This Mediterranean Chickpea Tuna Salad is the perfect dish for when you’re trying to eat lighter but still want a delicious meal.
Table of Contents
Looking for more ways to use canned tuna? Be sure to try my Avocado Tuna Salad and Easy Tuna Casserole with Gruyere Cheese. Or, check out these 40+ Canned Tuna Recipes!
Ingredients notes
- Canned Tuna – You can use water packed or oil packed tuna. I love this brand.
- Canned Chickpeas – Or, have you tried making Instant Pot Chickpeas?! There’s no soak time and they turn out super delicious and creamy.
- Cucumber
- Red Bell Pepper
- Red Onion
- Kalamata Olives – Find these in a jar or in the olive bar section of the grocery store.
- Fresh Parsley
I’m using a couple cans of tuna in this Mediterranean Tuna Salad recipe. I like to flake it with a fork right into a large salad bowl and then toss it with the remaining ingredients.
As for the veggies, I’m using all the veggies you’d typically find in a Greek salad. Cucumber, red pepper, red onion and Kalamata olives. However, you can throw in whatever your favorites might be. I think that some banana peppers tossed in would also give it a nice vinegary bite and a bit of heat…
The dressing for this Mediterranean Tuna and Chickpea Salad is light and delicious – lemony and garlicky. It coats the chickpeas and tuna perfectly and just blends everything together.
For the dressing
- Olive Oil
- Lemon Juice
- Garlic
- Dijon Mustard
- Oregano
- Salt + Pepper
How to make it
Step 1
Combine the salad ingredients
- Flake the tuna into a salad bowl and add the garbanzo beans, cucumber, red pepper, onion, Kalamata olives and parsley.
- Toss gently.
Step 2
Make the dressing
- Whisk together the dressing ingredients and add them to the salad bowl.
- Toss everything together to coat.
- Season with additional salt and pepper, to taste.
- Enjoy!
How to make ahead and store
- Because this is salad is lettuce-free, it will stay fresh for 4-5 days in the refrigerator. Meaning you can make this salad on a Sunday and enjoy it throughout the week.
Variations
- Canned Salmon – You can also use canned tuna for this recipe.
- Veggies – Switch up the veggies. You can also add in some minced celery, pickles, zucchini, banana peppers, etc.
- Make it Creamy – To make this salad creamy, add in a couple dollops of greek yogurt or mayo.
- Cheese – Sprinkle on some feta cheese at the end.
- Tangy – Add some grated lemon zest to the top of your salad.
- Vegan Tuna Salad – If you’d like to make this recipe vegan, simply omit the tuna and add in an extra can of garbanzo beans that have been mashed with a potato masher.
Erin’s wine pairings
- Sauvignon Blanc will play nicely with fresh herbs and citrus notes in this salad. Another option would be a Pinot Gris.
More salad recipes
More canned tuna recipes
More chickpea recipes
Did you try this tuna chickpea salad?
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Have more canned tuna on hand? Check out these 40+ Canned Tuna Recipes!
Full Recipe
Chickpea Tuna Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 4.6 ounce cans tuna (packed in oil or water, drained )
- 1 15-ounce can chickpeas (rinsed and drained)
- 1/2 cucumber (seeded and diced)
- 1 red bell pepper (diced)
- 1/4 red onion (minced)
- 1/2 cup Kalamata olives (pitted and minced)
- ¼ cup minced fresh parsley
Dressing:
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic (grated or finely minced)
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Drain the tuna and flake it into a large bowl.
- Add the chickpeas, cucumber, red pepper, onion, Kalamata olives and parsley. Toss gently.
- Whisk together the dressing ingredients and add them to the salad bowl. Toss everything together to coat.
- Season with additional salt and pepper, to taste. Enjoy!
Notes
- Because this is salad is lettuce-free, it will stay fresh for 4-5 days in the refrigerator. Meaning you can make this salad on a Sunday and enjoy it throughout the week.
- Canned Salmon – You can also use canned tuna for this recipe.
- Veggies – Switch up the veggies. You can also add in some minced celery, pickles, zucchini, banana peppers, etc.
- Make it Creamy – To make this salad creamy, add in a couple dollops of greek yogurt or mayo.
- Cheese – Sprinkle on some feta cheese at the end.
- Tangy – Add some grated lemon zest to the top of your salad.
- Vegan Tuna Salad – If you’d like to make this recipe vegan, simply omit the tuna and add in an extra can of garbanzo beans that have been mashed with a potato masher.
Nutrition
This post was originally published in 2018. It was updated in 2023 to add new content and photographs. The original chickpea and tuna salad recipe remains the same. Enjoy!
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