Mediterranean Balela Salad
Mediterranean Balela Salad is a bright and healthy chickpea salad made with parsley, onion, tomato, garlic, and fresh lemon juice.
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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, pita sandwiches, and other tasty Mediterranean dishes.
Whenever I make Greek pita sandwiches at home, I serve it with homemade hummus, tzatziki sauce, and this balela salad for a light, healthy dinner.
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.
Lemony Quinoa Chickpea Salad is another great vegan chickpea salad!
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.
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
📍The full recipe with exact ingredient amounts and instructions is on the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
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.
You could serve it right away, but it gets better and better the longer it has rested in the fridge. We actually like it best the day after I make it!
Balela is great served alongside:
Looking for more chickpea recipes? Here are some favorites:
- Chickpea & Cauliflower Curry
- Harissa Garlic Hummus
- Lemony Greek Chickpeas
- Mediterranean Arugula Quinoa Salad
- Italian Chickpea Vegetable Soup
- 20+ Chickpea Recipes
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Mediterranean Balela Salad
Ingredients
- 15.5 ounce can chickpeas
- 1/4 cup Italian parsley chopped
- 1 garlic clove finely minced
- 1/4 cup red onion minced
- 1 Roma tomato chopped
- 1 lemon the juice of
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon 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!
Notes
- Store the salad in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
- 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.
- While I do use reconstituted dried chickpeas for some recipes, I find the canned variety is best for this recipe.
I just had this salad from Trader Joe’s, so I wanted to make my own. Your recipe looks wonderful. So delicious and healthy! I’ve never made anything with sumac, so I am excited to try that.
I have no sumac. Can I make it w/o the sumac? What might be a good substitute?
The sumac adds a subtle brightness. You’ll be fine without it. Enjoy!
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