This quick and easy Greek Chickpea Salad with Tzatziki Dressing is great for a vegetarian lunch or dinner. Everything you find in a Greek salad, minus the lettuce and tossed in a creamy, flavorful tzatziki dressing.
If you’re not a fan of salads that use lettuce or other greens in them, then I highly recommend giving this Greek Chickpea Salad with Tzatziki Dressing a try! Often times when people hear the word salad, their mind automatically goes to lettuces, carrots, tomatoes, etc. I have to say, some of my favorite salads on the blog don’t use greens at all.
A few of my favorite salads that don’t use greens are this Mediterranean Lentil Salad, Thai Quinoa Salad and this Summer Vegetable Orzo Salad. Sometimes I think a non-lettuce salad is more appealing to some people as a main dish. Something about using lettuce or other greens as a base for a salad make them think they’re going to still be hungry after easting it.
This Greek Chickpea Salad with Tzatziki Dressing works great for lunch of dinner. You’ll be full enough from it if you choose to eat it as a vegetarian main dish or you can make these Greek Lemon Chicken Skewers or Grilled Chicken Shawarma Wraps to serve along with it.
What Do I Need to Make the Greek Chickpea Salad?
- Canned chickpeas
- Persian cucumbers or an English cucumber
- Cherry tomatoes
- Red onion
- Kalamata olived
- Fresh dill
- Plain Greek yogurt
- Lemon
- Red wine vinegar
- Feta
- Garlic powder or a clove of fresh garlic
Making the salad is quick and easy. The most time consuming part is chopping the vegetables. The salad is a great option if you meal prep your lunches for the week too. If you plan to go this route, I would suggest removing the seeds from the cucumber to help prevent the salad from getting too watery.
To make the salad, chop all of the vegetables and add them to a big serving bowl along with the rinsed and drained chickpeas, olives and dill. In a small bowl whisk together the ingredients for the tzatziki dressing and then pour it into the salad. The dressing will be thick, but will loosen up with the moisture from the tomatoes and cucumbers.
I mentioned above that you’ll need either garlic powder or a clove of garlic. I used garlic powder in this recipe because I’m not a fan of raw garlic. However, if you love it by all means use the fresh stuff.
Can I Use Dried Dill?
If you don’t have fresh dill or don’t want to spend the money buying it, you can use dried dill. Since dried herbs are stronger in flavor than fresh, you’ll want to use less than what the recipe calls for. I recommend a teaspoon for the salad and another teaspoon for the dressing. I always recommend using fresh herbs when possible because the flavor can’t be beat.
This Greek Chickpea Salad is a great option if you love Greek food, are looking for a healthy vegetarian lunch or dinner, and if you’re looking to change up your salad game with one that doesn’t include greens!
Greek Chickpea Salad with Tzatziki Dressing
Ingredients
Salad
- 2 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 2 cups diced Persian or English cucumber
- 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 cup diced red onion
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives, halved
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped dill
Dressing
- 1/2 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt, 2% or whole may also be used
- Zest and juice of a lemon
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped dill
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or 1 clove grated or minced garlic
- 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add all of the salad ingredients to a large serving bowl. In a smaller bowl whisk together the dressing ingredients. Pour the dressing in with the salad and stir together gently with a rubber spatula until everything is coated in the dressing. Taste for seasoning and serve or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 359Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 14mgSodium: 273mgCarbohydrates: 47gFiber: 12gSugar: 13gProtein: 20g
More Greek Salad Recipes
Greek Salmon Salad with Tahini Yogurt Dressing
This was AMAZING! My 12 year old and I had this for lunch on a bed of baby spinach. So, so delicious. This recipe will be on repeat for sure.
Oh my goodness! So amazing, its odd cause as I was buying my ingredients at the store I thought it had yellow bellpepper. So I added it anyway and still turned out delicious. I highly reccomend this salad to be given a try. Thank you for your recipe.
This chickpea salad is filled with classic Greek ingredients and looks absolutely delicious!!! I love to sprinkle my salads with fresh or dried oregano once it’s composed.