The flavors of the Mediterranean come together in this chickpea nicoise salad – a vegetarian take on the French classic!
Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Pompeian. As always, my thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep me inspired in the kitchen.
This salad makes me want to be a better person.
Like an eat all my veggies, never chooses The Mindy Project over a trip to the gym, doesn’t spend $20 on cheese when she has wedding bills to pay kind of person.
I’m in more of a work in progress phase.
Like, yesterday I ate this for lunch and dinner and I just happened to decide to go for a run instead of anxiously sitting on my couch in anticipation of a rodent sighting.
See. Progress.
Maybe tomorrow I’ll get really crazy and eat fruit for dessert instead of cookies.
A girl can dream.
Back in college when I was in crazy neurotic healthy mode (i.e. refused to let anything that was a complex carbohydrate touch my lips), I ate an absurd amount of tuna nicoise. Cold baked potato on the side, obvs.
There was something about the briny deliciousness of the olives and the crunchy sweetness of the haricot verts that allowed me to overlook the fact that it was served sans fromage (<–sacrilege).
Yes, somehow cheese was okay but potatoes were not. It was a confusing time.
Lately I’ve been craving those same flavors but decided to keep the whole thing vegan by trading out the tuna for chickpeas, and adding in some bell peppers and artichokes for extra oomph. The dressing is a simple lemon olive oil mix, made even more delicious by virtue of the fact that I used Pompeian’s new Premium Mediterranean Blend. Made with a mixture of olive oil, grapeseed oil, and canola oil, it has all the great flavor of extra virgin olive oil but with a higher smoke point so that it can be used in everything, from salads to stir fries.
Aside from the fact that it’s delicious and will help with that whole “eat your veggies” thing, the best part of this salad is how versatile it is: I ate it as is for lunch, wrapped up in flatbread for dinner, and will probably burrito it tomorrow.
While helping old ladies cross the street and saving damsels in distress.
Being a better person: it’s a real thing.
And it starts with this salad.
- 1 lb string beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 cups chickpeas
- 1 (14 oz) can artichokes, drained and coarsely chopped
- 1 (14 oz) can black olives, drained and halved
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
- In a medium pot, bring 4 cups salted water to a boil. Add the string beans and let simmer for 2-3 minutes. Drain.
- In a large bowl, toss together the string beans, pepper, onion, chickpeas, artichokes, black olives, olive oil, lemon and salt. Season to taste.
Bean salads make the best lunches. For more ideas, check out these:
Roasted Kabocha Squash and Chickpea Salad with Tahini Dressing
Spicy Squash Salad with Lentils, Brussels Sprouts and Goat Cheese
From Around the Web:
Greek Garbanzo Salad from The Girl Who Ate Everything
Chipotle Roast Sweet Potato and Black Bean Quinoa Salad from Closet Cooking
Black Bean Quinoa Salad with Orange Vinaigrette from Damn Delicious
Spicy Chickpea and Crispy Kale Salad with Chili Garlic Carrots from What’s Cooking Good Looking
Favorite Three Bean Salad from Country Cleaver
That looks like a good take-for-lunch salad. I think I’ll make that. I might slip in a small chunk of feta cheese on the side.
I used to be a crazy health freak in college too!…what the heck happened?! I need this salad for lunch AND dinner as well.
Mmmmhhmm. Lovin’ chickpeas!
Pinned this recipe for later. Looks like the perfect pack-able salad for work!
I love how bright and colorful this salad is! Would be so easy to pack for lunch at work – and great for a picnic also 🙂
Joanne,
I absolutely love your writing . . you are hilarious and reading your posts always brings a smile to my face! I never really went through a crazy neurotic healthy phase but do watch what I eat and eat my veggies of course . . dude, this salad .. and the dressing .. love it! and love the idea of wrapping it in flatbread! delish!
oh and why is the mouse still at large? did you put traps out?
I love simple refreshing salads like this but I definitely wouldn’t trade in the cookies, can’t have TOO much healthiness:-)
I wish I’d gone through a crazy healthy phase at some point in my life… carbs + cheese + me = bffl. This salad sounds like a tasty way to pretend I’m super healthy…. while I eat it on the couch in front of the TV. The way healthy people do, right?
I so relate to the $30 on cheese scenario…except for me, it tends to be the equivalent on carob bars and vegan baked goods. Probably worse than cheese, nutritionally speaking 😛 Luckily this salad is here to push me towards a better self too!
I love a good salad like this!! And honestly, I could use more salads like this in my life (ugh, wedding, I know you can commiserate with me on this). If it’s going to make me a better person, I’m all for it! 😉
what is it about college that we all are in that weird uberly healthy (or unhealthy) phase..i was all about sugar free and fat free stuff now i think back and ask myself what was wrong with you?? On a different note, this is definitely a great way to get your veggie intake.
Looks delish! I love all the textures in this!
Simple and perfect for lunch, I really like how it has all the food groups 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
I love this salad! I love the flavors of nicoise too, but I need to be in the mood for tuna…and I’m not always. Chickpeas are a favorite in my house…I’m going to make this today for lunch! Thanks so much…mwahh!
Your were really healthy in college? Me? Not so much.
This salad looks awesome… great flavors, textures, and colors. Yum.
Heck yeah, sign me up for a whole day of chickpea nicoise! I could definitely eat this salad meal after meal and love that it’s so full of mediterranean flavor. Those artichoke hearts?! Ugh gimme them all! I’d probably pick them out of the salad and eat them like they were the marshmallows in Lucky Charms. Need this stat!
First of all, it looks gorgeous. Love the idea of using chickpeas – it’s so satisfying and good for us. And I love being able to eat this as is or use it in a wrap. Great textures and flavors going on here.
That’s gorgeous. I love the blend of flavors here and I never can get enough olives and chickpeas. Everything I am sure comes together like a charm here.
If it makes you feel better – Mindy Lahiri would TOTALLY be on board with you skipping a workout to watch that show. This salad looks great! As you might have seen from my last post, I’m a big, big fan of chickpeas. Like, I hoard cans of them in my pantry. The love runs that deep. I’ll have to try this salad soon!!
Now you’re talking my language ! Love simple and healthy salads !!!
Healthy and delicious salads always make my day!
This salad looks soo colorful and delish, I wouldn’t be missing the tuna at all!
Hey, you can always have your Mindy Project AT the gym. Have it all! 🙂 This is my favorite kind of salad! Huge and bursting with flavors, but hearty and totally viable for an entire lunch. Yay!
I don’t like tuna, so this is my new favorite nicoise.
Very nice! I know I would feel extremely virtuous after eating this salad. Even though I’m a work in progress kind of person too and would probably add some cheese!
Perfect salad! I could eat this every day of my life.
Love the texture and flavors in this salad.
Great salad ! What a great idea to opt out the tuna and use chick peas instead – yum !!
This looks delicious! I love chickpeas and I’m always looking for some new way to use them!
I like how versatile it is, Joanne. 🙂 All that fresh goodness would be marvelous in a wrap.
Love this idea!
the Mindy Project and $20.00 cheese is always the right answer! This salad is so my kind of salad! Chickpeas, olives, and veggies are the perfect combo 🙂
Hi Joanne, love chickpeas, great salad. Hits every note!
I love the colors of this salad. Looks like a salad that I would enjoy.
I love the twist on this classic salad, Joanne. It surely looks very delicious with chickpea.
I would totally rather be eating this salad than waiting around to spot the mouse too. This is such a great veggie version of the classic salad. Love everything about it especially all those glorious chickpeas!
So simple, yet looks sooo delicious!
It’s interesting that since the mouse moved in, you’ve had to move out and take yourself on long-distance runs. But think of the health benefits with all that extra exercise! And you’ll have plenty of energy if you enjoy a few bowls of this vegetable-packed salad xx
This salad makes me want to be a better person, too. But I also believe that spending $20 on cheese is totally acceptable. Totally.
Love your adaptation Joanne 🙂
I love Nicoise salad and love chickpeas (had them in the salad I just finished eating!), so I will have to try the substitute for the tuna! Your photos are gorgeous!
Being responsible is way over rated!! But eating a great salad I am all for!
I think I need to make more salads like these if it has that kind of effect 😉
Looks amazing, Joanne!
this looks so good and healthy I have already bookmarked it – just right for our warmer weather – I could eat this for lunch every day and I am sure it would make me a better person
I’ve NEVER had a nicoise salad of any kind, but this is the first one I want to try!