I love quick fixes because I am busy and if something takes me more than 15-30 minutes to prepare, chances are I’m not going to do it, especially if it’s not my day off. So this Pesto Chickpea Salad was the perfect answer to lunch this week. It only takes about 10 minutes to make, it’s so creamy and delicious, and you can eat it a number of ways. Everything about this chickpea salad is my style!
Originally posted 12-5-2012, updated 6-3-2021.
How to Serve Pesto Chickpea Salad
This super simple chickpea salad can be enjoyed several ways. You can serve it as an appetizer with crackers for dipping, like in the photo above, it can be a side dish with dinner, or you can use it as a filling for a sandwich (toasted whole grain bread, a hearty bun, or in a wrap). …Or, if you’re like me, you’ll find yourself just digging into the bowl with a fork. ;)
What Kind of Pesto is Best?
There are a lot of different types of pesto on the market, offering a little something for everyone. If you’re looking for the most budget-friendly, ALDI makes a super affordable basil pesto that I use in a lot of recipes. Today I happened to be shopping at a different store, so I went with Filippo Berio Classic Pesto, which was still pretty affordable and it had a really incredible flavor. Barilla also makes a very affordable pesto. And since pesto is the main flavor in this recipe, you definitely want to go with a pesto that you know you like.
How Long Does the Salad Keep?
This Pesto Chickpea Salad will stay good in the refrigerator for about four days, making it great for meal prep!
Soak Your Onions for a Softer Flavor
If you’re sensitive to red onions, here’s a trick that will make life so much more enjoyable. Soak your sliced onions in cold water for about five minutes before adding them to your recipe. The water pulls out that super sharp flavor, leaving a nice mild hint of red onion that will flavor your dish without hurting your stomach. :)
Pesto Chickpea Salad
Servings 4 ¾ cup eachIngredients
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise ($0.40)
- 1/4 cup basil pesto ($1.30)
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice ($0.06)
- 1/8 tsp freshly cracked pepper ($0.01)
- 2 15oz. cans chickpeas ($1.10)
- 1/4 cup red onion ($0.10)
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley ($0.17)
Instructions
- Stir together the mayonnaise, pesto, lemon juice, and pepper in a bowl.
- Rinse and drain the chickpeas. Roughly chop the parsley. Finely dice the red onions (soak the red onions in cold water for 5 minutes for a milder onion flavor). Add the chickpeas, parsley, and onion to a large bowl.
- Pour the dressing over the chickpeas, parsley, and onion. Stir to combine. Serve as is or slightly mash the chickpeas for a thicker consistency. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to eat.
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Nutrition
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Love chickpea salads? Check out my Scallion Herb Chickpea Salad, Curry Chickpea Salad, or Sriracha Chickpea Salad Wraps!
How to Make Pesto Chickpea Salad – Step By Step Photos
Start by making the creamy pesto dressing. In a bowl, stir together ¼ cup mayonnaise, ¼ cup basil pesto, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, and ⅛ tsp freshly cracked pepper.
Rinse and drain two 15oz. cans of chickpeas, then place them in a bowl. Roughly chop about 1/4 cup fresh parsley. Finely dice about ¼ cup red onion (soak for 5 minutes in cold water if you want a milder onion flavor).
Add the dressing and stir to combine. You can either serve the salad just like this, or…
Or you can slightly mash the chickpeas in the bowl to make it hold together a little more like a potato salad. You can use a potato masher to do this, or just mash some of the beans with a fork against the side of the bowl.
Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to eat!
So much flavor, so little effort. ;)
Would it work to roast the chickpeas first?
It would definitely have a different texture to this one, but you’re welcome to try! We only tested it out this way.
This is DELICIOUS! Packed this for a picnic on some toasted whole grain bread with spinach and it was a big hit! Also great eaten with crackers too! Super easy to make, especially if you have a ton of basil from the garden to use up (pesto freezes really well in silicone ice cube molds). Also I like to smash my chickpeas up a bit with a fork.
I made this exactly as written. (Thanks for the tip about Aldi’s pesto). I did mash the chickpeas a little to make the mixture easy to spread. Ate it on a Trader Joe’s Norwegian Crisp Bread Delicious! Another winner from Budget Bytes!
This is so good. So cheap and pretty filling if you remember something on side (I did ~8 crackers per serving). The flavor of the chickpeas is prevalent if that bothers you.
Could it also be made with yoghut instead of mayo?
Absolutely. Though it would be best with a fattier yogurt, like Greek yogurt.
Thoughts on freezing this? It is one of my absolute favorite recipes!! I’ve made it probably 3 times in the last month and it lasts me a few days. So delicious on sourdough bread!
Hi Emily, We haven’t tested freezing it. However, I do have a few suggestions. The fresh herbs won’t do well, so I’d recommend keeping that component out and adding it after thawing. Freeze in individual portions; you shouldn’t thaw it more than once. XOXO -Monti
Saw this post last night and had to make for lunch today. Absolutely delicious, as are all of your recipes I’ve tried. Will be making this often this summer. Couldn’t be easier! Thank you!
This is delicious, filling, *so* easy to make, and gets even better after letting the flavors meld in the fridge for a couple of days. So, basically, it’s the perfect lunch prep meal.
I was amazed at how good this tasted. It was light, bright an refreshing on a hot summer day.
With shortages still going on this was very scary to make, but I took a chance a made it an was pleasantly surprised. It was so refreshing on this hot day here in New Jersey.
I didn’t expect this recipe to so so good. I elevated it by taking half the mixture and putting it into a food processor to mince smaller and mix it back into the whole chickpea portion. This makes it more cohesive as a filling.
I made this and then almost didn’t eat it because it did not look appetizing to me. But I didn’t want to waste the food so I took a bite and wow it is so delicious! Seriously addicting, and so cheap. I mashed half of the chickpeas and left the other half whole for a bit of textural variety.
My go-to snack while I’m working away – it goes great on some whole wheat crackers.
Beth! This is amazing! It has been on my list to try for a while and finally did. I made pesto with basil from my herb garden and also have fresh parsley from it. We ate it on Greek pita bread with sliced tomato from the garden and even my “where’s the meat” husband liked it and was full after eating it. Thank you so much for all your great recipes!
This is so easy to make and is delicious. Perfect for a summer day because there’s no cooking needed. I was going to half the recipe because I only had one can of beans, but totally forgot to half the sauce when making it. It was still really great and just ended up a bit saucy. My husband and I loved it! We it in a wrap with lots of greens inside.
Pretty tasty. I enjoyed it on triscuits.
Could you recommend the best substitute for mayo? I really hate the stuff. :(
Some people use plain yogurt in place of the mayo here, but I don’t personally like that substitution because it’s more acidic and not quite as creamy as mayo. Unfortunately, I don’t think there is a really good substitute, but I think it often just boils down to personal preference.
Delicious and perfect for this heat wave!
Delicious and simple! I halved the recipe since I only had one can of beans. Didn’t have red onion, so left it out. My pesto was so garlicky I don’t think I even missed the onion. Ate half for dinner, used the rest for packing lunch. Stuffed it in a wrap with micro greens. Thank you Beth!
I’ll try it. Very delicious!
2 words. “Yes, ma’am.”
This is delicious. I used only one can of chickpeas and found that was plenty.
What a great recipe! So quick, easy, and delicious! My husband, me, and my 8 month old daughter all enjoyed this. The tip about soaking red onions is fantastic as well, I usually get headaches from red onions but I didn’t after soaking them!
I mash one of the cans of chickpeas before adding anything else to make it less messy when mixing. Yes, sometimes the mixture flies out of the bowl when I try to mash it after the dressing is added. I have also added albacore tuna or leftover chicken to chickpea salads to up the protein for my carnivores.
This looks incredible! What a great way to brighten up chickpeas for the summer season. Look forward to serving this up alongside other salad choices at our next bbq!
Really enjoyed this and great tip about soaking the onions.
I used greek yogurt instead of mayo just to lighten it up and it was very good, am sure the mayo would make it better but I wanted to keep egg free.
I see you also enjoy the 6-cracker assortment from ALDI
:)
It’s my FAVORITE. :D
My husband has a hangup about mayo (don’t ask!). Do you think I could substitute plain yogurt or sour cream?
It will definitely change the flavor a lot if you do, but you might still enjoy it. :) I have a similar recipe that uses a combo of yogurt and avocado: Scallion Herb Chickpea Salad.
Any recommendations for how to make it mayo-free?
I have a similar recipe for a Scallion Herb Chickpea Salad that uses a combo of yogurt and avocado, so that might work. It will definitely taste different, but you might still enjoy it.
Can’t wait to try this when my basil and parsley plants are big enough to harvest. If you have never made homemade pesto, I highly recommend it. So easy and light years ahead of the jarred kind. I make it with garden basil in the summer and grocery store spinach in the off season. I also sub walnuts for the pine nuts to save money. We use it on pasta, homemade pizza, grilled cheese/paninis. You can probably freeze it too, but I never have leftovers.
I had some leftover freshly made pesto as I sometimes make extra to have on hand and realized I had all the other ingredients to make this. Only difference is I only had one can of chickpeas and used vegan mayonnaise. I liked it better with one as I prefer to have more of the sauce and feel like it would have been lacking with two cans of chickpeas. Once chilled, this is a great quick summer lunch salad!
FYI, I can’t speak to the quality of it, but I saw pesto the other day at the Dollar Tree!
I buy Dollar Tree’s pesto and can vouch for it. I can’t tell the difference between it and Aldi’s. 🤷🏻♀️
I can’t believe I’ve passed over this recipe for 8+ years. I don’t eat raw onion, but like crunch in these sorts of salads, so subbed some finely diced celery, and used whole milk plain Greek yogurt as others have suggested in order to cut fat calories–there’s still plenty of oil in the pesto. I coarsely mashed some of the beans with a fork to make it more spreadable and used whole grain bread, lettuce, and tomato for sandwiches–very delicious, and today’s lunch a big hit at my house!
Made this for lunch today as a I work from home. It was quick and easy to pull together and was quite satisfying wrapped in a toasted tortilla with some fresh greens.
I have been searching for quick, cheap but unique and fresh meals for a while. There was jar of pesto in my cupboard and I just went on here to see if there was anything I could do with it. This recipe came up and I realized I had everything! It took less than 5 minutes and it was delicious. I substituted sour cream for mayo and added tomatoes but my wife loved it. She even wondered how we incoperate pesto into other dishes and this whole time I thought she hated pesto.
This is amazing! I REALLY don’t like mayonnaise, so I subbed Greek yogurt instead and it tastes delicious. Definitely my go-to lunch if I want to prepare something quick and simple!
Made it for church potluck Sabbath, came home with an empty bowl!
If you are a Costco member, they have a larger jar of pesto than what you can buy in the grocery store. I haven’t bought it a while, so am not sure of the price…$6 range, maybe. After you use it for a recipe you can freeze the rest of the jar in ice cube trays to be thawed and used later. My daughter loved this recipe and I plan on trying it this week!
The best thing to do is keep an eye on the product price, over weeks and months if necessary, and buy special offers when the opportunity strikes!
Delicious as always!
wow… looking tasty… i never had taste this… but now i would try to make this salad :)
This is my new favorite salad! I always shop at Aldi, and on their current product rotation, they have a killer pesto (for only $1.99!).
I just wanted to let you know that in a desperate attempt to only eat out of our freezer and pantry for a month we were running out of ideas. I had all these ingredients so I thought I would try it. No joke my picky 8 year old, 11 year old and 1 year old are all devouring it as we speak! They love it and the older kids want it in their lunch rotation :) Thank you for all the great budget friendly meals!
I’d love to make this, but I’m not a mayonnaise (no eggs) or parsley/raw onions person. Could I cut the pesto with olive oil and up the lemon juice? Maybe throw in some artichoke hearts instead of the onions?
Yes, that sounds delightful! I think it’s great to go with your gut feeling and experiment with recipes. :)
I’ve made this, but substituted plain yogurt for the mayo.
A good recipe. I liked it even better with some chopped Hass avocado.
This is SO good & SO quick to make.
I left out the onion (didn’t have any) & added tuna.
Really delicious!
YES! This was so good! I added tuna because I had it on hand & served on a bed of lettuce. I also cooked up my chickpeas from dried since I didn’t have any canned. Awesome recipe for a healthy filling lunch, I’m in love!
Looks so good and so healthy I have to try it. Tomorrow is my shopping day, so I’ll buy in the necessaries on your recommendation. Of course, if I don’t like it, I’ll never visit your site again (small chance!)
Best wishes to all and sundry, 2RM.
Serena – Although every grocery store will be different, sometimes you can find pesto in a couple different places. Try looking near the pickled vegetables like artichoke hearts and kalamata olives. Some stores will also stock pesto and sun dried tomatoes near the produce section too. If you can’t find a good price at that store, try exploring other grocery stores, too.
I’m sure you all already know this, but the main ingredients of pesto are pine nuts and basil. Neither are cheap, individually, so don’t expect low prices. The best thing to do is keep an eye on the product price, over weeks and months if necessary, and buy special offers when the opportunity strikes!
Where do you find pesto? The only one I found was by speghetti sauce and it was $5.99.
As a vegan I love using a single veryvery ripe avocado in this instead of mayo. Absolutely fabulous and a new go-to on nights I don’t want to cook!
Going to try this tonight!
Excited for the book and +1 about the metric measurements comment.
I made this for a work potluck party and everyone LOVED it. I have sent this link to so many people who were asking me about the recipe. Its sooo delicious… I added a bit extra mayo.
What a yummy and easy salad. And my kids loved it! I don’t use pesto (though I imagine pesto would be delicious, but it isn’t the healthiest). I also use a LOT more lemon juice (probably 4T) and 2T of dried dill instead of parsley.
I make something like this quite often for sandwich filling to take to work. I don’t use pesto (though I imagine pesto would be delicious, but it isn’t the healthiest). I also use a LOT more lemon juice (probably 4T) and 2T of dried dill instead of parsley. That helps up the flavor! A recipe of this size makes about 6 sandwiches.
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What a yummy and easy salad. And my kids loved it! I served it with roasted veggies with feta and cold sliced chicken. Delish!
I used chickpeas I had cooked in the crockpot and frozen-brought the cost down even further!
Beth, I just made this, and I absolutely loved it. So many good tastes together. It was delicious.
I am a huge fan of yours. Keep these awesome recipes coming!
Christoph – Glad you liked the salad!! I don’t have too many details on the book yet (still in the recipe development phase), but I think there are plans to sell international versions… if so, hopefully they’ll be converted. I’ll remember the request when we get to that stage!
Awesome recipe, just made it and it tastes great and is so fast!
And for your upcoming book, any chance of adding metric measurements? I’d buy it if it had those but it’s already a hassle having to the conversions on your website, in a cookbook I’d really like to have sane measurement units;)
Locaboca – haha, that’s not weird. A lot of people don’t like mayo. You can definitely make it without the mayo, it will just be less creamy and have less to sort of hold it together. You could try using an avocado in place of the mayo, that would be delicious and offer a similar creaminess and binding quality, or maybe even sour cream or greek yogurt.
Thanks for your sharing, it’s a good post, keep going and support you.
This recipe is so delicious, quick, and filling! I made it yesterday for lunch, had more for lunch today, and finished it off for dinner… And I usually like more variety in my day! I enjoyed it in a wrap and ate it with some crunchy Persian cucumbers, too. I didn’t know your book will be mostly vegetarian. I don’t eat a lot of meat so having tasty ideas with protein (beans, quinoa, etc) has been great, can’t wait to get your book!
I’m not a huge mayonnaise fan…does everything else overpower the mayonnaise flavor? This looks really good but I don’t want to taste the mayonnaise. I know I’m weird but I own it. LOL :)
Dawn – I don’t have a definitive time for how long the pesto will last, but it will last as long as other salad dressings. It’s mostly oil, nuts, and parmesan cheese, all of which have a long refrigeration life :)
Ashley – Actually, most of the book is vegetarian so it’s kind of opposite – there is a “meat” chapter! There may be a few meat recipes in other chapters, but a majority is vegetarian :) And there will be over 100 recipes so there will be plenty to choose from :D
Thanks for this! I made a rather disappointing chickpea salad the other day with the regular tuna fixins but wasn’t impressed. This, however, could save chickpea salad for me :) Also, will there be a vegetarian section in the cookbook? just curious!
Looking forward to the cookbook! Let us know!
I’m definitely trying this!
Just out of curiosity, how long does pesto last in the fridge?
Wow, you have a lot of spambots that apparently really love your site and speak in halting, broken, awkward English!
Glad to hear you are working on the book–any more details on it–my wife and I love your blog and are very very eager to get your book!
Phil
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