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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 โbalelaโ means โcooked 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.ย 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 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 chopped mint
- 1/4 cup 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.
- ย Feel free to add some chopped olives and sun-dried tomatoes to this recipe.
- ย
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredients for Balela Salad
- ย 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. ย Donโt skimp on these! The herbs are what gives this chickpea salad its distinctive flavor.
- The zesty dressing is made with extra virgin olive oil,ย red wine vinegar,ย and lemon juice seasoned with sumac (see below), cayenne or red pepper flakes, and salt.
- ย 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.
- ย 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
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Made this for a Birthday celebration with Mediterranean theme. I only used one can of chickpeas which was plenty. I have never used sumac but after reading about it got a little from bulk spices and used 1/4t sumac and 1/4t cumin. Really liked the dressing, used red wine vinegar, and will make it again. Made as listed otherwise and it was really good. I think it could have used more mint and maybe a little lemon zest as well. Did sprinkle feta on top of the individual servings. As side servings this was plenty for about 10 people, would need more if using as a main. Made a day ahead but the two day leftover were even better!
Awesome!