Chickpea Tuna Salad

This Chickpea Tuna Salad features canned tuna combined with chickpeas, cucumbers, red pepper, and capers tossed in a lemon-dijon vinaigrette. Delicious, healthy, and perfect for make-ahead lunches!

I am always on the lookout for healthy lunches I can make in advance. I don’t know about you, but somehow my mornings fly by, and it’s suddenly 1pm and I’m STARVING. And at that point, I’m ready to shove that slice of leftover cold pizza in my mouth rather than make myself anything that will take more than 5 minutes. Those days I'm thrilled to have a container of Chickpea Tuna Salad in the fridge.

This chickpea salad is very easy to make, and keeps well for at least 3 days in the refrigerator. I start by making a lemon-dijon vinaigrette, then stirring together drained chickpeas, chopped red bell pepper and cucumber, some minced red onion, capers, and some high-quality jarred tuna. Sometimes I serve it on crostini toasts, but more often I try for a gluten-free lunch and serve it on lettuce cups. Either way, I’m super happy with myself for eating a healthy meal that also happens to be filling and delicious. 

How to Make Lemon-Dijon Vinaigrette

To start, whisk together 3 tablespoons lemon juice and 1 tablespoon dijon mustard in a small bowl.

Then whisk in 6 tablespoons olive oil. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. 

How to Make Chickpea Tuna Salad

Rinse 2 cans of chickpeas well in a strainer, then let sit to drain well. Wash 1 large red bell pepper and 1 English cucumber, then chop into small, bite-sized chunks. Peel half of a red onion, then chop finely.

Combine chickpeas, pepper, cucumber, and red onion in a large bowl.

Drain 2 jars of tuna fillets, and use a fork to pull the fillets out of the jar and flake into the bowl with the vegetables.

Drain 2.5 tablespoons capers well, then add to bowl.

Stir gently, leaving some small chunks of tuna intact.

Stir in about half of the dressing. Taste, and add kosher salt and freshly ground pepper if needed.

Rinse salad greens, separate into leaves, and pat dry.

Serve spoonfuls of tuna salad into the salad green cups, or on top of greens if you are using loose salad greens. Drizzle with remaining dressing to serve. 

Ingredient Tips

This salad is extremely flexible. You can leave out the tuna entirely for a vegan version of this recipe—the chickpeas and veggies tossed with vinaigrette alone are delicious. You might also add some avocado on top. Here are some specific ideas for ingredient substitutions:

• Chickpeas: if you don’t have chickpeas, this recipe also works great with canned white beans or even black-eyed peas
• Red Bell Pepper: feel free to use a green or yellow bell pepper instead. You can also replace this with cherry tomatoes—that will give you that same bright red color that makes this dish so beautiful.
• English Cucumber: I prefer English cucumbers because they have fewer seeds and are less watery (and don't need to be peeled). If you want to use a regular cucumber, I'd recommend peeling off strips of the skin, and then cutting out the seeds before chopping the cucumber. This will help prevent the salad from becoming soggy. If you don't have cucumber at all, feel free to leave it out or replace with a little bit of chopped celery or green bell pepper.
• Red Onion: replace with shallots if you like, or a few chopped scallions
• Capers: if you don’t have capers, you could add some Kalamata olives instead to give you that salty, briny flavor. Or, leave them out and perhaps add some salty feta cheese on top. 
• Salad Greens: baby spinach, baby kale, or arugula would also be lovely with this chickpea salad.

Tuna Salad with Chickpeas FAQs

Storage Tips

This chickpea salad lasts well in the refrigerator when packed in an airtight container. Eat it within 3-5 days. I don't recommend freezing this salad, as the vegetables will become soggy when defrosted again. 

Other Delicious Lunch Ideas

Interested in other delicious ideas for lunch? Some of my favorite lunch options are grain bowls like this Vegan Buddha Bowl with Lemon Tahini Dressing, this Ramen Egg Rice Bowl, or this Quinoa Grain Bowl with Sesame Ginger Dressing.

If you love the make-ahead salad option, try my Orzo Pasta Salad with Black Beans and Corn—this is in my fridge quite frequently. This Curry Chicken Salad is another great gluten-free option that is easy to make in advance.

Or, if you’re looking for another recipe for sustainable seafood that also features chickpeas, check out my Sardines on Toast with Chickpea Salad.