This easy chickpea cucumber salad is perfect for a light meal or healthy side.

Chopped cucumber and chickpea salad with bell peppers and raisins on a small plate.

If you’re looking for a light and fresh salad for summer, this chickpea cucumber salad is perfect! It’s full of flavour, can be made in advance and is easy to make with just a few ingredients.

This simple salad takes just 10 minutes to put together. All it needs is a bit of chopping and it’s ready to enjoy!

This salad works for a light meal or yummy side salad for all your summer grilling.

Why You’ll Love this Salad

  • Vegan, gluten-free and oil-free.
  • Easy to whip up in just a few minutes.
  • Perfect for potlucks, BBQs and picnics.
  • Pairs well with grilling like burgers and kebabs.
  • Try mashing it up and serving in a wrap.
  • Easy to customize with different dressings, add-ins and substitutions.

Ingredients & Substitutions

Large mixing bowl of chickpea cucumber salad with bell pepper, parsley, raisins and creamy tahini.
  • Bell Peppers. You’ll need 2 large or 3 small bell peppers. You can use any colour but I’d suggest mixing and matching for a more colourful salad!
  • Cucumber. You can use one cucumber or 4-5 mini cucumbers.
  • Red Onion: Use about 1 small red onion or 1/2 cup finely chopped.
  • Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans): You can use canned chickpeas, drained and rinse, or cook your own dried chickpeas. You’ll need about 2 cups.
  • Tahini: Use your favourite tahini or swap for mayonnaise or 1-2 tbsp olive oil for more of a vinaigrette-style dressing.
  • Parsley: This salad is best with fresh parsley. Dried parsley won’t give the same flavour. If you’re not a big parsley fan, you can try cilantro or dill.
  • Garlic: Fresh garlic is best. I recommend grating it or using a garlic press so it’s almost like a paste.
  • Lemon: You’ll need just a squeeze of fresh lemon juice so 1 lemon will be more than enough.
  • Smoked Paprika: The recipe calls for smoked paprika, which gives it a bit of smokey flavour. If you don’t have smoked paprika you can use regular paprika.
  • Vinegar: You can use white wine vinegar, red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar.

Other ingredients that work well in this salad are dill, fresh cherry or grape tomato, avocado, kale, spinach, feta cheese, sun dried tomato, broccoli, capers, artichokes and olives.

Two white plates with a chickpea bell pepper salad with tahini dressing on them.

Variations

This salad is super easy to customize. Here are some yummy additions and swaps you can try:

  • Omit the lemon, tahini, vinegar and smoked paprika and use this Italian salad dressing instead.
  • Use mayonnaise instead of tahini for a creamier salad.
  • Add ingredients like olives, capers and feta for a Mediterranean vibe.
  • Add extra veggies like broccoli, tomato or kale.
  • Serve with cubed or crumbled feta cheese on top or mixed into the salad.
  • Mix in diced avocado or serve with avocado on top.
  • Add up to 1 cup cooked quinoa to make a chickpea quinoa salad. Couscous or millet also works.
  • Add 1-2 cups of any cooked pasta like orzo, penne or bows or for summer pasta salads check out this Greek pasta salad, Italian pasta salad or pesto pasta salad.
Diced bell peppers, chickpeas, raisins and tahini in a large glass mixing bowl.

Storing Instructions

  • Store the salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
  • Enjoy chilled or let it come to room temperature.
  • This recipe is not suitable for freezing.

More Chickpea Salads

Loving this easy chickpea salad? You might like these too:

For more easy chickpea recipes, try these spiced chickpeas, Mediterranean chickpea skillet or sweet potato chickpea skillet.

Did you try this recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Scroll down to the comment section to leave a star rating and review.
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Print
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Bell pepper salad with raisins and cucumber on a white plate.

Vegan Chickpea Cucumber Salad

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.8 from 5 reviews
  • Author: Deryn Macey
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: 5
  • Category: Salad
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan
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Description

A bright and beautiful chickpea cucumber salad with raisins, tahini and parsley. Bring this easy dish to a Summer potluck or dig in for a light and healthy meal.


Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 4 tbsp tahini (60 g)
  • 3 cloves garlic, grated or pressed
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 2 bell peppers of different colours, seeds removed and diced
  • 1 19 oz. can chickpeas, drained and well-rinsed (2 cups)
  • 1/2 cup diced red onion
  • 1 cucumber, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup lightly packed parsley, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries

Instructions

  1. Mix the lemon juice, vinegar, tahini, garlic, smoked paprika, salt and pepper together in a large mixing bowl until fully combined.
  2. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix to combine.
  3. Serve immediately or chill in the fridge for 1-2 hours before serving to allow flavors to mix.

Notes

Leftover salad can be stored in the fridge in a sealed container for up to 4 days.

UPDATE NOTE: This recipe was originally published on February 15, 2015. It was updated in June 2019 with new photos and text.