Chickpea Feta Salad
May 10, 2011 § 52 Comments
Beans! Beans! They are good for your heart.
The more you eat, the more you fart.
The more you fart, the better you feel.
So eat your beans at every meal!
Take a look at my tag cloud. It’s at the bottom of the page. See how big the word ‘beans’ is? Yeah, I like beans. A lot. It wasn’t always like that though. When I was younger I despised beans. I wouldn’t touch them, eat them, or even look at them. I must have been a royal pain. Luckily for my parents, my tastebuds have matured since then. Now many of the foods I used to hate are some my favorites!
Take chickpeas for example…
Chickpea Feta Salad
“A cool, refreshing salad packed with protein, fiber and veggies. It’s so good that bean haters will convert after one taste.”
Ingredients:
- 3 (15 ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 ½ cups cherry tomatoes, rinsed and halved
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
- salt and pepper, to taste
Directions:
- In a medium bowl, combine chickpeas, tomatoes, basil and garlic.
- In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, vinegar, and sugar until combined. Pour over chickpeas and toss together. Add feta cheese and toss gently. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve cold.
Yield:~5 cups bean salad (~10 servings)
My love for chickpeas was actually discovered as an accident. One summer I was at a 4th of July party over at my uncle’s house and he had set out a nice little platter of pita chips and hummus. Not knowing what hummus was made of, I grabbed a pita chip and took a huge scoop of hummus. I loved it. Before I knew it I was eating pita chip after pita chip topped with mound after mound of hummus. I wish I could have seen the surprised look on my parents’ faces when they saw me unknowingly eating beans.
At the time, if my parents had told me there were beans in my beloved hummus, I’m sure I would have sworn off hummus forever. Fortunately, my parents were no fools. They waited, and waited, and waited for my to find out on my own. Three years later I finally found out about the not-so-secret ingredient and, get this, I didn’t really care. As a matter of fact, that was probably the exact moment that I started loving beans. Especially chickpeas.♥
A few days ago I was feeling rather nostalgic about chickpeas, but since I already professed my love for chickpeas through hummus I decided to take a more summery approach. I decided to take a risk and randomly throw ingredients into a bowl. Tomatoes, feta cheese, fresh basil, and of course, chickpeas. After letting all the flavors “marinate” together for a few hours in the fridge, I took the first taste. Delicious. Fresh. Summery. Definitely worthy of bringing to your next family gathering or office potluck.
As a matter of fact, only 3 days after I originally made this salad I made it again for my annual Mother’s Day BBQ. It was a hit among everyone young and old. Even Phil liked it! Clearly he doesn’t share my childhood hatred of beans. 
Did you ever hate a certain food as a child and then later in life come to love it? What was it?
[...] Chickpea Feta Salad « [...]
I agree. I am in love with savory waffles. I have never had savory oats though.
Feta cheese is my absolute favorite. I think I could live off of it.
I have been loving cherry tomatoes lately, and chickpeas and feta have always been on the top of my list. This salad sounds deeelish!
Did any of us actually like brussel sprouts as a kid? I actually didn’t like them up until two months ago. Now I’m obsessed!
I know I didn’t! I used to gag when I saw my family eating them.
I have a whole blog post (under the recipe for Roasted Beet Gnocchi) about my rollercoaster love affair with beets. The show Doug’s main character loved beets, so at a buffet one day a 6 year old Bee piled her plate high with the ruby red fruit. Sadly, they were pickled, and I ended up spitting them out and the plate remained full. Years later I discovered the wonder of a roasted beet, and the rest is history. Hands-down my favorite veggie.
Chickpeas in non-hummus form though? I’m still working on it…
I’ve never actually liked chickpeas very much, but maybe they’re one of those foods I just haven’t learned to like!
These are really pretty pictures!
– still makes me laugh I’m not going to lie!
My dad used to sing the beans beans song all the time
Lol! That beans song makes me giggle every time
I hated beans when I was younger too… and tomatoes… and broccoli… and… well, pretty much everything healthy that I love now. I’m glad I finally came to my senses, though, because I wouldn’t change anything about the way I eat now.
I love Chickpeas!!!
Your pictures are always so pretty!!!
i agree with kat your pictures are beautiful!!!!feta is my fav cheese and I happen to have both chickpeas and feta hanging around…im thinking lunch tomorrow:)
I used to hate beans too! Clearly my taste buds have changed though. That salad sounds absolutely delicious btw. I’ve been on a huge feta kick lately too, so I think I just might have to try it out.
Delicious! Feta is my favorite cheese
I love your photos- they make everything look even more tasty!
I love feta cheese and chick peas so this is a perfect salad for me!
Ohh I remember my first hummus. It was magical.
“ohh my gosh what IS this stuff!”
Whitney
I used to hate olives when I was younger, but now I can’t get enough of them!
Yum! That salad looks amazing!!!!! There’s never really been any food that I didn’t like….hahahaha
Mmmm, this looks so good! And it combines lots of my favorite foods!!
I used to really hate nuts of any kind, especially pecans, now I love them!
ahh delicious!!! i loveee chickpeas! i used to HATE asparagus but now i LOVE IT!
I used to hate beans but now I am slowly starting to like them. I love chickpeas and am starting to branch out into others now
giiiirl, you’ve got skiiills. I’m so impressed. that looks delish!
Feta makes EVERYTHING bettah!! I dont actually like tomatoes, but they look pretty tasty in this dish!!
Chickpeas rock!! I’ve actually always loved them! I did used to hate zucchini though, and now I eat it several times a week. It’s funny how our taste buds change!
I need to make this RIGHT NOW! I think this might be a new favorite
Thanks for sharing!!
I hated a lot of things as a kid lol Veggies were not part of my diet and I hated cottage cheese. Now I’m obsessed. Love the chickpea feta salad. I have a tub of feta at home that I need to use up!
Mmm, that salad looks delicious! I don’t think it would taste as good with tofu though… maybe tuna?
I was the quintessential picky eater growing up. Nothing green, nothing that had anything to do with beans, definiely no meat except chicken, seafood was off limits, and anything with a weird smell or mushy, unappealing look to it. Basically I survived on PB&J sandwiches.
Now I love all those things, but my love for chicken has evaporated. I can’t stand tomatoes though, except very, very cleverly disguised.
I used to pick the onion out of a ragu…. now i eat everything with a few moral exceptions. Always looking for more recipes for pulses cheers
This looks so amazingly delicious and SO easy! Seriously wow and yum.
I used to hate tomatoes. They are my FAVORITE now.
I’m obsessed with brussels sprouts, chickpeas, oatmeal and I used to HATE all those foods. i love the blog world
This looks delightful, I am totally making this! I’ve got a almost-rotting tomato on the counter, feta in the fridge and chickpeas in the pantry!
I had a similar bean-hater to bean-lover conversion, hummus really is the gateway bean…
Great recipe, it looks simple and satisfying, just what I like. And feta cheese is such a wonder, I love it with everything.
I used to only eat grilled cheese, mac & cheese, egg salad and a ridiculous amount of potato chips. Now the only thing I dont like is fennel!!!
What a perfect summer salad!!
I used to hate any type of fish when I was young, but now it’s one of my favorite foods
Hahaha that poem’s so funny!
And this salad definitely looks so perfect for summer- I LOVE chickpeas! Something I hated as a kid but now like? Eggs!
I love these photos- did you take them yourself?
I can’t believe how good a cook you are at 15- when I was a teenager it was cheese on toast and pizza that I cooked when I was by myself!
Yup. All the photos were taken by me.
I sang the bean song for my class this quarter. Even though I’m only a few years older (and in some cases, I’m much younger) than my students, they think I am hands down the biggest loser around.
Feta is all over the blogoshphere today and I am LOVING it!!! That chickpea salad looks DELISH!
I love chickpeas and feta together!!
I didn’t like cilantro until I was in my 20s and now I buy it weekly and eat it all the time. I”m making up for all the yumminess I missed out on as a teen.
I’m still waiting to fall in love with beans and mushrooms and squash. Those are some blogger/foodie infatuations that I just cannot wrap my tastebuds around
It’s so pretty!!
AMAZING was the first thing that came to my mind when I saw this!!!
Chickpeas are my favorite bean EVER! 
<3
I hated sandwiches when I was younger. But I learned that what I really hated is soft bread, so now i eat sandwiches with toasted bread and I love it! Your chickpea/hummus story is so funny!
i’ve always loved most all vegetables… even broccoli, brussels sprouts, and turnips greens!
This looks SUPER good!! I love chickpeas
Hi Erika! I am a teenage girl and have just started my own blog! I love your blog and it isnpired me to start my own! If you get a chance to check it out, that would be wonderful and I would be so honored! Thank you for being an inspiration for me to start a blog! -Lauren
teeneatlive.wordpress.com
Thanks for the comment, Lauren. I’m going to check it out right now!
Oh yum!! This looks super yummy! I am bookmarking this one…I can’t wait to try it. I think it would be perfect to bring to a cook out.
This looks really yummy and might be what I have for lunch today. The feta is a nice touch! I definitely hated coffee, tea and salads as a kid but have all 3 frequently as an adult!!
[...] Chickpea Feta Salad [...]
Ever since I first knew of chickpeas 5 years ago i fell in love! Now I am even more in love though! This looks D-lish!
This looks delish! I love me some chickpeas
[...] Erika’s Chickpea Feta Salad … it was SO good! [...]
I love chickpea and feta together with lots of herbs. It’s simple to make and so healthy.
[...] of the first recipes I found and repinned when I joined Pinterest was this Chickpea Feta Salad from the blog Teenage Taste. Twenty-one weeks after pinning it, I just made it for the third time. [...]