Indian Chickpea Salad (Chana Salad)

Indian Chickpea Salad (or Chana Salad) is a refreshing, delicious, and healthy side dish made with chickpeas, vibrant vegetables, and a tangy dressing. This protein-rich salad is super easy to make and ready in less than 10 minutes by simply tossing together a few ingredients.

Jump to:

• Why This Recipe Works?
• Ingredients and Substitutes
• How to Make Indian Chickpea Salad?
• Top Tip From The Chef
• What to Serve With Chickpea Salad?
• Recipe FAQs
• Related Recipes
• Indian Chickpea Salad (Chana Salad)

Chickpeas are a great source of protein, are inexpensive, and keep you full for longer. They are great for making salads, but also are perfect for making curries (Butternut Squash and Chickpea Curry), stews (Turkish Lamb Stew with Chickpeas), or dips (Mediterranean Hummus Dip).

This filling and satisfying Indian Chickpea Salad (Chana Salad) is dairy-free, vegan, and gluten-free

Why This Recipe Works?

• This healthy and refreshing Chickpea Salad is full of vibrant colors and fresh flavors.

• No cooking is required! This delicious Indian Chickpea Salad is ready in just 10 minutes.

• It is vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free.

• This fiber and protein-packed Indian Chickpea Salad is great for BBQs, picnics, or packed lunches.

• No fancy ingredients or equipment are required, extremely easy to make and very versatile.

Ingredients and Substitutes

Chickpeas

You can use both tinned and dry chickpeas for this recipe. If using dried chickpeas, simply soak them overnight or for at least 7 hours before cooking. Cook them for about an hour or until soft on medium heat.

You can check my Butternut Squash and Chickpea Curry recipe if you want to learn how to cook dried chickpeas from scratch.

Make sure you don't overcook the chickpeas or they get mushy. Bring them to room temperature before using them in the salad.

• Vegetables - I use cucumbers, red peppers, red onions, and pickled red cabbage (fresh would work great too) for this salad but you can use other vegetables such as beetroot, carrots, tomatoes, and potatoes.

• Dressing - A simple dressing made with lemon juice, olive oil, and cumin is perfect for this salad. Add some vinegar if you would like to add some extra sharpness.

• Herbs - Coriander, parsley, or mint work great with this refreshing chickpea salad.

You Can Also Add to Your Chickpea Salad:

• Crumbled feta

• Diced avocado

• Bocconcini (small mozzarella balls)

• Roasted courgettes and/or eggplants

• Nuts

• Diced Mango

How to Make Indian Chickpea Salad?

Although this is a very simple recipe, you need to follow a few simple steps to achieve the best results:

Wash and deseed the red pepper and slice them.

Wash, dry, and finely chop the coriander.

Peel and slice or dice the cucumbers. If using large European cucumbers, I would suggest you deseed them before slicing.

Drain and wash the chickpeas (if using tinned) and place them in a large bowl.

Add the vegetables, coriander, chili, and salt into the bowl with chickpeas.

Mix the extra virgin olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and cumin powder in a small bowl and whisk until all combine.

Add the dressing to the vegetables. Gently toss the vegetables with the dressing and serve in a large salad bowl or individual salad bowls.

Scroll down to the recipe card for the full, printable recipe!

Top Tip From The Chef

You can batch-cook dried chickpeas and keep them in the freezer already portioned to use them in salads instead of using canned chickpeas.

What to Serve With Chickpea Salad?

You can enjoy this delicious Chickpea Salad on its own as a light lunch/dinner or serve it as a side dish along with Spinach Borek (Ispanakli Borek), Creamy Shrimp Risotto With Peas, Tandoori Chicken, Thai Fish Cakes - Tod Mun Pla, or Hunkar Begendi (Sultan's Delight).

This colorful and refreshing Chana Salad would be also a great accompaniment for grilled meat or fish. Why not try it with some BBQ Garlic Butter Prawns, Turkish Grilled Lamb Kofta - Izgara Kofte, or Lamb Shish Kebab?

Recipe FAQs

Related Recipes

For more delicious and healthy salad recipes why not try:

Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.

I hope you enjoy the process of making this refreshing, healthy, and filling Indian Chickpea Salad (Chana Salad) as much as you enjoy eating it! 🙂 

Bon appétit! / Afiyet olsun!

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