I feel like I haven’t shared a good Mediterranean chickpea salad in a while, so here we are. I’ve got the most amazing chickpea eggplant salad recipe and if you love both ingredients, you need it. This eggplant salad is fresh, it’s light and it’s super flavorful.

You can enjoy the healthy chickpea salad with eggplant as a delicious Mediterranean side dish with some cooked meat or fish, but it will also make the perfect lunch on its own. Some of the things you’ll need are roasted or grilled eggplant, canned chickpeas, raw veggies and feta cheese. It’s SO SO good.

Chickpea Eggplant Salad Ingredients

Roasted, grilled or sauteed eggplant. I love love love eggplant when it’s in season. My dad grows a lot of it and it’s perfect in stews, dips, roasted or in salad like this one. You can use any variety for the salad, and to make it easier, roast or saute some ahead for the week and store in the fridge. Then you can use it in salads, wraps, on top of pizza, in salads or in dips.

Canned chickpeas. I actually stopped eating canned food this year, but I was in a hurry and hungry, so I bought some canned chickpeas for this recipe. You can also use cooked chickpeas or try the salad with beans or lentils.

Fresh Raw Vegetables. This is a very typical summer salad with Mediterranean flavors. So go for tomatoes, onion, pepper, cucumber, spinach (or arugula), basil and garlic.

Feta and Olives. I love both in salads, since they add creaminess and saltiness which I feel almost takes away the need to add salt to the salad.

Olive oil. And of course, we can’t make the chickpea eggplant salad without some olive oil. If you wish, add a squeeze of lemon juice as well. I didn’t, because the tomatoes added enough acidity for me.

How I “Roast” Eggplant

So this method isn’t an official thing, but it works for me, whenever I want to cook eggplant and use it in recipes.

Wash, then cut the vegetable into circles, then drizzle olive oil over a pan.

Then spread the eggplant circles over the pan (you don’t need them to be in a single layer, but try your best).

Next, add a tbsp of water, some salt and cover with a lid.

Turn the heat to medium-high and cook for 3-5 minutes, then flip. If needed add more oil or water. (I usually add a tbsp of water).

Cook at medium for about 5 more minutes or until the vegetable softens. Then remove lid and cook for 3-4 minutes to brown it a bit, at this point you might need to add some olive oil.

Transfer the cooked eggplant to a glass container and cover with another plate. After 10-20 minutes, drain the juice to remove any bitterness of the eggplant. You can now use the eggplant aka aubergine aka Solanum melongena in salads or wraps or wherever you want.

How To Make The Chickpea Eggplant Salad

Once you’ve got the eggplant, you can make the chickpea salad in about 10 minutes.

To do so, wash all the produce well, then chop chop chop. Cucumbers, basil, tomatoes, peppers, onion, spinach, olives…these all don’t chop themselves. Also, mince some garlic.

Rinse and drain the chickpeas, and thinly chop the cooked eggplant as well.

Add everything to a bowl and toss, adding olive oil, salt, pepper and if desired – lemon juice as well.

Enjoy immediately or as soon as possible.

How To Store or Meal Prep

You can’t really store the salad because of the tomatoes – they spoil faster than I can blink. And I’m a fast blinker, like a cheetah. But you can prepare all of the other ingredients and use cherry tomatoes or add the tomatoes and the olive oil when it’s time to eat.

Other than that you can try turning these into salad jars and store in the fridge. Start with olive oil, then eggplant, chickpeas, feta, then vegetables and store in the fridge, you would again use whole cherry or grape tomatoes. Store in the fridge for 2-3 days. When it’s time to eat, dump into a large bowl and toss with salt, pepper, oil and lemon juice if desired.

How To Serve

As mentioned, I usually have this chickpea eggplant salad as a side or main dish. Last time I served it with some Greek meatballs, and a few potatoes and carrots leftover from my nephew’s lunch. It was SO delicious. The salad actually took the spotlight and the meatballs were sad. But also good.

More Healthy Salad Recipes

I hope you enjoy this delicious Mediterranean chickpea eggplant salad! If you’re in the mood for more healthy salads, here you go:

Yield: 2

Chickpea Eggplant Salad Recipe

Healthy chickpea eggplant salad – a tasty Mediterranean side dish with some cooked meat or fish or as an easy healthy lunch on its own. You’ll need roasted or grilled eggplant, canned chickpeas, raw veggies and feta cheese.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup eggplant, sauteed or roasted, then thinly chopped
• 1 cup chickpeas, canned, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 onion, thinly chopped
• 1 large tomato, thinly chopped
• 1 cucumber, thinly chopped
• 1 sweet pepper, thinly chopped
• 1 1/2 cup spinach, thinly chopped
• 3 tbsp olives, pitted and thinly chopped
• 2 tbsp feta cheese, crumbled
• Handful of basil leaves, thinly chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp Olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• lemon juice (optional)

Instructions

1. Chop all vegetables thinly, rinse and drain the chickpeas.
2. Add everything to a large bowl and toss with olive oil, salt, pepper and if you wish lemon juice (I didn’t add any).
3. Enjoy immediately as lunch or serve on the side with some fish or meat.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

2

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 306Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 8mgSodium: 437mgCarbohydrates: 47gFiber: 14gSugar: 13gProtein: 16g