This Mediterranean Chopped Salad is perfect for lunch or dinner and a great way to repurpose leftover chicken! Let the veggies marinate and toss with lettuce just before serving!
Hi friend!
I’ve got an easy new salad recipe for you this week. This Mediterranean Chopped Salad is perfect for food prep and full of flavor. You can chop and mix the vegetables with the chickpeas, chicken and dressing to let the flavors develop and then toss with lettuce right before serving to keep it from getting soggy!
It’s a light, flavorful, Mediterranean-inspired meal that’s perfect for everything from a busy weeknight dinner to a holiday gathering.
Mediterranean Chopped Salad with Chickpeas
While I include chicken in this recipe, you could easily keep this vegetarian by omitting the chickpeas and doubling the chickpeas in the recipe.
Chickpeas are an affordable pantry staple and a great source of plant-based protein and fiber. They’re also a great source of many nutrients including magnesium and potassium. In addition, they’re a great source of iron!
If you’re looking for other recipes using chickpeas, try:
Chopped Mediterranean Salad Recipe Ingredients
This salad comes to life with just a few basic ingredients. You’ll need:
- Tomatoes – grape or cherry tomatoes that can be easily quartered work well for this recipe
- English cucumber – different than a traditional cucumber because it’s less watery. If you can only find regular cucumbers, slice in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds before dicing.
- Chickpeas – if you don’t like them, try swapping in great northern beans
- Red onion – you can slice and soak in water for a few minutes before dicing to help make the flavor more mild
- Bell pepper – red is my favorite but you could use yellow or orange as well
- Feta – crumbled feta adds great flavor
- Olives- optional. Feel free to leave them out if you don’t like them
- Chicken- any kind of cooked chicken will do. Use up leftovers, grab a rotisserie chicken or cook some in the air fryer and dice it up!
- Romaine lettuce – take the time to chop it up into small pieces so it mixes will with all the chopped veggies
- Avocado – save this to add just before serving!
For the dressing you just need to combine a few pantry staples like oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, dijon mustard and a few spices, plus a little honey or maple syrup for sweetness.
How To Make Chopped Mediterranean Chicken Salad
Making this salad requires just a few simple steps and a lot of the work can be done ahead of time!
It tastes best when the chopped veggies, chickpeas and chicken have time to marinate in the dressing so feel free to chop and combine these ingredients a day ahead of time and let them sit in the fridge.
Chop the veggies and mix with drained chickpeas, cooked chicken, feta and olives.
Combine all of the dressing ingredients and shake well. Pour over the veggie mixture.
When ready to serve, toss in a large bowl with the finely chopped lettuce and add avocado.
Chopped Mediterranean Chickpea Salad Variations
Mediterranean Chopped Salad Sandwich Pitas
The finely diced parts of this salad might make it difficult to eat as a traditional sandwich but it would work really well in a wrap or pita pocket!
Mediterranean Chopped Salad with Roasted Red Pepper Dressing
If you’re looking for a change from the oil and vinegar dressing for this salad, it would be great with a red pepper dressing as well. Try one of these:
- Thin out this Spicy Red Pepper Feta Dip to use as a dressing
- Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette
- Mediterranean Chopped Salad with Roasted Red Pepper Dressing
Chopped Mediterranean Chickpea Salad Bowl
If you want to make this more of a grain bowl, skip the lettuce and serve over rice, quinoa or farro! Or keep the lettuce and simply add your favorite grain to the mix!
Vegan Chopped Mediterranean Salad
To make this recipe vegan, leave out the chicken. You could add extra chickpeas or even toss in some crispy marinated tofu. Try this recipe for The Best Vegan Greek Tofu.
Easy Mediterranean Chopped Salad Recipe
Here’s how to make it:
PrintMediterranean Chopped Salad
This Mediterranean Chopped Salad is perfect for lunch or dinner and a great way to repurpose leftover chicken! Let the veggies marinate and toss with lettuce just before serving!
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered
- half an English cucumber (more if desired)
- 1/2 a medium red onion, diced (approx 1 cup)
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 (14.5) oz can chickpeas, drained
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 oz can sliced black olives, optional
- 1 pound cooked chicken, diced
- 6 cups Romaine lettuce, finely chopped
- 1 medium avocado, diced
For the dressing:
- 1/4 cup oil (I use avocado oil)
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- juice from half a lemon
- 2– 3 tsp dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1 – 2 tsp maple syrup or honey (to taste)
Instructions
- Place diced tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, bell pepper, chickpeas, feta, fresh parsley, olives and chicken in a large bowl or container.
- Combine all dressing ingredients in a glass jar with a lid and shake until well combined.
- Pour over the veggie and chicken mixture and let marinate at least an hour, up to overnight.
- When ready to serve, pour the mixture over the lettuce and toss well. Top with avocado and serve.
Chopped Salad Mediterranean FAQs
Is this Chopped Mediterranean Salad gluten-free?
Yes! Just leave off the crusty bread it is served with. This salad recipe is gluten-free as written.
How to store this chopped Mediterranean salad?
If you think you’ll have leftovers, I would not mix all the veggies and chicken mixture with the lettuce. Storing them together with cause the lettuce to get soggy.
However the veggies, chicken and chickpeas can be mixed ahead of time so feel free to prepare in advance and just store separately from the lettuce until ready to serve.
Is this better than an organic Mediterranean chopped salad kit?
I think so 🙂 When you make it homemade you have total control over the ingredients, freshness, dressing type etc. But if you’re in a pinch and craving something similar, try this Mediterranean Crunch Chopped Salad Kit from Taylor Farms.
How can I make this a more Mediterranean crunch chopped salad?
To up the crunch factor, try adding chopped walnuts or slivered almonds. You could also mix in some coleslaw or chopped cabbage for additional crunch! You could also add pepperoncini and extra olives for more flavor.
More Mediterranean Recipes
Want more Mediterranean-inspired recipes? Try one of these:
Enjoy!
–Lindsay–
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