We’re still experiencing a lot of grocery shortages in the middle of this pandemic, but when I ventured out to the grocery store this week I noticed something. The produce department was very well stocked, while many of the shelf stable items were sold out. I presume that’s because people are afraid to buy perishables. So, that made me rethink my strategy. I’m going to focus on fresh ingredients for about a week after shopping, then transition into the more shelf stable recipes (like my 15 Pantry Staple Recipes) for the second week, or until my next grocery run. Besides, after eating so many pantry recipes over the past month, I’m craving fresh produce hard. So this week I grabbed some fresh parsley, cilantro, and a pint of tomatoes, and whipped up this SUPER easy Chimichurri Chickpea Salad.
…Because chimichurri is good on anything and everything. ;)
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How to Serve Chimichurri Chickpea Salad
This salad is the perfect side dish as the weather starts to warm up. I think this would go great with just about any type of grilled meat, or if you’re cooking inside I can see this matching well with dishes like Garlic Butter Baked Chicken Thighs, Herb Roasted Pork Loin, or Balsamic Chicken and Mushrooms.
If you want to turn this into a vegetarian meal, consider chopping up some pita or a crusty bread and stirring it right into the salad to make it like a Panzanella, or adding a few greens and a chopped hard boiled egg.
How to Use Leftover Parsley and Cilantro
Don’t let the rest of the parsley and cilantro go to waste after you make this salad! Parsley and cilantro are great in and on so many other dishes. This chickpea salad recipe uses a half batch of my basic Chimichurri recipe, but you could always make the full size batch and use half on this salad, then use the other half for dipping some crusty bread. That will use up more of your parsley and cilantro.
Here are some other great recipes for using parsley and cilantro:
Make sure to scroll down to the step by step photos to see how I store my leftover feta so it doesn’t go to waste!
Chimichurri Chickpea Salad
Servings 6 about 1 cup eachIngredients
Chimichurri
- ½ cup chopped fresh parsley ($0.18)
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro ($0.10)
- ¼ cup olive oil ($0.42)
- 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar ($0.20)
- 1 clove garlic, minced ($0.08)
- ½ tsp dried oregano ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin ($0.02)
- 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
Salad
- 2 15oz. cans chickpeas ($0.98)
- 1 pint grape tomatoes ($1.69)
- 2 oz. feta ($1.09)
Instructions
- Make the chimichurri first. Rinse the fresh parsley and cilantro, then drain well. Roughly chop the parsley and cilantro, then add it to a bowl along with the olive oil, red wine vinegar, minced garlic, oregano, cumin, crushed red pepper, and salt. Stir to combine, then set the dressing aside.
- Rinse and drain both cans of chickpeas. Slice the grape tomatoes in half. Add the chickpeas and tomatoes to a large bowl. Crumble the feta, add it to the bowl, then drizzle the chimichurri over top. Stir to combine. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to eat (up to four days).
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Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Chimichurri Chickpea Salad – Step by Step Photos
Make the chimichurri first. Rinse and drain the fresh parsley and cilantro. Roughly chop the parsley and cilantro, you’ll need ½ cup parsley (about ¼ bunch) and about ¼ cup cilantro (a big handful). Add them to the bowl along with 1 minced clove of garlic, ¼ cup olive oil, 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar, ½ tsp dried oregano, ¼ tsp ground cumin, ⅛ tsp crushed red pepper, and ¼ tsp salt.
Stir the ingredients together and now you have chimichurri! Set the chimichurri aside.
Rinse and drain 2 15oz. cans of chickpeas. Slice 1 pint of grape tomatoes in half. Crumble 2oz. feta. Add the chickpeas, tomatoes, and feta to a bowl, then pour the chimichurri over top.
Stir to combine and it’s ready to eat! Or refrigerate for up to 4 days.
I like to buy my feta in a block, as opposed to pre-crumbled, because it’s easier to save for later. I cut the block into quarters first (right through the plastic) because I usually use about 2oz. per recipe. I then place the rest of the block, still in the original plastic, inside a freezer bag, then inside a re-usable freezer container. I can take out one 2oz. block at a time to use whenever needed!
Wow, I don’t know whether it’s because I used all organic ingredients or this recipe is amazing or both, but this salad was phenomenal. I’ve heard about your blog before, but never actually tried recipes from here until now. I’ll be back!
That worked. First comment hasn’t posted yet, and I have photos which I’m kind of surprised I can’t add.
Anyway – I needed to chop the leafy things for the chimichurri finer than I did. I made extra to put over a grilled chicken breast. Also, I added watermelon to the chickpea salad and used a mishmash of tomatoes from the garden. Served it all over a lettuce mix.
It was well received.
Making this tonight, so no stars yet. I have fresh oregano growing, so I’ll use that – and lots of it. I like the way it balances the cilantro for chimichurri.
Still such a fan of what you do here. Great job keeping it going.
This was yummy!!! The chimichurri sauce is DELICIOUS and versatile. I can’t wait to use the sauce as a rub on beef and poultry.
Tried it out without the Cilantro and used up vegetables in the fridge.
Very filling and light, perfect for summer.
The chimichurri wasn’t the flavor bomb I was hoping for (keep in mind the first time I had it was at a very fancy restaurant, and I was hooked from bite one)…in fact, at first I thought this salad was bland. But after a night in the fridge, it started growing on me. It made for a light, fresh side dish that I enjoyed adding to meals where it wouldn’t be calorically wise to have seconds (looking at you, hot dogs). Made a good snack, too!
I keep chickpeas in the pantry just for this recipe. I like to splash in a little more vinegar to taste. I dislike parsley, so double the cilantro. LOVE this salad.
Made this the first time and it was a solid 3 stars. Made it a second time after throwing the chickpeas in the oven on 350f with s/p and adding a couple spoon fulls of cracked wheat turned into a 5
If you add some grilled chicken and mixed greens, it’s a pretty good copycat recipe for the Power Mediterranean Salad from Wendy’s.
Super easy and super fresh tasting! Thanks 😊. Just ordered more parsley plants from our farmers market because I am guessing this will be in our regular rotation!
I only had one can of chickpeas so I added a similar amount of raw zucchini and it was delicious. Another winner.
Could you leave the cilantro out or would you have to substitute it with something? It looks so good and I love chickpea salad but hate cilantro!
Unfortunately there is no real swap for the cilantro in this recipe. Sorry! We have a few alternatives like this Pesto Chickpea or these Sriracha Chickpea Salad Wraps.
I’ve made this recipe several times the way its written and I love it, but today I was out of cilantro and decided to make it anyway, and it turned out just fine. I’d say give it a try and make up for it with extra parsley!
I never add cilantro to my chimichurri as my family and myself dislikes it. You can use pretty well any fresh herb in place such as a bit of fresh oregano and mint as a for-instance. You can also simply up the parsley a bit but not so much it’ll cause your chimichurri to taste bitter as parsley especially Italian parsley has a tendency to do that.
I just made this and it’s so good! So much flavour, and so light and fresh for spring/summer eats!
I’ve been making this salad about once a week since it was posted. So delicious! Also it packs great for lunches.
This is amazing. I wish I had doubled the recipe. We were licking the bowl clean. Thank you so much Beth for bringing culinary gifts to our lives.