Adding to my short list of favorite nutrition-packed power salads: Balela Salad! And how fresh and festive too?!
This recipe is brought to you in partnership with USA Pulses and Pulse Canada!
Let’s start with a simple definition. In Arabic, the word “balela” means “cooked chickpeas.” Balela salad is an ancient Middle Eastern chickpea salad. It is simple, wholesome, bright, and flavor-packed. A winner on all fronts!
There are many variations of balela salad, but this recipe is closer to what you’d find in the restaurants and food joints of Alexandria, Egypt.
Balela Salad My Way
The gist: cooked chickpeas, chopped veggies, copious amounts of fresh herbs, and Mediterranean favorites like olives and sun-dried tomatoes. A zesty salad dressing with garlic and sumac brings everything together.
Tip: to allow the flavors to meld, make the balela salad ahead of time, at least a half hour before serving!
Turn your balela salad into a meal!
Clearly this beautiful and festive salad can be served as part of a special dinner. But with nourishing and satisfying chickpeas, being the star ingredient in balela salad, it can really stand alone as a meal. You can also serve it in warm pita pockets with a drizzle of tahini, or add it to an impressive vegetarian mezze platter with baba ganoush and roasted red pepper hummus.
Have you heard about the 1/2 Cup Habit?
I get excited when I see balela salad at my local deli. Good on them! It’s one brilliant way to pack lean protein and plant-based nutrition into your diet! And if there were a list of textbook-Mediterranean-diet-recipes, Balela salad would make the top!
As you know, one of the powerful secrets of the Mediterranean diet is in nutrition-filled pulses, like dry chickpeas; lentils; peas; and beans. Pulses pack a lot of protein, and they are rich in complex carbohydrates, fiber and B vitamins!
If you don’t already eat a good portion of pulses, a simple goal would be to add to your diet just ½ cup of pulses three times per week (a total of 1 ½ cups of pulses per week, which is what USDA recommends). This is what USA Pulses and Pulse Canada call the Half-Cup Habit! Check it out here. And, I’ve included some more of my favorite recipes below!
Balela Salad
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 15 mins
- Yield: 6 to 7 servings 1x
Description
This festive and wholesome Balela Salad is a Middle Eastern favorite! Filled with tons of nutrition from chickpeas and chopped veggies. And packs lots of flavor from fresh herbs, a zesty dressing, and Mediterranean favorites like olives and sun-dried tomatoes. A must-try!
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (or 2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed)
- 1/2 green bell pepper, cored and chopped
- 1 jalapeno, finely chopped (optional)
- 2 1/2 cups grape tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes), slice in halves if you like, or leave whole
- 3–5 green onions, both white and green parts, chopped
- 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes (use ones that have been preserved in jars with olive oil)
- 1/3 cup pitted Kalamata olives
- 1/4 cup pitted green olives
- 1/2 cup freshly chopped parsley leaves
- 1/2 cup freshly chopped mint or basil leaves
For Dressing
- 1/4 cup Early Harvest Greek extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- Salt and black pepper, a generous pinch to your taste
- 1 tsp ground sumac
- 1/2 tsp Aleppo pepper
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix together the salad ingredients: chickpeas, vegetables, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, and fresh herbs.
- In a separate smaller bowl or jar, mix together the dressing ingredients: extra virgin olive oil, white wine vinegar, lemon juice, minced garlic, salt and pepper, and spices.
- Drizzle the dressing over the salad and mix gentle to coat. Leave aside for 30 minutes before serving, or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- When ready to serve, give the salad a quick mix and taste to adjust seasoning if at all needed. Enjoy!
Notes
- Turn your babela into a meal! This wholesome, nutrition-packed salad can easily be turned into a meal. Serve it in warm pita pockets with a drizzle of tahini. Or add it to an impressive vegetarian mezze platter with baba ganoush and roasted red pepper hummus.
- Recommended for this recipe: Early Harvest Greek extra virgin olive oil (from organically grown and processed Koroneiki olives). And from our all-natural spice collection: Sumac and Aleppo Pepper.
- SAVE! Try our olive oil bundle or the Ultimate Mediterranean Spice Bundle! Or create your own 6-pack of spices!
- Category: Salad
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Keywords: Balela salad, Middle Eastern salad, healthy salad
More Recipes to Try:
Egyptian Vegan Stew with Peas and Carrots
Just made this salad but didn’t have chickpeas instead I had boiled fava beans. It was delicious! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Maece, that’s a great variation! Glad you enjoyed it!
I tweaked it to my tastes a bit ( no sun dried tomatoes and I only had Ancho Chili Powder available) and added chopped cucumber. This is a fantastic dish! So flavorful. Thank you!
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed it, Heather! Thanks for sharing!
Should I drain/rinse canned chickpeas before using?
Hi, Cori! Yes, drain and rinse chickpeas 🙂
I am a huge bean fan, I love to make salads with them, and I’ve never heard of this one, so I’m super excited to try it! Love the colors 🙂
Looks so good I think this will be tonight’s dinner…Thanks!
★★★★
Monica, I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for stopping in!
Loving the looks of this salad and the protein boost from the chickpeas!
I know it! So good!
WOW! This salad looks amazing! Thanks for sharing.
I hope you give it a try!
I think I just decided I am going to make this for Christmas Eve. Looks incredible!! The colors are amazing.
Awesome, Aggie! I hope you guys love it!
Wishing this was my lunch today!
Could easily be, eh? Super simple!
I love all the flavors in this salad!
Me too! Thanks for stopping in, Naomi!
I want this salad! I love how fresh it looks!
You’d love it!
This salad looks so yummy. I love the combination of olives with chickpeas.
It really is so good! Hope you try it!
This is my kind of salad! I love every single ingredient in it – so rich in nutrients and flavors!
It really is, Milena! Thanks for stopping in.
Gorgeous! I’ve never seen the word Balela before. Which is why I love cooking blogs!
Thanks, Mimi! Hope you give it a try!
Yes!!! Love chickpeas and mediterranean salads. Pinning.
★★★★★
Yay! Enjoy!!!
Oh my gosh, this is so colorful and flavorful, I LOVE IT.
It’s so good! Simple and flavor-packed. Hope you give it a try, Aimee!
Oh my goodness, I just adore the colors in this – it is so vibrant! Makes me want to just dive in! Really beautiful photography. 🙂
★★★★★
Thanks, Monica! I hope you’ll give this simple salad a try!
I love chickpeas! And my husband is a huge fan of olives. This sounds like a delicious salad!
★★★★★
You would love this salad! Enjoy!
Wow! This is one flavour packed salad!!! I would love to make a huge batch and eat throughout the week for quick lunches! YUM!
This would be perfect for meal prep! We eat it as lunch often!
This is very Mediterranean, I LOVE these ingredients. Your salad is so pretty with all of those colors, thank you for sharing your recipe!
★★★★★
Awesome, Tina! Glad you stopped in. Enjoy!