Balela salad is an all-time favorite nutrition-packed power salad. It’s fresh, satisfying, and totally festive. This is not your basic chickpea salad recipe!
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.
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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 Half 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!
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Browse all Mediterranean recipes.
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Balela Salad
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 3 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (or 2 15-ounce cans chickpeas), drained and rinsed
- 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 jalapeno, finely chopped (optional)
- 2 1/2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes, halved if you’d like (or you can leave them whole)
- 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
- 3-5 green onions, chopped (both white and green parts)
- 1/3 cup pitted Kalamata olives
- 1/4 cup pitted green olives
- 1/2 cup chopped parsley leaves
- 1/2 cup chopped mint or basil leaves
For the Dressing
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 teaspoon sumac
- 1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
Instructions
- Mix the salad. In a large bowl, mix the chickpeas, bell pepper, jalapeno (if using), tomatoes, green onion, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, and herbs.
- Make the dressing. In a separate bowl or jar, add the oil, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, sumac, Aleppo pepper, and red pepper (if using). Season with salt and pepper to taste and whisk to combine.
- Dress. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and mix gently to coat. Ideally, leave aside for 30 minutes before serving, or cover and refrigerate until you’re ready to serve.
- Serve. When ready to serve, give the salad a quick mix and taste to adjust seasoning if at all needed. Enjoy!
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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.
- Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients including olive oils, honey, jams, and spices.
Nutrition
*This post has recently been updated with new information for readers’ benefit.
Just so delicious tasking, great balance and textures.
I have your first book and now your second book wish should be on its way soon. It was pre- ordered.
Wonderful, Yvette! Thank you so much for all of your support! It means the world!
Delicious! And so easy to make. Thank you!
I can’t explain it, but I don’t like chickpeas. Could I use white beans for this recipe?
Absolutely! Enjoy!
Easy and delicious.
Why can’t it be printed??
Hi, Karen. If you hit the “print” button right under the recipe’s title, you should get a pop up window with a printer-friendly version. If you’re not seeing that, it may be that pop-ups are being blocked on whatever web browser you’re using (Chrome, Safari, etc.), so you’ll just need to go in and check your printer settings.
Hi, this looks amazing and I’m excited to try it. All the photos show dill is in this salad, but it doesn’t seem to be in the recipe at all and no mention of it. I assume it’s optional. I love dill, but wondering if it would fit better with the mint or basil or either?
Hi, Lauren. The dill is optional… Suzy usually adds a handful if she has some in the fridge. It would work with both mint and basil if you want to include it.
Outstanding crowd pleaser! Thank you!
Can I use za’atar spice instead of sumac? Thank you!
Hi, Karen. Technically, you can. Za’atar contains sumac, so you’ll get the same zippy flavor you’re looking for. However, you’ll also get notes of herbaceous, woodsy thyme and oregano, as well as nutty sesame. If you’re not looking for all of that added flavor, another great option to substitute sumac is simply lemon or lime zest.
Thank you for this detailed response.
So good! The dressing tied all the flavors together beautifully.
One of our favorite salads!
HI Suzy, do you have a second cookbook coming out? I have your first book and love it.
This was delicious and fresh. This will be on repeat.
Hi Suzy from Port Said – I am from Jamaica and I have made this salad before but it was eaten immediately. So I want to know how long can this salad sit in the refrigerator before it can be served. Two three days?
Hi, Fauna! This salad can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Enjoy!
Love this recipe!
Great recipe – I liked your comments about how it is adaptable, so I was able to make it easily with things I had on hand.
I’m commenting to thank you for the link to pulses.org! I signed up, and am happy to support the growers and other organizations listed as part of that site. I never would have heard of it otherwise, so I appreciate the information! Thanks!
Wonderful! So glad you found that helpful!