Chickpea Tuna Salad
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Chickpea Tuna Salad is a combination of canned tuna and chickpeas with all the colorful veggies of the rainbow. Top it with feta cheese and a zesty lemon dressing for a healthy meal that you’ll make again and again!
For other healthy salad recipes, try my Kale and Quinoa Salad, Cruciferous Salad with Honey Balsamic Dressing, and Spinach Salad with Honey Dijon Dressing.
Featured Review from Shari ~“I love chickpeas so adding this to tuna and all the other things is so good. The dressing is so fresh and light bringing the whole thing together. I will make this often for a light, healthy dinner, snack or whatever. 🙂”
Chickpeas and Tuna
If y’all know me well, you know that chickpeas are life. I add them to almost all of my salads, all of my hummus recipes so far, and I even have a chickpea salad sandwich recipe on the blog as well as our Chickpea Tuna Pasta Salad.
Chickpeas are a great source of protein and fiber, so if you are trying to reduce your meat consumption, they are a great alternative. Above all, I just love the way they pop in your mouth and of course, the taste. They give me life, y’all! 😀
This salad is also great, because it incorporates lots of veggies, tuna, and a healthy, lemon-y salad dressing that I use on my Lemon Orzo Salad too. The perfect amount of zesty.
Try my Crispy Chickpeas for a crunchy, interesting twist on chickpeas! They are a nice addition to any salad.
Ingredient Notes:
- Chickpeas – Feel free to use any brand you like. I haven’t noticed a difference between them so far, and we eat A LOT of chickpeas. They are so good and have great protein and fiber.
- Tuna – I normally use Albacore Tuna for this salad The measurements in the recipe card are based on drained tuna, fyi.
- Veggies – Cucumber, red onion, bell pepper, and tomatoes.
- Cheese – Just a little bit of feta cheese goes a long way with flavor.
- To Serve – I used green lettuce but any salad greens work.
How to make Chickpea Tuna Salad:
Step 1
Make dressing. In a mason jar, mix together the salad dressing – the olive oil, lemon juice, honey, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Shake well and set aside.
Step 2
Assemble the salad. In a large bowl, combine the chickpeas, tuna, cucumbers, red onion, bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, and feta cheese.
Step 3
Add dressing. Pour the prepared dressing over the salad, and stir to combine. If you’re not planning to eat the entire salad, I recommend waiting to add the dressing to individual salads.
Step 4
Serve. Serve the tuna salad over a bed of salad greens. It’s also delicious on it’s own too!
Possible Variations:
It’s nice to have flexibility in salad recipes and I’ll share some below with you.
- Add extra chickpeas. I often add an extra can of chickpeas (because I LOVE them) and chop them up. It adds extra texture to this salad.
- Add other veggies. In addition to cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, and red onions, you could add zucchini, carrots, celery, green onions, etc.
- Use a different dressing. My sister says she likes to use apple cider vinegar in place of the lemon along with some dijon mustard. You could try my spinach salad dressing, a light honey mustard, or some honey balsamic vinaigrette instead of my lemon dressing.
- Serve this salad over ANY salad greens. I used green lettuce, but it’s excellent over arugula, spinach leaves, red lettuce, or anything you can think of.
How many days does this salad stay fresh?
This is a small recipe, so we’ve never had leftovers past one day. But if you add dressing to individual salads, this would last in the refrigerator for several days.
Other tuna recipes on the blog:
- Healthy Tuna Patties – These use Greek yogurt in the base, and are lightly seared.
- Jalapeño Tuna Cakes – Nice and spicy, just how we like it.
- Open Faced Tuna Melts – Cue the memories! These bring me back to my childhood sans the Velveeta cheese!
Kitchen Tools used for this recipe: (Affiliate Links)
- Global 7-inch Knife – My fav kitchen knife.
- Citrus Press – Used to prep the lemon juice.
xoxo ~Sue
Chickpea Tuna Salad
Ingredients
- 15 oz. chickpeas – rinsed and strained
- 12 oz. albacore tuna – drained of liquid
- 1 cup english cucumber – chopped
- 1/4 cup red onion – sliced
- 1/2 cup yellow bell pepper – chopped
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes – chopped
- 1/2 cup feta cheese – crumbled
- salad greens – to serve
For the dressing:
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 3 Tablespoons lemon – freshly squeezed
- 1 teaspoon honey
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper – to taste
Instructions
- Combine the dressing ingredients in a mason jar. Shake to mix well.
- Mix all the salad ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Pour dressing over the top and combine.
- Serve over a bed of salad greens, if desired.
Notes
Possible Variations:
- Add extra chickpeas. I often add an extra can of chickpeas (because I LOVE them) and chop them up. It adds extra texture to this salad.
- Add other veggies. In addition to cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, and red onions, you could add zucchini, carrots, celery, green onions, etc.
- Use a different dressing. My sister says she likes to use apple cider vinegar in place of the lemon along with some dijon mustard. You could try my spinach salad dressing, a light honey mustard, or some honey balsamic vinaigrette instead of my lemon dressing.
- Serve this salad over ANY salad greens. I used green lettuce, but it’s excellent over arugula, spinach leaves, red lettuce, or anything you can think of.
I made this salad for a hot summer’s lunch. It’s so refreshing and full of protein. I served it on a bed of butter lettuce and Arugula. My husband and I both loved it! Txs Sue!
That sounds wonderful, Gisela! Thanks for letting me know!
I love chickpeas so adding this to tuna and all the other things is so good. The dressing is so fresh and light bringing the whole thing together. I will make this often for a light, healthy dinner, snack or whatever. 🙂
Thanks for your feedback, Shari! 🙂
This is so good! We had it for dinner last night and everyone liked the combination of ingredients with plenty of protein, colorful fresh vegetables and a nice, light dressing. I also had a lot of tuna in my pantry so what a great use for it. Another recipe for our regular rotation.
Oh great, Jackie! Thanks so much for trying it, and for your feedback. 🙂
This salad is amazing and saves me calories for a 2nd Blackberry Peach Frozen Margarita! Score. 😎
Great idea!