Fresh and crisp Mediterranean Chopped Salad made with fresh tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, red onion, chickpeas, olives and feta cheese all tossed with a delicious red wine vinaigrette!
There’s nothing better on a warm day than a crisp, fresh salad and this Mediterranean chopped salad is one of my absolute favorites! Super simple to make, loaded with your favorite vegetables, protein-packed chickpeas and a zesty red wine vinegar dressing all sprinkled with some crumbled feta cheese. This salad also tastes great served with chicken, shrimp or steak and is easily customizable to your liking! So much flavor in every bite!
Why You’ll Love this Salad
- This salad is light, fresh and healthy!
- Super simple to throw together with minimal ingredients that are probably already in your fridge or pantry.
- Can easily be prepped ahead of time for quick assembly and meal prep.
- Perfect salad to feed a crowd!
- This recipe also makes a great mason jar salad for lunches!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- lettuce – I finely chopped some romaine lettuce, but any leafy green lettuce such as arugula, kale or spinach will work.
- tomatoes – I like to use grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes in this salad because they aren’t as watery as larger tomatoes tend to be when you slice them.
- cucumbers – mini cucumbers tend to be less watery and more crunchy than larger cucumbers so I like them best in this salad. English cucumbers work great too, but I would suggest scooping the seeds and flesh out to keep this salad nice and crisp.
- red onion – adds a nice savory flavor to this salad as well as a good crunch!
- chickpeas – I used canned chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans) which are a great source of protein in this salad, just make sure to drain and rinse the chickpeas.
- olives – I chopped some pitted Kalamata olives giving this salad some saltiness and flavor.
- fresh parsley – this is a must in this salad and adds a nice fresh flavor as well as a pop of color. You could also add in some other fresh herbs such as fresh basil, mint or oregano.
- dressing – simple and delicious mixture of extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, garlic and dried oregano (or Italian seasoning works too). A little dijon mustard added to the dressing is also a great addition and adds a little zip!
- feta cheese – adds some creaminess and flavor.
How to Make a Mediterranean Chopped Salad
- Chop veggies, lettuce and herbs. This might be the most time-consuming part, but trust me this salad is worth it! Chop up your tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, olives, fresh parsley and romaine lettuce.
- Salt and drain cucumbers and tomatoes. This is a little trick I do that helps draw out excess moisture from the cucumbers and tomatoes which helps prevent the salad from getting soggy. Place your chopped cucumbers and tomatoes in a colander in the sink, toss them in about a teaspoon of salt and let them drain for about 10 or 15 minutes.
- Make the dressing. While the cucumbers and tomatoes are draining, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, garlic and dried oregano in a small bowl (or mason jar) and mix or shake until dressing is emulsified.
- Marinate veggies. Transfer the cucumbers and tomatoes to a large salad bowl and add in the chickpeas, red onion, olives and fresh parsley (don’t add the lettuce just yet). Toss with the lemony dressing and let the veggies sit for about 10 minutes. This allows the veggies to soak up all that flavor without making the lettuce soggy.
- Toss the salad. Add in the romaine lettuce and feta cheese, tossing to combine. Season with salt and black pepper, as needed, serve and enjoy!
What to Serve with Mediterranean Chopped Salad
The great thing about this Mediterranean chopped salad recipe is it can be served as a whole meal or enjoyed as a delicious side dish! Here are some of my favorite ways to serve up this salad:
- All on its own as a big delicious salad!
- Mix in a protein such as chicken, shrimp or steak. You could even whip up some extra dressing and marinate the chicken in it (highly recommend this!)
- Serve alongside these chicken kabobs.
- Make it creamy with some chopped avocado.
- Throw this salad in a wrap or gyro and drizzle with some tzatziki sauce.
- Perfect side dish to pizza, soups, warm pita bread or sandwiches.
Prepping and Storage
To Make Ahead: To prep this salad ahead of time, chop all the veggies and store in a separate container from the romaine lettuce to prevent the lettuce from wilting. You can also make the salad dressing ahead of time and store it in a separate container (or mason jar with a tight lid) until ready to use.
To Store: This salad can be stored in a sealed, airtight container for about 2 days in the fridge before the lettuce starts to get soggy. If you are prepping these salads for lunches, I highly recommend using large mason jars and layering the salad, starting with the chickpeas and red onion at the bottom with the dressing, then adding in the tomatoes, cucumbers and olives, finishing up with the lettuce on top to keep it fresh and crisp. I also recommend waiting to add the feta cheese until right before serving.
Substitutions and Variations
- Switch up the protein. The chickpeas in this salad are a great source of protein, but feel free to throw in some shredded or grilled chicken, shrimp or steak.
- More veggies. Add in some additional veggies like chopped zucchini, bell peppers, or carrots and you could even add in more fresh herbs like basil, mint or oregano along with the parsley for a different type of flavor.
- Add some grains. Toss in some cooked quinoa, farro or rice for a more filling salad and you could even make Mediterranean bowls with this.
- Delicious swaps. You can easily swap out the feta cheese for goat cheese, use white beans in place of the chickpeas, artichoke hearts in place of the olives, and you can easily change up the veggies and protein, the possibilities are endless!
- More sweetness? Mix in a little honey or maple syrup in with the dressing before tossing with the salad for a little sweetness.
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More Salad Recipes You’ll Love
- Strawberry Balsamic Salad
- Healthy Greek Salad
- Raspberry Walnut Salad with Chicken
- Chinese Chicken Salad
- My Favorite Detox Salad
Hope you all enjoy this Mediterranean Chopped Salad and if you love this as much as we do, please leave me ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below and don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using the hashtag #eatyourselfskinny! I love seeing all your delicious recreations!
Mediterranean Chopped Salad
Ingredients
- 6 cups romaine lettuce, chopped
- 3 mini cucumbers, or 1 English cucumber, peeled and chopped
- 1 pint grape tomatoes, chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt, for the cucumbers and tomatoes
- 1 15 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
- 1/2 cup red onion, chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
For the dressing:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Chop the tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, olives, fresh parsley and romaine lettuce, set aside.
- Place the chopped cucumbers and tomatoes in a colander in the sink, toss them in about a teaspoon of salt and let them drain for about 10 or 15 minutes. This is a little trick I do that helps draw out excess moisture from the cucumbers and tomatoes which helps prevent the salad from getting soggy.
- While the cucumbers and tomatoes are draining, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, garlic and dried oregano in a small bowl (or mason jar) and mix until dressing is emulsified.
- Transfer the cucumbers and tomatoes to a large bowl and add in the chickpeas, red onion, olives and fresh parsley (don’t add the lettuce just yet). Toss with the dressing and let the veggies sit for about 10 minutes. This allows the veggies to soak up all that flavor without making the lettuce soggy.
- Add in the romaine lettuce and feta cheese, tossing to combine. Season with salt and black pepper, as needed, serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
tomato, cucumber, chickpea salad was great! I will be making this again!
mediterranean chicken meatballs were a little dry, any suggestions to make them
a little more moist?
Ground chicken doesn’t have much fat so it tends to dry out easier, but I may try making the meatballs again with an extra egg or a little milk added to them 🙂 I’ll update soon!
Wow, that’s the type of salad I was looking for. Thank you!