This colorful Mediterranean Chickpea Salad known as Balela salad is hearty, refreshing, and bursting with fresh herbs and zesty flavor from the fresh lemon garlic dressing. So easy, so delicious, and so satisfying! Turn it into an easy weeknight meal by serving it with pita bread! Jump to Recipe
Coming at you with a protein-packed power salad that is as satisfying as delicious: Balela Salad! A very popular salad in the Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine. Don’t you love how fresh and festive it looks?
In Arabic, the word “balela” means “cooked chickpeas and they are indeed the main ingredient in this salad. However, we also add some extra crunch from cucumbers, peppers and a zesty sumac lemon garlic dressing takes this salad to the next level. It is simple, wholesome, bright, and flavor-packed and you will LOVE every bite of it.
While you would normally think of a bean salad as a typical summer side dish, I can assure your that this Mediterranean chickpea salad is so delish, it could be easily the star of the meal. If served with some oven warm pita, it could even be a light main!
How to make Mediterranean Balela Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
- 2 15 oz (850 g) cans of chickpeas drained or 3 cups cooked
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 Red Bell Pepper diced small
- 1 small cucumber chopped Small
- 1/4 cup (11.25 g) chopped mint
- 1/4 cup (15 g) chopped parsley
- 1/4 tsp salt
Dressing:
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar or use a mix of balsamic and apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp or more lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp sumac or use cumin
- 1/4 tsp cayenne or red pepper flakes
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Chop up all your veggies, Add the washed and drained chickpeas, garlic, cherry tomatoes, bell pepper to a bowl and toss. Add the mint and parsley, and 1/4 tsp salt, and toss well.
- In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients for the dressing, and mix well.
- Add the dressing to the salad bowl, and toss well to combine.
- Serve immediately, or chill and store for upto 3 days. This side can also be served in toasted pita bread with Tahini dressing.
Notes
- To allow for all the flavors to blend and develop, make the balela salad a bit ahead of time, at least half an hour before serving!
- You can use a mix of balsamic and apple cider vinegar instead of red wine vinegar.
- Feel free to add some chopped olives and sun-dried tomatoes to this recipe.
Nutrition
Ingredients for Balela Salad
- Chickpeas, drained canned, or cooked chickpeas work well here.
- Garlic for that Mediterranean twist.
- Veggies: cherry tomatoes, red bell pepper, and cucumbers. All veggies should be chopped up small for that fun colorful look and all the flavor of all the veggies combined in each bite.
- Chopped mint and parsley – a flavorful combination that is common in Mediterranean cuisine. You can chop them in the food processor – it does the work in no time. Don’t skimp on these! The herbs are what gives this chickpea salad its distinctive flavor.
- The zesty dressing is made with extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, and lemon juice seasoned with sumac (see below), cayenne or red pepper flakes, and salt.
- Sumac is a bright red Middle Eastern spice made from the berries of the sumac bush and it looks a little like chili powder but is not spicy, but rather lemony. If you cannot find it, use lemon zest instead.
Tips :
- To allow for all the flavors to blend and develop, make the balela salad a bit ahead of time, at least half an hour before serving!
- You can use a mix of balsamic and apple cider vinegar instead of red wine vinegar.
- Feel free to add some chopped olives and sun-dried tomatoes to this recipe.
- Make this a whole meal by serving it in a pita and drizzling with some Tahini Dressing.
How to make Mediterranean Balela Chickpea Salad
Chop up all your veggies, add the washed and drained chickpeas, garlic, cherry tomatoes, bell pepper to a bowl and toss. Add the mint and parsley, and 1/4 tsp salt, and toss well.
In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients for the dressing, and mix well.
Add the dressing to the salad bowl, and toss well to combine.
Serve immediately, or chill and store for 3 days. This side can also be served in toasted pita bread with Tahini dressing
MORE VEGGIE PACKED RECIPES FROM THE BLOG:
- Spicy BBQ Cauliflower Salad
- Peanut Butter Roasted Cauliflower Bowl. GF
- Quinoa Cauliflower Bowl with almond Sriracha sauce GF
- Sprouted Lentil Bowl with Cajun Spied Sweet Potatoes GF
- Turmeric Cauliflower Rice Bowl with Moroccan spice chickpeas. GF
This was really tasty!
I substituted white beans for the chickpeas because I forgot to make make cooked chickpeas from dried. I also didn’t add the mint because I didn’t have any. It was still really delicious, refreshing, and filling.
This one will definitely be on rotation with the warmer weather coming.
❤️❤️
This looks so tasty and healthy. thanks for the recipe.
This is exactly the recipe I needed this week! We’re about to take a road trip, and I was looking for something easy to pack in the cooler for lunch in the car. This is perfect.
Awesome
I made this on Friday for Lunch and my husband ate every last drop. This salad was delicious and satisfying. Leftovers on Saturday was even more delicious since the flavors had a chance to develop
Awesome
We loved this! It made a nice cool lunch during a warm early fall day. I was able to use vegetables and herbs fresh from the garden, only substituting chopped cucomelons for the cucumber. Very nice flavors in the vinaigrette. I used the cumin option. Will definitely make again while the garden is still going.
interesting!
Absolutely delicious recipe, Richa! I love how this is so delicious and so easy to make! Perfect for picnics/BBQs, and I love that it does not have to be heated! I added some harissa paste and some zaatar seasoning, and it added a great flavor! I don’t have sumac , so I followed your recommendation and added ground cumin and lemon zest. Sooo good!
Very nice recipe. We have to try. So easy, flavorful and delicious.
Made this today, and it is as refreshing as promised. Didn’t have sumac, so used cumin and lemon zest. Though I used the recommended amount of mint and parsley, ended up putting in more…just as well, my mint is taking up more than it’s fair share of garden real estate, and needed some beating back.
Awesome
This is on my list of MUST make.