This easy chickpea lentil salad is a recipe I come back to often. It’s simple, full of fresh flavour, perfect for meal prep and ready in 15 minutes.
Whether you need a quick lunch, a side salad, or a make-ahead dinner option, this salad makes eating well feel easy, and delicious!
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
I love this recipe because it’s so versatile. If you’re missing artichokes or olives, try sun-dried tomato or capers. No chickpeas? White beans work or double the lentils. You really can’t go wrong.
The dressing is quick, easy and versatile and you can use it to create your own Mediterranean variations of this salad. Here are a few more reasons to love it:
- Made with simple pantry staples and fresh veggies.
- High in plant-based protein and fibre.
- Works for meal prep (keeps well for a few days).
- Bright, fresh, and satisfying, never boring.
- Naturally plant-based and gluten-free.
- Made with canned lentils so you’ll just need about 10-15 minutes to assemble it, depending on your chopping speed.
It’s one of those throw-together meals that always hits the spot. Fresh, filling, and feel-good. I love making it on Sunday so I have a few ready-to-go lunches during the week. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do, let me know in the comments how yours turns out!
Ingredients
Below is a brief overview of what you’ll need to make the salad and possible substitutions. Once you’re ready to make the recipe, use the recipe card at the end of the post with the full ingredient list and measurements.
- Lentils: I use canned lentils for this salad. They have the perfect texture and convenient. If you don’t have canned lentils on hand, use 2 cups of cooked le puy, black or French lentils. Green lentils work if you don’t have one of those varieties.
- Chickpeas: I use canned chickpeas. You can substitute white beans.
- Artichokes: Use canned artichoke hearts. I recommend the plain ones, not marinated in oil though those can work as a substitute.
- Olives: I use kalamata olives in this salad but you can substitute black olives or another variety. Capers work well as a substitute.
- Herbs: The recipe calls for fresh parsley. I’d recommend keeping the parsley but if you’d like to experiment with extras, mint, dill, basil or cilantro work well.
- Vegetables: The recipe calls for bell pepper, cucumber, tomato and red onion. The amounts don’t have to be exact. Approximately 1 bell pepper (orange, red or yellow works), 1/2 a cucumber or 1 cup diced, about 1 cup chopped grape or cherry tomatoes but Roma or any other tomato works and about 1/2 of a small red onion. Take the time to dice the veggies so you get more in every bite!
- Vinegar: I like red wine vinegar in this salad but you can substitute white vine vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
Variations
- Use barley, farro or quinoa instead of or in addition to chickpeas or lentils for grain-based version.
- Add roasted vegetables like eggplant and zuchinni.
- Add 1 tbsp tahini or hummus to the dressing to make it creamy.
- Try sun-dried tomatoes in addition to or instead of olives.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Add the dressing ingredients to a large salad bowl and whisk until fully combined.
Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
Expert Tips
- Take care to finely chop the cucumber, bell pepper, onion, artichoke hearts and parsley so you get more flavour in every bite! You can slice or quarter the cherry or grape tomatoes.
- If you have time to let the salad sit 10-15 minutes before serving, this helps the flavours really come together.
FAQs
Yes! I actually prefer canned lentils in this salad and they just make it so easy. That said, you can absolutely cook your own lentils too, just skip red lentils as they’ll be too mushy. Green, brown, black, le puy or French lentils all work well.
Yes! This is a great salad for meal prep and holds up well in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Store the salad in an airtight container in the fridge for 4 days. This salad is not suitable for freezing.
This salad makes a great light meal on it’s own or with a scoop of hummus and some pita. You can also serve it over greens or pair it with any protein like chicken, salmon or prawns.
If you try this Chickpea Lentil salad recipe or any other recipe on Running on Real Food, don’t forget to leave a comment and a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the comment section below. It helps others who are thinking of making the recipe, and I love to hear from you. And don’t forget to tag me on Instagram @runningonrealfood! Thanks for trying my recipes!
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 clove garlic, grated or crushed
- 1 tsp grainy or Dijon mustard
- salt and pepper
- 1 can lentils (19 oz) , drained and rinsed
- 1 can chickpeas (19 oz), drained and rinsed
- 1 can artichoke hearts (14 oz), medium diced
- 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered
- 1 cup diced cucumber
- 1 medium red bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 red onion, diced
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, lightly packed, finely chopped
Prevent your screen from going dark
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Add the olive oil, vinegar, lemon, garlic and mustard to a large mixing bowl or serving bowl and whisk to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
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Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
Store salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
19 oz cans have about 2 1/3 cup of beans or lentils once drained. If you can’t find 19 oz cans, you can use 15 oz cans and the salad will make a bit less, or increase to 2×15 oz cans or a 28 oz can and it will make a bit more.
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 420kcal, Carbohydrates: 62g, Protein: 23g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 5g, Sodium: 686mg, Potassium: 915mg, Fiber: 27g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 729IU, Vitamin C: 16mg, Calcium: 86mg, Iron: 7mg
