Mediterranean Balela Salad
Mediterranean Balela Salad is a bright and healthy chickpea salad made with tons of fresh flavors like parsley, onion, tomato, garlic, and fresh lemon juice. It’s a wonderful, light side dish or a tasty vegetarian meal alongside hummus and pita bread.
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What’s great about Mediterranean Balela Salad is how fresh and bright it is.
It’s a perfect accompaniment to grilled kabobs, gyro sandwiches, and other tasty Mediterranean dishes.
Whenever I make Greek chicken pita sandwiches at home, I serve it with homemade hummus, tzatziki sauce, and this balela salad for a light, healthy dinner.
What is Balela salad?
Balela is a Mediterranean/Middle Eastern salad that contains chickpeas (garbanzo beans), tomato, onion, garlic, lemon, olive oil, and parsley.
I’ve eaten a version of Balela with the addition of black beans, but even though I like black beans, I prefer this salad without them.
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Ingredients needed for this recipe (scroll down to recipe card for complete recipe):
- Chickpeas
- Parsley
- Tomato
- Red onion
- Lemon juice
- Garlic
- Sumac
- Salt, pepper
- Olive oil
Not only is this chickpea salad delicious, it’s a cinch to make. There is a lot of chopping involved, but it only takes about 10-15 minutes and it’s ready.
You could serve it right away, but it gets better and better the longer it has rested in the fridge. We like it best the day after I make it!
How to serve Balela salad?
This Mediterranean salad is the perfect accompaniment to all your favorite foods like kabobs, gyros, pita sandwiches, Middle Eastern Bowls, and more.
It also makes an excellent bright, fresh salad for summer!
How long is this chickpea salad good for?
Keep salad in an air-tight container in the refrigerator and use within 3-4 days.
Looking for more chickpea recipes? Here are some favorites:
- Chickpea & Cauliflower Curry
- Harissa Garlic Hummus
- Lemony Greek Chickpeas
- Mediterranean Arugula Quinoa Salad (shown below)
- Italian Chickpea Vegetable Soup
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NOTES:
- Sumac is a maroon colored spice that adds a tangy, lemony flavor to your dish. It’s perfect in this salad and is amazing sprinkled on hummus, Greek salad, and kabobs. It may be hard to find in a traditional grocery store, but you can get it HERE from Amazon.
- While I do use reconstituted dried chickpeas for some recipes, I find the canned variety is best for this recipe.
Mediterranean Balela Salad
Ingredients
- 15.5 oz can chickpeas
- 1/4 cup Italian parsley chopped
- 1 garlic clove finely minced
- 1/4 cup red onion minced
- 1 Roma tomato chopped
- Juice of one lemon
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1/2 tsp. sumac
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a medium bowl, stir to combine. Add salt and pepper as needed. Serve immediately or refrigerate for at least an hour for the flavors to meld. Even better the next day! Enjoy!
Did you make this recipe? Rate it and let me know in the comments below! ♥
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Hi, This is my first time using chick peas in a recipe. Do I need to drain the can chick peas or just toss the entire can contents in the mix?
Thank you!
Hi there, you’ll want to drain them first. Enjoy!
Outstanding! Simple to put together.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! It’s even better the next day! Thank you for taking the time to leave feedback, I appreciate it!
Fresh, flavorful and easy to make