today and ate it one of the servings today. Was good, but will be so much better tomorrow once everything has a chance to marry in the dressing. I have to get used to the serving sizes, have realized I am over eating at lunchtime! Ate the salad with some fruit and drank a lot of water. Thanks for the great recipe.
Denise
I love letting this salad sit before eating, that’s normally how we meal prep at our place. Glad you enjoyed and hope you enjoy it more tomorrow!
Rebecca
Loved it the next day! Had some leftover steak from dinner and added it. Looking forward to trying out more recipes! Love having lunch ready to go in the fridge.
Karen
Another great meal prep recipe. Keep them coming!
Denise
Thanks, Karen!
Natasha Shepherd
I cannot wait to try this! New to meal prep and this recipe will be my first meal prep lunch. It looks great. I love the idea of meal prep as not only is it convenient but it’s a great way to have waste free meals.
Denise
I hope you enjoy it, Natasha 🙂
Angela MO
Coul you please give Us a suggestion to replace bulgur. My kids….thank you
Denise
You can use quinoa, barley or even rice!
Cheryl Foster
Israeli couscous is good too.
Shaw
Thanks for the recipes, always help my student life trying to avoid the junk food.
I changed one thing. I hate celery so I exchanged for Avocado. It was great.
Denise
Glad you enjoyed it, Shaw!