Chickpea and Feta Picnic Salad
Chickpea and Feta Salad is the perfect salad for a picnic: stays crunchy and fresh, plus all of the flavor and healthy ingredients we love.
I’m not entirely sure why, but when Dan asked me in the most complimentary way to “master” the chickpea salad he’d eaten at Woody’s, our local favorite for Lebanese, I didn’t exactly jump all over it.
The poor guy—he’s been casually slipping his simple request into conversation wherever it fits. I mention cooking up some peeled chickpeas for hummus, and he says, “oh, would you use those for the chickpea salad?” (the answer is no; I save those strictly for hummus). He sees me taking photos of brussels sprouts with dates, and says, almost under his breath and with no hint of irritation (he’s special), “maybe the chickpea salad will be next.”
The first time Dan ate the salad, he called me with what could only be called a fever-pitch. He described what he’d eaten in detail, and brought some home. He started talking about how and when I would master the salad, reviewing a run-down of everything in it. My phone rings or dings every single time Dan makes the rounds at Woody’s (“I had the chickpeas again!”). I know, he’s adorable.
I suspected the salad would be good, and the fact that it’s so healthy made it that much more exciting.
So I tasted, I inspected, and I promised. Then did nothing.
Here’s the thing: this salad is tabbouleh-esque in its demand for chopping. Finely diced vegetables are not my favorite kitchen task, by a long shot. Ask me to master a white cake recipe, and it’s done in a New York minute. Brown butter for chocolate chip cookies? I’m on it today. Roll a huge tunjura of grape leaves, or stir up a pan of hushweh? Done, done. Whip up a batch of my ultra-smooth homemade hummus? I love you for asking.
If my sister Peg would just sit here in my kitchen awaiting my request for her to chop all of the ingredients, I’d have had the chickpea salad done a long time ago. She’s really the best chop-chop of all time. She enjoys it. She gets all set up with her sharp knife and goes cheffy on me. But somehow she thinks she should spend most of her time elsewhere, not in my kitchen at the ready.
So maybe I am entirely certain as to why the chickpea salad kept getting the shaft in my line-up of recipes to master. But with picnic season upon us, and Dan mentioning the salad with increasing frequency and intensity in the sweetest way, I decided I best put my chop-avoidance aside.
After all, whenever I teach a class or demo, I describe how easy it is to chop when you hold your–very sharp–knife correctly. Time to practice what she preaches, which Dan would never say, so I will for him.
Chickpea and Feta Picnic Salad
Ingredients
- 3 Persian or other small cucumbers
- 5 radishes
- 5 Campari tomatoes
- 15 snap peas
- 3 scallions
- 1 large red, orange, or yellow bell pepper
- 16 ounces chickpeas (canned, drained and rinsed, or cooked from dry)
- 8 ounces feta cheese
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon unseasoned rice wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Garlic Mint Salt , or your own blend of dried mint, garlic powder, salt, and pepper
Instructions
- Finely dice all of the vegetables, removing the seeds from the tomatoes before dicing them. For the scallions, use both the white and green parts.
- In a medium bowl, combine the vegetables with the chickpeas. Crumble half of the feta over top.
- Dress with the lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil, and Garlic Mint Salt (use dried mint, garlic powder, salt and pepper). Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Refrigerate the salad for at least an hour before serving, topped with more feta.
31 Comments
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I'm so glad you're here! You'll find among these pages the fresh and classic Lebanese recipes we can't get enough of! My mission is to share my tried + true recipes -- and to help our Lebanese food-loving community keep these culinary traditions alive and on the table. What recipes are you looking for? Let me know!
Maureen, this looks delicious! Two questions: 1). Regarding snap peas–are they sugar snap peas that you chop up including the pod? 2). If I use canned chickpeas, do I drain and rinse them? Thanks!
Great questions! See the updated recipe!
Do I drain and rinse the chickpeas or not? The recipe did not mention that so do I assume that I don’t drain and rinse them?
Thanks.
Hi Mary–thanks for your question. Drain and rinse the chickpeas. I’ve added this to the recipe!
This looks great. But the recipie dodnt include the bell peppers. Do u still add that?
Yes! Missing and I just put it in, thank you!
Thanks Maureen!
After reading your post I stopped at Woody’s and got a pint of the salad. Dan is right, it is delish! I guess I need to go shopping and begin chopping.
curious what kind of feta you prefer? i look forward to making this (chopping aside)!
Hi Margaret–I always get chunk feta rather than crumbles, and honestly it depends on where I happen to be shopping. Some of our groceries have a better cheese selection than others…so I just make sure it’s Greek imported, full-fat, and in a nice block.
YUM!!
One of my favorite summer salads is chickpeas, red onion, feta, dry oregano, parsley, garlic, oil & vinegar. Your salad sounds like a little more work but will add some great crunch. Can’t wait to try the mint dressing.
The mint does add that special touch! Your other favorite sounds delicious too!
Hi Maureen.. Please come back to twin city area of Minnesota.. Really enjoy your classes.bernadette
Thank you! I’d love to come back one day!
So delicious. Thanks so much for sharing! My kids thank you even more 🙂
I just made this for my anniversary picnic 🙂 And it was delish! Normally my husband has the pallet of a 5 year old, but this he loved! (I used lemon juice from concentrate as I had no time to run to the store). Thank you so much for posting it!
Although I share your aversion to dicing a million little dices, this one looks well worth the effort 🙂
Best wishes from the ‘northern lower’!
So yummy! And best to you too!
I can’t wait to make this dish, however, I was struck by the peeled chickpeas. All my 53 years I have peeled before making hummus. I thought it was my imagination and now, lo and behold! An expert in my corner!
Amen! Thank you Beth!
How much in advance can you make this salad? It looks delicious!
Karen, this salad can be made up to three days in advance. Though I will say the salad has stayed nice all week long more than once.
I just finished making this for a Fourth of July party. It is not only very pretty, but also very tasty. Thanks for the recipe.
Great great great, Mary!
My family loved this salad. My 19yr old son finished it off before the rest of us were able to have seconds. Thanks for another amazing recipe!
This quickly becomes a favorite! Thanks Karen!
I bought a jar of dried mint. What are the measurements to make my own garlic mint salt?
Karen, wonderful. We keep the recipes for our custom spice blends sold at MaureenAbodoMarket.com proprietary, but you can mix a blend of dried mint, garlic powder, salt and pepper and taste to desired balance and it will be delicious. Main ingredient flavor and quantity is the mint.
Bonjour maureen
Je suis curieuse, votre salade goute tels comme la salade de Woody’s? ☺️
Oui! Tres bien!