No Lettuce Salad

This easy chopped salad is the perfect no-lettuce salad for any meal! It’s quick, refreshing, and so flavorful. Full of chickpeas, white beans, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and red onions tossed in a bright, zesty dressing, this lettuce-free salad is light but satisfying.

If you’re looking for a salad idea with no lettuce at all, then you’re going to love this chickpea and white bean salad. I love how easy it is to throw together and you don’t have to worry about any wilted greens!

 

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• This no lettuce salad is perfect for making ahead of time! You don’t have to worry about your lettuce getting soggy as it holds up wonderfully for meal prepping.
• You only need a handful of ingredients to make this easy veggie salad. Most of these ingredients you might already have on hand in your pantry!
• This salad is perfect as a light lunch or as a side dish. It’s also great for potlucks, BBQs, and picnics as this sturdy salad travels well.

Ingredients You’ll Need

• chickpeas — for ease, you can use canned chickpeas. If you’d like, you can use homemade chickpeas. I love using my instant pot to cook chickpeas as it’s convenient and I’ll use the extra chickpeas to make hummus. If using canned chickpeas, make sure to drain and rinse them well. One 15 oz. can of chickpeas yields around 1½ cups of chickpeas.
• white beans — you can use your favorite white beans. I usually use navy beans or cannellini beans. If you make your white beans from scratch and have extra, try making my white bean hummus!
• cherry tomatoes — you’ll need a small container of cherry tomatoes. You can also use grape tomatoes. If you can find either, Roma tomatoes would work in a pinch.
• red onion — I use half a red onion. You can mince it up finely if you don’t want bites of red onions. You can also simply chop it roughly and call it a day.
• cucumber — I use a seedless cucumber. English cucumbers without seeds are sweeter, so I prefer them. I don’t peel mine unless there’s a wax coating on it.
• vinaigrette — you’ll need olive oil, fresh lemon juice, garlic, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper for the salad dressing. I recommend using fresh lemon juice as it tastes brighter and tangier and doesn’t have a slightly bitter aftertaste that some bottled versions have. I also recommend using a good quality olive oil as it’ll be much more flavorful. If you want a stronger lemon flavor, I recommend using the lemon zest from the lemon as well!

How to Make No Lettuce Salad

• To a large bowl, add the chickpeas, white beans, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and red onions.

• Toss the ingredients to combine.
• Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper, and mix well.

• Drizzle over the salad. Toss again until well combined.

Recipe Tips and Notes

• If you’re using canned chickpeas and you find that they have a bit of a bitter taste, I like to cook them for a couple of minutes in broth and garlic powder to add flavor. To do so, I add the drained and rinsed chickpeas to a pot with enough broth to cover them with ½ a teaspoon of garlic powder. Then, I simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes before draining and cooling.
• If you have fresh herbs such as basil, cilantro, or parsley, they make for a fantastic addition to the salad.
• You can also add edamame, carrots, bell peppers, and/or corn to this salad. These are also delicious additions to this salad!
• This chickpea and white bean salad has a decent amount of protein but I like to add some grilled chicken or steak on top for even more protein and to make it even more filling.
• If you have the time, allow the salad to chill in the fridge to give all the flavors time to meld together.

Make Ahead Tips

• Meal prep: store the chickpea and white bean salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Enjoy straight from the fridge!

More Recipes To Try

• Chickpea Feta Salad
• Avocado Corn Salsa
• Spinach Strawberry Salad
• BLT Salad with Chicken

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