Garbanzo Bean Salad

Garbanzo Bean Salad is loaded with veggies, dressed in an Italian-inspired vinaigrette, and finished with some herbaceous parsley!

For a similar salad with a slightly different flavor profile, try our Mediterranean-inspired chickpea salad!

Garbanzo Bean Salad

We’re obsessed with this fresh and lively salad! It’s loaded with texture and color, plenty of nutritious ingredients, and also happens to be vegetarian!

But, trust me, you will not miss the meat in this salad. The garbanzo and black beans have loads of protein, making this salad super substantial. Then we pair those beans with good-for-you fats from the avocado and you’ll be amazed just how satiating this salad is. Of course, you can always serve this salad up with a side of protein — chicken, steak, or salmon would all be delicious accompaniments. I’ll share more serving suggestions below along with some details about the dressing and tips for making this salad.

Italian-inspired dressing

The dressing can be made in advance; just be sure to shake it up again before dressing this Garbanzo Bean Salad. We use all the dressing in this salad (it’s a lot, but we love it!), but you may want to use less.

Refrigerate any leftover (or made ahead) dressing. If the dressing separates or hardens in the fridge, don’t be alarmed– olive oil does this at cold temps. Simply set it out at room temperature for about 15-20 minutes and then shake it vigorously to re-combine.

Garbanzo Bean Salad Tips

• Fully ripe avocados are game changers for this salad. A ripe avocado can add an incredible creamy texture and a far superior flavor. You can tell an avocado is ripe by gently pressing near the stem. If the avocado yields to that gentle pressure, it’s ripe and ready to be added to this salad!
• I recommend Persian (sometimes labeled as mini cucumbers) or English cucumbers. These cucumbers are nearly seedless and very crisp (instead of watery). They have a sweet, mild flavor and a great crunch; they’re the perfect complement to all the other veggies and will keep the salad from getting watered down.
• Tame the bite of red onion. If you’re sensitive to the flavor of raw red onion, soak the diced onions in ice-cold, salted water for 10 minutes. Drain thoroughly before using in this Garbanzo Bean Salad.

Garbanzo Bean Salad Tips Continued

• Make sure to get flat-leaf Italian parsley, as opposed to curly for this recipe. Flat-leaf parsley has a more robust flavor and curly parsley is used more commonly as a garnish. Curly parsley won’t add much flavor to this salad.
• Cut veggies in even sizes throughout this salad.
• Don’t forget to taste before serving. Depending on the ripeness of veggies and actual ingredients used in the dressing, you may need additional seasoning. Taste the salad a few times before serving and add a touch more salt and/or pepper if the flavors seem at all flat. The flavors in this salad should sing! You may be surprised how much salt this salad needs, but with raw veggies and un-seasoned beans, it benefits greatly from generous seasonings.

Let’s talk corn

If you have access to fresh corn on the cob, I highly recommend it for this salad. And if not, frozen (thawed) or canned (and well-drained) corn works well too.

If using corn on the cob, you can cut it right off the cob and add it to the salad. We love the flavor and crunch of raw corn in Garbanzo Bean Salad! If you aren’t too sure about raw corn, you could grill it up before adding it to the salad. I go into detail about grilling corn (I promise it’s easy!) in this Elote post.

Garbanzo Bean Salad FAQs

More Delicious Salad Recipes

• Cowboy Caviar with a lime vinaigrette
• Cucumber Salad with a balsamic vinaigrette
• Panzanella Salad with fresh corn
• Sweet Potato Quinoa Salad with a lemon vinaigrette
• Israeli Salad cucumber, tomato, and parsley salad

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4.81 from 42 votes

Italian Garbanzo Bean Salad

By Chelsea Lords

This Garbanzo Bean Salad is loaded with veggies, dressed in an Italian-inspired vinaigrette, and finished with some herbaceous parsley!

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 -8 as a side

Ingredients 

USMetric

 

1x2x3x

Dressing

• ▢ 3/4 cup olive oil
• ▢ 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• ▢ 2 teaspoons dried minced onion
• ▢ 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• ▢ 1 teaspoon EACH dried basil, dried oregano, salt
• ▢ 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• ▢ 1 teaspoon white granulated sugar

Salad

• ▢ 2 cans (15.5 oz. EACH) garbanzo beans (also called chickpeas), drained and rinsed
• ▢ 1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed
• ▢ 2 ears fresh sweet corn (or 1 can corn, drained)
• ▢ 1-1/3 cups chopped English (or Persian/Salad) cucumbers, (~3 Persian/1 English cucumber)
• ▢ 1 large red bell pepper, diced
• ▢ 1 large ripe avocado, peeled and chopped
• ▢ 3/4 cup diced red onion (~1/2 of 1 onion)
• ▢ 1/3 cup finely diced flat-leaf Italian parsley (~1/2 of 1 bunch)
• ▢ Fine sea salt and fresh cracked pepper

Instructions 

• DRESSING: Add all of the ingredients to a Mason jar, place the lid on the jar, and then shake vigorously until ingredients are incorporated. Place in the fridge while you prepare the salad. I like to make this first so it can chill and flavors can intensify.
• SALAD: Drain and rinse the garbanzo and black beans; shake in a colander to rid of any excess water. Place in a large bowl. Add the corn, the chopped cucumber, diced pepper, chopped avocado, diced red onion, and finely diced parsley.
• DRESS: Remove the dressing from the fridge and give it a good shake. Pour over the salad (See Note 1) and gently toss to coat. We like to use all the dressing in this salad, but if you'd like a less-dressed bean salad, add less. Season with additional salt and pepper (I add another 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, but add to preference.), tasting often. The amount of salt needed will vary, depending on the freshness/ripeness of ingredients used). Toss salad once more and enjoy.
• STORAGE: Store salad, avocado, and dressing separately. Combine right before eating a portion. Salad (stored separately) will last 3-4 days in the fridge. The dressing will stay good for up to 2 weeks.

Video

Recipe Notes

Note 1: If you want to have leftovers, do not add dressing (or avocado) to that part of the salad as it doesn't store well. Only pour dressing on the salad amount that will be consumed immediately.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 371kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 94mg | Potassium: 353mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1005IU | Vitamin C: 45mg | Calcium: 97mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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