Indian Chickpea Salad Recipe

This Indian chickpea salad recipe is a wonderful side dish for any Indian-inspired main course.

While I don’t claim to be any kind of expert on Indian cooking, I do truly enjoy some of the heady combinations those types of spices have to offer. I will often make a bean salad for snacks because they travel well and don’t need to be immediately refrigerated. I can pack a small container full, stick it in my purse and run my errands. If I get hungry, I know I’ve got something healthy in my purse, and as long as I haven’t been away from the house (and fridge) all day, I feel pretty comfortable eating it.

But if eating this by itself isn’t really your thing, this will also pair well with any Indian-inspired main course. This would pair really well with a Curry Chicken, a Chicken Vegetable Curry Rollups, or even some Chicken Korma or BBQ Tandoori Chicken. Add a side of Naan and you’ve got quite a delicious Indian meal going on!

Are Chickpeas Indian?

This high protein bean plays an important role in Indian cuisine. They date back nearly 10,000 years and remains have been found in the middle east. In India, it is typically used in soups, salads and curries.

How To Cook Chickpeas

While most people cook these in plenty of water on the stovetop, (which can take a long time, depending on the age of your chickpeas), I find that the easiest way to cook chickpeas from dry is in an Instant Pot.

Pressure cooking cooks beans to perfection every single time. These days, I add 2 cups of beans to 6 cups of water. Set the Instant Pot to high pressure for 60 minutes (my beans have been on the shelf for a while so they take longer to cook), and walk away until they are done. Remember to do a pressure release before opening the lid!

If you need more information or step-by-step instructions on cooking chickpeas in an Instant Pot, you can read the instructions here.

Dietary Needs

This recipe is:

• Vegan
• Vegetarian
• Dairy-free
• Gluten-free – But make sure your individual ingredients are gluten-free to be sure.

Recipe Variations

• Cucumber
• Cilantro
• Fresh herbs – get creative! Many will work here if you stay within the Indain flavor profiles.
• Mint leaves
• Red chili flakes
• Lime juice – instead of lemon juice.
• Cooked sweet potato
• Cumin powder
• Feta cheese
• Make a salad dressing of sorts using tamarind chutney or tamarind vinaigrette

About The Ingredients

Canned chickpeas – drain and rinse. You can also cook these from dried chickpeas. It’s the equivalent of 2 cans (15 oz. each).

Fresh tomatoes – you can also use a 14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes.

Red bell pepper – chopped fine. You most likely won’t need a whole pepper for this.

Red onion – chopped fine. This is about half an onion, depending on the size you have.

Lemon juice – Nothing else added, just juice. You can use canned, jarred, or fresh-squeezed.

Curry powder – Easily found at most grocery stores in the spice aisle.

Ground coriander – Easily found at most grocery stores in the spice aisle.

Garam masala – Not every grocery store carries this. The best place to find it, if you have access, is an Indian food market. But some mainstream stores do carry it. Call ahead to find out if you need to.

Salt and ground black pepper – to taste

How To Make Indian Chickpea Salad

Chop the tomatoes, onion, and red bell pepper.

To a large mixing bowl, add the chickpeas.

Add the chopped vegetables to the chickpeas in the mixing bowl

Pour lemon juice over the veggies.

Add the spices.

Stir well to combine and distribute the spices as evenly as possible.

Serve as desired.

How To Store Indian Chickpea Salad

This will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Freezing Indian Chickpea Salad

You can freeze this pretty successfully for up to about 3 months. Just make sure you freeze this in an air-tight container because any air will degrade this pretty quickly in the freezer. A snap-on lid on a container or zipper-top bag if you have one will work best. Just make sure they are freezer-safe and food-safe.

Recipe Supplies

For this recipe, you’ll need a large mixing bowl, a cutting board, and a good knife. If you need them, you can find them on Amazon by clicking on the images here. (Affiliate links)

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More Healthy Chickpea Recipes

• Vegetable Curry
• Bombay Potatoes

Indian Chickpea Salad Recipe Card

(Recipe updated 7/11/22)

Recipe from the Gracious Pantry® archives, originally posted 1/14/2020.