Balela Salad (Middle Eastern Chickpea Salad)
Balela Salad is a quick and easy Middle Eastern chickpea salad featuring chickpeas and black beans, crisp veggies, and herbs. Tossed in a zesty lemon-sumac dressing, it’s light yet satisfying and perfect for meal prep or summer gatherings.
Fresh Middle Eastern Chickpea Salad
Balela Salad is a bright, fresh Middle Eastern-style chickpea salad featuring chickpeas and black beans tossed with tomatoes, cucumber, onion, garlic, parsley, and mint. A simple dressing of lemon juice, olive oil, sumac, salt, and pepper brings it all together for a light yet satisfying meal.
If you’re a Trader Joe’s shopper, you’ve probably seen their popular Balela Salad in the refrigerated section. My homemade version tastes just as good (if not better!) and is incredibly easy to make. I added diced cucumber for extra freshness and crunch, but otherwise stayed very close to the original.
We make this flavorful side salad regularly and love how versatile it is. It’s terrific served with arugula for a light meal, whether in a pita wrap or tossed into the salad itself. I know you’re going to enjoy this fresh and zesty salad as much as we do!
Ingredient Notes
Full of colorful, fresh ingredients, this chickpea salad is full-flavored and always on repeat! Ingredients include:
- Chickpeas (garbanzo beans) – Use canned or freshly cooked.
- Black beans – Use canned or freshly cooked.
- Roma tomatoes – This variety is great for chopping and using in salads. You can also use cherry or grape tomatoes.
- Red onion – Adds a nice pop of color and has a mellow flavor.
- English cucumber – Feel free to use regular or Persian varieties.
- Garlic – Use fresh or jarred minced for ease.
- Mint – Fresh mint is recommended.
- Parsley – Fresh is best.
- Sumac – I love using ‘New York Shuk’ – find at their online store or Amazon (affiliate link).
- Mineral salt & fresh cracked pepper – Use to taste.
- Olive oil – You can omit for an oil-free salad.
- Lemon – Adds a wonderful brightness to the salad.
What if I don’t have sumac?
The sumac called for in the recipe is a uniquely flavored spice. It’s noted for being slightly sour and bitter, as well as sweet and salty. If you don’t have it on hand, your salad will be fine without it. There is enough flavor from everything else to make it satisfying.
How To Make Balela Salad
Making this bean salad is easy as can be!
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas and black beans.
- Dice the veggies. I diced them on the smaller side so they would be about the same size as the beans or just slightly smaller. There is no need to skimp on the veggies; if you feel you’d rather use more of anything, by all means, add as much as you like!
- Assemble. In a large mixing bowl, combine the chickpeas, black beans, tomatoes, onion, cucumber, garlic, mint and parsley (shown above).
- Finishing touch. Add the sumac, a good drizzle of olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Mix well to combine (shown below).
This recipe makes a large batch, so you’re likely to have leftovers, which taste even better the next day!
Serving Suggestions
Balela Salad is delicious served chilled or at room temperature. While it’s traditionally enjoyed as a side dish, it’s versatile enough to become a light main as well.
Favorite Ways to Serve It:
- Toss with a handful of fresh arugula for a simple, peppery salad.
- Stuff into pita bread or wraps with a generous swipe of Hummus for a satisfying sandwich.
- Serve alongside warm Vegan Naan, falafel, or grilled vegetables for a complete Mediterranean-inspired meal.
It also pairs beautifully with quinoa, rice, or as a topping for grain bowls.
Storage & Make-Ahead
This salad stores well and can be made in advance. Here’s our best storage tips:
- Refrigerator: Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days. The flavors get even better the next day as everything marinates together.
- Make-Ahead: This salad is excellent for preparing in advance. You can make the full salad up to 3 days ahead. Just give it a good stir before serving.
- Freezing: Not recommended. The fresh tomatoes and cucumber will become watery and lose their crisp texture after thawing.
Tip: For the brightest flavor and color, add the fresh parsley and mint right before serving if you’ve made the salad a day or two ahead.
More Mediterranean Recipes!
- Mediterranean Kale Salad
- Favorite Hummus
- Mediterranean Mashed Chickpea Salad
- See all Mediterranean recipes on TSV!
If you try this easy chickpea recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I love to hear what you think, or any changes you make.
Print Recipe
BALELA SALAD
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: Serve – 6
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Balela Salad is a flavorful and nutritious Mediterranean chickpea & black bean salad brimming with fresh veggies, herbs, and sumac. It pairs perfectly with pita bread, arugula, and hummus.
Ingredients
- 2 cans (14 oz.) chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
- 1 can (14 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 firm roma tomatoes, seeds removed and diced
- 1/2 red onion, diced
- 1/2 English cucumber, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 teaspoon sumac
- mineral salt & fresh cracked pepper, to taste
- 3 – 4 tablespoons olive oil (I used a garlic-infused olive oil)
- juice of 1 large lemon
Optional ingredients to serve with:
- pita bread
- hummus
- arugula
Instructions
Assemble: In a large mixing bowl, combine the chickpeas, black beans, tomatoes, onion, cucumber, garlic, mint and parsley. Add the sumac, a good drizzle of olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Mix well to combine.
Serve at room temperature or chilled.
This salad is perfect on pita bread or Vegan Naan slathered with classic Hummus and layered with arugula. Alternatively, you can add a large handful of arugula to the salad and serve it with pita bread and hummus on the side.
Serves 6
Notes
Store: Leftovers can be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for 5-6 days.
Try adding a dash of cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes for a little heat.
If making wraps, try this Simple White Bean Hummus as an alternative to classic hummus.
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Category: Entree, Salad, Side
- Method: toss
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
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No clue how late I am to this Balela party, but I just made this again and had to come say Thank you!! I use lime juice & cilantro in lieu of lemon juice & parsley, then use the full amount of sumac + all other ingredients. I can hardly keep my spoon out of it.
I absolutely love this salad! Not growing up with eating chickpeas and black beans in South Africa, I have now fallen in love with it! Your recipes are the best ever!
We make a double helping of this every month, at least (easier since not tossing/wondering what to do with half a cucumber and onion!
I have tried it with sumac, and personally didn’t like the bitter, pungent taste. I read that lemon pepper could be substituted, and that’s what I use instead–works fabulously for this American palate lol. We aren’t vegetarians, so we add a little feta.
Thank you so much for this recipe–I’ve tried other variations and keep coming back to yours.
I looked up several Balela salad recipes after I kept going back to Trader Joe’s sometimes more than once in a single weekend to stock up on this. This recipe is my absolute favorite and one year in I have not slowed down in making it. I crave this all the time, as someone else has mentioned, it’s my potluck go-to, and I love to have some in the fridge for late-night cravings.
This is now my pot-luck go to. I receive a lot of compliments, it can be chilled or room temperature and so travels well. It is versatile because it can fit a lot of different dietary needs and preferences. I usually take a long a bowl of feta cheese and set that beside the salad as a topping option. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. It is now a standard in my home and among my friends.
I like to serve mine over plain Greek yogurt! The tartness of the yogurt is so good with the flavors of the salad!
Hi Julie! I haven’t been able to find the Trader Joe’s balela so I decided to try yours as the pic looked sooo appetizing. This knocked my socks off!! Love your addition of cucumbers. Like everyone else this was my first time buying sumac and I can’t wait to try it on a bunch of other stuff. Thank you for introducing me to a new spice!!
I have also made this salad from ingredients listed on Trader Joe’s. Just excellent. Goes so well with kebabs. I add a lot of chopped parsley and mint and lemon juice…and a little chopped jalapeño…. It can not go wrong.
I too read the Trader Joe’s label to try and figure out this beautiful salad. I bought my first ground sumac for it too! I also did a little internet searching to see what others had done. Your recipe is my favorite. This salad is wonderful and ground sumac is my new favorite spice. Recommended to herbivores and omnivores alike.
Costco introduced us to Balela – and we loved it! Once I discovered how quick and easy it is to make a huge batch, we’ve never bought it again. This recipe is superb, and the blend of flavors will knock your socks off! I swear I could make a meal off just this dish.