Turkish Chickpea Salad

Packed with protein and super healthy, this Turkish chickpea salad is great as a light lunch or a side dish. 

It comes together in just minutes, and is a great wholesome low carb meal to make and dig into, particularly when you’re watching your weight. 

Best of all, you can customize it to your liking too! 

Jump to:

• Ingredients For the Recipe
• How to Make the Turkish Chickpea Salad
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Tips & Tricks to Make the Turkish Chickpea Salad
• 📖 Recipe

Ingredients For the Recipe

You’ll need three sets of ingredients to make the Turkish chickpea salad. 

For the chickpeas

• Oil: 2 tsp
• Chickpeas (boiled): 1 cup
• Salt: ½ tsp
• Paprika powder: 2 tsp

For the veggies

• Oil: 1 tsp
• Garlic (minced): 1 tbsp
• Onions (sliced): ½ cup
• Green bell pepper (julienne): 1 cup
• Sun Dried tomatoes (chopped): ¼ cup
• Cumin powder: ½ tsp
• Sumac powder: 1 tsp
• Chili flakes: 1 tsp

For the salad

• Prepared chickpeas
• Prepared veggies
• Parsley (chopped): ¼ cup
• Lemon juice: 2 tbsp

How to Make the Turkish Chickpea Salad

Once you have all the ingredients ready, here’s what you’ll need to do to make the salad. 

Heat oil in a pan. Add in the chickpeas. Cook for 3-4 minutes. 

Next, add in the salt and paprika powder. Mix and cook for another minute. Transfer to a mixing bowl and keep aside. 

For the veggies, heat oil in the same pan. Add in the garlic and saute until the raw aroma of the garlic disappears. 

Add the onions, bell peppers and sundried tomatoes next. Mix well. 

Add the powdered spices and chili flakes and mix well. 

Transfer the cooked veggies to the mixing bowl,

Add the chickpeas and give them a good mix. 

Add the chopped parsley. 

Add lemon juice and mix well. 

Serve as a side to your meal or consume as a healthy meal. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Tips & Tricks to Make the Turkish Chickpea Salad

Making this salad may be super easy, but you might want to take note of these little tips and tricks too. 

• If you don’t have chickpeas, you could use white beans and follow the same recipe too! 
• Don’t have the fresh lemon juice that the recipe calls for? Use a dash of apple cider vinegar or just some regular vinegar instead. 
• Sumac is a classic Middle Eastern spice mix that has a tangy, fruity flavor. If you don’t have it, you can make do with any of your favorite spice mix instead. 
• I would recommend using a mandolin slicer to slice the onions thinly and evenly. This will retain their crunchiness. 
• To help all the ingredients absorb the flavors, make the salad 30 minutes ahead of time, refrigerate it and then serve it. 
• If you want to give the salad a classic Middle Eastern spin, drizzle a bit of pomegranate molasses on the top, right before you serve. 
• Crumbled feta cheese and some chopped fresh mint leaves are both great additions to this simple Turkish chickpea salad. 
• You can also bring a bit of tanginess to the salad by adding some Kalamata olives (or regular pitted olives) and some pickled onions or beets into the mix. 
• If you’re using canned chickpeas for this recipe, remember to drain away all the excess liquid and then use the chickpeas. 

Serving Ideas & Suggestions

This delicious and hearty Turkish chickpea salad can be enjoyed on its own as a healthy lunch or a side dish to any of your Turkish mains. 

To make it more filling, you can team it up with some lightly toasted pita bread too. 

Got some more chickpeas or lentils to put to use? Here are a few handpicked recipes featuring them that you might want to try out. 

• Dal Vada with Green Chutney: Indian Chickpea Fritters
• Mixed Chickpeas Curry Recipe (Kala Chana + Kabuli Chana)
• Air Fryer Crunchy Spicy Chickpeas

📖 Recipe