With cold winter months coming to an end I am craving simple and quick salad recipes that I can make with ingredients I have in my pantry and fridge.
I always keep a few cans of tuna and garbanzo beans on hand and use them in salads and sandwiches. I think they come in handy when you are short on time and want to eat something filling and nutritious.
In this Chickpea and Tuna Salad recipe, I used tuna and chickpeas from my pantry and pickles, eggs, tomatoes, radishes, and olives from the fridge. It is so easy and quick to put together and can be made ahead.
You can make it for lunch to take to work or make it for picnics, barbecue parties, and potlucks throughout the year.
Ingredients
One of the things I love about this garbanzo bean tuna salad recipe is that it is made with ingredients that you most likely have in your fridge/pantry.
The salad is made with mixing canned chickpeas and tuna. In terms of vegetables, I used cherry tomatoes, pickles, cucumber, Kalamata olives, radishes, and arugula leaves (baby spinach would be a great substitute.)
How To Make Tuna and Chickpea Salad:
The process of making this salad has two folds.
First, make the dressing by mixing olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, shallots (red onion can be substituted) with salt and pepper.
Mix everything in a small jar and shake it well so that it will all be incorporated. You can make it a few days ahead and keep it in a jar to use later.
The good thing about the vinaigrette is that you can use it in any salad recipe, especially salads with seafood like my Grilled Shrimp and Corn Salad.
Second, chop the vegetables in a bowl and mix them with canned (and drained) tuna and chickpeas.
Since I am a big fan of tangy flavors of pickles, I added a few of them in. I also added a hard-boiled egg in it at the last minute to make it even more filling and protein-rich.
Can I make this Easy Chickpea Tuna Salad ahead?
Yes, you can. If you decide to do so, I recommend prepping vegetables and dressing separately and assembling the salad an hour before serving.
What do I do with the leftovers?
As long as it is kept in an airtight container in the fridge, you can serve this canned chickpea tuna salad up to two (or even three) days.
Expert Tips:
- If you want to take this salad to the next level, be sure to add a splash of pickle juice from the jar into the dressing. I learned this from America’s Test Kitchen years ago and now every time I use pickles in my salads I make sure to incorporate some of the juices into the dressing.
- Can I Use This Salad To Make a Chickpea Tuna Sandwich? You sure can. I sometimes stuff pita bread pockets and fill them with this salad for a quick lunch. You can also use simple sandwich bread or even slices of brioche to turn this humble salad into a delicious meal.
If you are into sandwich recipes that are made with canned tuna, be sure to check out my Tuna Melt Recipe as well. - This Chickpea Tuna Salad recipe multiplies well. If you are making it for a larger crowd, feel free to double it.
- This recipe is such a forgiving recipe in that you can easily substitute arugula with salad greens, shallots with red onion, pickles with capers. If you want, you can also add some other vegetables like chopped fresh celery, avocado, and artichoke hearts.
- Feel free to use this recipe as a place to start or even an inspiration to create your own version with whatever you have in your pantry.
- Tuna and Chickpea Salad Calories: The canned tuna chickpea salad recipe below makes 5-6 cups of salad and serves 4 people. Based on my calorie calculator, each serving is 210 calories. You can get more detailed nutrition data underneath the recipe.
- Change up the flavors by using different salad dressings like my Lemon Salad Dressing or Lemon Balsamic Vinaigrette.
If you Liked This Chickpea Tuna Salad Recipe, You Might Also Like:
- Black Bean and Corn Salad
- Quinoa Tabbouleh
- Caprese Pasta Salad with Pesto and Mozzarella
- Cucumber Tomato Salad
- Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad with Bacon
Other Seafood Recipes You Might Like:
- Healthy Shrimp Scampi
- Crab Cake with Remoulade Sauce
- Salmon Chowder with Coconut Milk
- Salmon and Butter Beans
- Tuna Steak Salad
- Shrimp Scampi Linguine
- Tomato Soup with Shrimp
Chickpea Tuna Salad Recipe
Ingredients
For the Dressing:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 shallot chopped (or ¼ cup chopped red onion)
- 2 cloves of garlic if you like garlic feel free to use more
- Juice of a lemon
- 2 tablespoons pickle juice
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
For The Salad:
- 1 can 15 oz. chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 cans 5 oz. chunk light tuna (or any that you like), drained
- ¾ cup cherry tomatoes sliced thinly
- ½ cup pickles sliced (6-7 pickles)
- 1 cucumber cut into small cubes
- ½ cup Kalamata olives sliced (or any other olives you like)
- 1 hardboiled egg chopped
- 4 radishes sliced or cut into small cubes
- 1 ½ cups arugula rinsed (any other salad greens or sprouts would work)
Instructions
- To make the dressing: Place olive oil, shallot, garlic, lemon and pickle juice, salt and pepper in a small jar. Put the lid on and give it a good shake. Set aside. The dressing can be made 2 days in advance, placed in a jar with a tight lid, and kept in the fridge.
- To assemble the salad:Put chickpeas, tuna, tomatoes, pickles, cucumber, olives, chopped egg, radishes, and arugula in a salad bowl.
- Drizzle with the dressing. Give it a gentle toss. Taste for seasoning and serve.
Video
Notes
- Can I make this salad in advance? You sure can. Simply prep vegetables and the dressing separately and assemble the salad an hour before serving.
- Can I make a sandwich using this bread? You sure can. Just use your favorite sandwich bread or pita.
- What is the best way to store it? I recommend storing this salad in an airtight container in the fridge upto 2 days.
Jami
Made this today – delicious! Although, I’m sad that the eggs weren’t on the list of ingredients. I went back and saw them mentioned in the introduction. That would have been a fabulous addition. Oh well, next time! Because I WILL be making it again.
Aysegul Sanford
Hi Jami,
No idea how I missed that. Thanks for pointing it out. It is now in the recipe.
I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed this recipe. It is a favorite in our house too.
Cheers,
Aysegul