Mediterranean Diet Chopped Salad Recipe With Chickpeas, Feta & Avocado (30 Minutes) High Fiber Recipes Salads High Protein Recipes Farm to Table Recipe Mediterranean Diet Recipes Vegetarian Lunch Side Dishes

Chopped salads at restaurants usually mean a lot of fatty meats that I don’t eat. So I was so happy to find this delicious, nutritious and easy-to-prepare chopped salad recipe with chickpeas, feta and avocado. If you don’t love salad greens this is a wonderful recipe to start with because of all the amazing toppings that combine to make this crunchy, salty and a really satisfying main dish salad any time.

Here is your healthy, wholesome shopping list for this Mediterranean salad recipe: bread, olive oil, romaine lettuce, a can of chickpeas, cucumbers, olives, green onions, red wine vinegar, capers, shallots, Dijon mustard, avocado, feta and herbs. Like with most of my recipes, feel free to substitute different beans, cheeses or vegetables to your liking. My husband doesn’t love olives so I usually use less or just leave them out entirely.

This Mediterranean-inspired salad recipe is not only delicious, but healthy, too! Check out the health benefits of chickpeas, the health benefits of cucumbers, the health benefits of avocado and the health benefits of fresh herbs. And did you know that feta may be the healthiest cheese in the world?

Serve this vegetarian high-protein, high-fiber salad for lunch or dinner with your favorite side dishes, or as a side dish with dinner alongside your favorite proteins.

Cuisine: Mediterranean / American
Prep Time: 18 minutes
Cook Time: 10 to 12 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4 to 6

Ingredients

Salad Dressing

• 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon capers, drained and roughly chopped
• 1 small shallot, finely diced
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Salad

• 2 cups small diced stale bread, buns or pita (or use store-bought croutons)
• 1 romaine heart, cut into bite-size pieces
• 15.5 ounces (1 can) chickpeas, rinsed
• 1 medium or 1/2 large English cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeded and diced
• 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, Castelvetrano olives or other olives, roughly chopped (about 3 ounces)
• 3 thinly sliced green onions
• 1 firm-ripe avocado, halved, pitted and diced
• 3/4 cup diced or crumbled feta cheese (about 4 ounces)
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh herbs (dill, basil, mint and/or parsley), plus more for serving

Here's how to make it: 

1. Make the salad dressing in a jar or bowl. Add 6 tablespoons olive oil, vinegar, capers, shallots, mustard and a pinch of salt or pepper. Whisk or shake to combine. Set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Put the bread cubes on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and a good pinch of salt and pepper and toss to coat. Place in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the bread is toasted and brown. If you want to use store-bought croutons just skip this step.
3. In a large salad bowl place the romaine, chickpeas, cucumber, olives, green onions, feta, avocado and herbs. Dress the salad with 3/4 of the salad dressing and toss to combine. Taste to see if more dressing, salt or pepper is needed.
4. Serve in salad bowls topped with croutons and enjoy! Serve the remaining salad dressing on the side.

Recipe cooking times, nutritional information and servings are approximate and provided for your convenience. However, 30Seconds is not responsible for the outcome of any recipe, nor may you have the same results because of variations in ingredients, temperatures, altitude, errors, omissions or cooking/baking abilities. Any nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and it is up to the individual to ascertain accuracy. To ensure image quality, we may occasionally use stock photography.

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