Make this easy Chickpea and Chicken Salad for a quick and healthy lunch! Serve it in a pita, wrap, in a sandwich, or with crackers... Perfect!
This salad happens to be gluten-free.
Please note, this is not one of those "chicken" salads that uses chickpeas and pretends that it's the same as vegan chicken. No no. This has real chicken and all the protein and goodness you expect from chicken salad... with a little bit of extra ingredients!
This recipe was brought to you in partnership with Randall Beans, who asked me to come up with an easy kid-friendly Back-to-School Salad using their chickpeas products.
Chicken salad with chickpeas
This is one of my FAVORITE chicken salad recipes (and we make chicken salad a lot, so that's saying something). The reason I love this chicken salad is that it has chickpeas in it, which is awesome because chickpeas add:
- Bulk to the salad for very little $$ (budget-friendly chicken salad!)
- Fiber
- Protein (not as much protein as chicken, but still some nice plant protein)
- A great texture
In summary, I love adding garbanzo beans (chickpeas) to chicken salad because it makes a delicious, filling chicken salad that doesn't have just chicken in it. And I hope you try it too!
Other easy recipes using cooked chicken: Savory Chicken Crepes, Cheesy Chicken Stuffed Ciabatta
Related recipe: Chickpea Salad with Feta and Chopped Vegetables
Chicken salad with grapes
In addition to chickpeas, I add a unique twist to this chicken salad by adding some sliced red grapes, crunchy celery, flavorful herbs, and green onions. All these ingredients give this salad an awesome texture and lots of fresh flavor.
The grapes add a little sweetness and juiciness to this chicken chickpea salad. It's perfect for both kids and adults. (I like adding a little fruit into my chicken salad, like Hawaiian Chicken Salad with Pineapple).
The dressing for this chicken salad couldn't be easier: just a little mayo and lemon juice for flavor.
I always recommend using freshly squeezed lemon juice because it has the freshest flavor. I love my lemon squeezer from oxo, which makes it super easy and fun to juice a lemon - I use it almost daily and it's held up for over 10 years! You can get it here, if your local store doesn't have it or you don't want to go looking for it in stores.
Related recipe: Spicy Crunchy Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded or diced into ½ inch pieces (rotisserie chicken or 10-oz cans chicken works great here)
- 1 14-oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup seedless grapes, halved
- 1 stalk diced celery, diced (about ½ - 1 cup)
- 2 scallions, chopped
- ¼ cup parsley leaves, chopped
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (from about ½ lemon)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients together and mix well. Season with salt and pepper, if desired (you might not need salt if your chicken is well seasoned). Serve immediately or chill in the fridge before serving.
Recipe ideas and variations
- Not into grapes? Skip them, or add ¼ cup dried cranberries for some sweetness
- Try this with garlic aioli instead of mayo.
- Try other fresh herbs, such as basil or cilantro.
- Instead of green onions, try a finely minced shallot or a few tablespoons of diced red onion
- Instead of chickpeas, try pinto beans
- Try mashing the chickpeas in a bowl, then adding the rest of the ingredients. This will help them blend into the salad more.
- Try chopped or shredded chicken, depending on what kind of texture you like in your chicken salad.
- Try adding diced avocado, or blending avocado in with the mayo
- Add a splash of hot sauce to the dressing
- Try adding veggies: some finely diced cucumbers or bell peppers will go nicely add even more crunch along with the celery
- Add sliced or slivered almonds for even more crunch and texture
Related recipe: Pinto Bean Avocado Salad with Avocado Dressing
How to serve chicken chickpeas salad
This salad is awesome on its own or with crackers for a quick snack, right from the fridge or at room temperature.
It's also great in lettuce wraps, in regular wraps, in a pita, or in a sandwich. Basically, enjoy this salad like you would any chicken salad! It's even great in a croissant, like this Lemon Basil Chicken Salad.
Related recipe: Chickpea Pea Shoot Salad
I hope you get a chance to make this chicken and chickpea salad! If you do, please take a picture and tag me on Instagram or Facebook. You can find me at @babaganoshblog on both. I love seeing your creations!
Looking for more easy snacks and salads?
- 3-Ingredient chicken salad
- 3-Ingredient tuna salad
- Asiago cheese crisps
- Cajun-spiced crispy kale chips
- Hummus with feta and olives
If you enjoyed this recipe, let me know with a comment and a star rating below. And don't forget to share it on Facebook and save it on Pinterest for later!
Back to School Garbanzo Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked chicken breast - shredded or diced into ½ inch pieces (rotisserie chicken or 10-oz cans chicken works great here)
- 1 14-oz can chickpeas - drained and rinsed
- 1 cup seedless grapes - halved
- 1 stalk diced celery - diced (about 1/2 - 1 cup)
- 2 scallions - chopped
- ¼ cup parsley leaves - chopped
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- Juice of ½ lemon - (about 1 tablespoon)
- Optional: Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix well. Season with salt and pepper if desired. Serve immediately or chill in the fridge before serving. Serve as a salad or as a sandwich in some pita or over your favorite bread.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information displayed is an estimate and not to be used as dietary or nutritional advice. Consult a nutritionist or dietician for nutritional info based on the exact ingredients you use.