Name: Summer Chickpea Salad
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 5
Ingredients: 15 ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained; 1 1/2 cups chopped Persian or English cucumbers; 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved; 1 cup fresh or frozen (defrosted) corn (if using fresh, grilled is best); 1 peach, diced; 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced; 1 tablespoon finely chopped chives; 1/4 cup basil leaves, chopped; 1/2 cup cubed or crumbled feta cheese; 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice; 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 tablespoon dijon mustard; 1 tablespoon honey; Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

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This Summer Chickpea Salad is loaded with summer’s finest produce. Hearty chickpeas, corn, cucumbers, tomatoes, peaches, feta and fresh basil are all tossed in a fresh and tangy lemon vinaigrette. Serve it as a vegetarian main dish or side dish this summer!

Salads are definitely my favorite thing to make during the summer months. First of all the amount of produce available is incredible and second it’s just too dang hot to cook much of anything else. When I say I like to make salads this doesn’t mean your basic lettuce, carrot, cucumber and tomato kind. Those are fine once in a while, but I get tired of them pretty fast.

The salads I like to make are loaded with seasonal ingredients, lots of texture and a combination of flavors that has you wanting to go back again and again for another bite! This summer chickpea salad checks all those boxes and I can tell you that it was almost impossible to put my fork down before taking another bite.

Ingredients Needed to Make Summer Chickpea Salad

chickpeas
Persian cucumbers or an English cucumber
cherry tomatoes
fresh or frozen corn
peach
jalapeño
fresh chives and basil
feta cheese
fresh lemon juice
dijon mustard
honey

How to Make Summer Chickpea Salad

To make the summer chickpea salad start by grilling the corn if you are using fresh corn. This is an optional step, but adds great flavor. Once the corn is grilled let it cool while you prep the rest of the vegetables.

Dice the cucumbers, jalapeño and peach. Halve the cherry tomatoes and chop the chives and basil. Once the corn is cool enough to handle, use a knife to cut it off the cob. Add all of the ingredients along with the chickpeas and either cubed or crumbled feta cheese to a large serving bowl.

In a small bowl whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, honey, dijon mustard, salt and pepper. Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and toss everything together until it’s coated. The salad can be served immediately or you can refrigerate it until you’re ready to serve. If you want to make the chickpea salad vegan, simply swap maple syrup for the honey and omit the feta.

How Long Will the Salad Keep?

This salad keeps well for several days. After the first day you may notice that the peach softens. If this bothers you, you can add the peach in separately from the rest of the salad.

What to Serve with the Chickpea Salad

While this salad can be served as a vegetarian main dish (it’s wonderful for lunches), below are some suggestions if you want to serve it as a side dish.