Mediterranean Bean & Chickpea Salad

This Mediterranean Bean & Chickpea Salad is my latest recreation of some of the dishes that I have been sampling when we eat out at Mediterranean restaurants.

For another healthy and filling salad, check out my antipasto salad with home made red wine vinaigrette. It is full of bold flavors.

My husband has long been a fan of Mediterranean food.  He’d eat it every day if I made it, I think.  I was a late comer to the love of these flavors.  

To be honest, I judged before I tasted and thought the items all looked too oil and vinagery, if you catch my drift.  

But I have really come to understand the phrase never judge a book by its cover lately, the time that I just plunged in and tried some of his favorites when we went out to eat recently.  

Add a hearty fresh taste to your menu with this Mediterranean Bean & Chickpea Salad.

I love to do copycat recipes. I don’t care if it is a well known retail chain, or just an attempted recreation of a meal we have enjoyed on a date night out.

When I first tried chickpea salad, I fell so much in love with it that Richard has a hard time getting me to choose anything else now at our local favorite Mediterranean restaurant.  

I love chickpeas anyway and adding them to all these delicious ingredients is a match made in Mediterranean heaven to me.

This salad could not be easier to prepare.  Just start by putting the chickpeas and black beans in a large bowl with the corn and cranberries.

Next dice your garlic and peppers.  I chose baby peppers, both for the colors and the sweetness of them.  

I eat with my eyes first and I knew that I wanted a lot of color in this recipe.

Into the bowl they go and everything gets a good swirl of the mixing spoon. Dontcha just love the ease of making this dish?  I know I do!

To make the dressing, just add your oils, balsamic vinegar and the juice of one lemon.  

The dried spices come in next.  It looks like a lot but, trust me on this one, the flavor is TO  DIE FOR, so don’t worry. It won’t be overpowering.

In go the fresh herbs.  I have both thyme and parsley growing on my deck right now, so they were the obvious choice.Can you believe it is done?  It took me all of about 5 minutes.  Well, that and an hour or two doing photos since I am a mad blogger lady.

But you won’t have to do that!  All you will need to do is dig into those delicious flavors!

This Mediterranean bean & chickpea salad has a wonderful blend of hearty goodness from the beans and the tang of lemon and vinegar compliments the sweetness of the corn, peppers and cranberries beautifully.  

The dish is just LOADED with hearty goodness and makes a perfect side dish.  With the protein from the beans, it is also the perfect choice for vegans and vegetarians. 

Time to dig in.  Can’t wait to serve it to my hubbie!  For another healthy salad option, try this Roast Vegetable salad with a creamy cashew dressing.

Yield: 4 cups

Mediterranean Bean & Chickpea Salad

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This Mediterranean Bean & Chickpea Salad is my latest recreation of some of the dishes that I have been sampling when we eat out at Mediterranean restaurants.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 can Chick peas, rinsed
• 1 can black beans, rinsed
• 4 small red and green peppers , seeded and diced (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed
• 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 tsp fresh thyme
• 2 cloves of garlic , diced
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp cumin
• Himalayan sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Combine the beans, chickpeas, corn and cranberries in a bowl and set aside.
2. Dice the peppers and garlic and add to the bean mixture.
3. In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice, oils, balsamic vinegar, Italian seasoning and cumin.
4. Dice the fresh veggies and add to the dressing and mix to combine well.
5. Pour the dressing over the chickpea mixture and combine well.
6. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve cold.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1/2 cup
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 168Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 259mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 7gSugar: 10gProtein: 6g

Nutritional information is approximate due to natural variation in ingredients and the cook-at-home nature of our meals.

 

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