Crunchy Garbanzo Summer Salad with Creamy Dill Dressing (2025)

Garbanzo Salad with Creamy Dill Dressing is a delicious and filling main or side dish. This tasty salad features crunchy veggies like cucumber, bell pepper, and carrots with wheat berries, creamy chickpeas and a rich and creamy dill dressing. It’s make-ahead ready and holds well in the fridge, making it an ideal salad for meal prep. Many readers have used different grains with success. See comments below! This recipe is vegetarian, vegan, and easily gluten-free.

Crunchy Garbanzo Summer Salad with Creamy Dill Dressing (1)

Highlights of Garbanzo Summer Salad

Do you call these little peas garbanzo beans or chickpeas? Before I started blogging, I only knew them as garbanzo beans. Funny name. Now, I mostly refer to them as chickpeas. Garbanzo beans and chickpeas are the same legumes, so you can use them interchangeably.

This Garbanzo Salad is ago-to summer saladbecause it can hang out in the fridge for days. It’s make ahead ready making a tasty work-week lunch or at the ready side dinner salad.It has loads of texture with delightfully chewy wheat berries, crunchy carrots, bell peppers, cucumber, and creamy chickpeas. The lemon and garlic dill dressing is SO dreamy!

This Recipe Is:

  • Crunchy
  • Herby
  • Make Ahead Ready
  • Vegan and Vegetarian, easily Gluten Free

If you love hearty DinnerSaladsand Summer Salads, you’ll enjoy this recipe!

Crunchy Garbanzo Summer Salad with Creamy Dill Dressing (2)

Ingredients You’ll Need

Fresh veggies, cooked chickpeas, herbs, and a creamy dill dressing make a satisfying and filling salad. This chickpea salad recipe calls for 7 cups of chopped veggies (not including the onions). Feel free to play with the ratios depending on what you have on hand or prefer. Here’s what you’ll need to whip up this garbanzo bean salad recipe (see recipe card for details).

For the Salad

  • Wheat Berries: They have a mild nutty flavor, chewy texture and are whole grain. Look forhard red or hard white wheat berries (not pearled wheat berries) in the bulk bins for best valuemaking sure to buy organic if possible. The pearled variety cooks faster, but the outer bran has been removed to achieve added convenience. You can subshort grain brown rice for a delicious gluten-free option.
  • Cooked Garbanzo(Chickpeas) Beans: Use canned or home-cooked; the chickpeas should be soft yet still have some tooth.
  • Cucumber: Adds a nice crunch, hydration and cooling effect. Leave the skin on for more texture. If desired, the seeds can be scraped out, but it’s not necessary for this salad.
  • Bell Peppers: For crunch, color and sweetness, I like green and red bell peppers, but you can use any variety you like.
  • Carrots:Add color and a hint of sweetness, you can use all orange carrots or the rainbow variety that includes purple carrots.
  • Red Onion:Just a 1/4 cup is all you need. Red onion can be sharp, so if desired, you can soak the diced onion in water for about 10 minutes, drain and pat dry. I toss em’ right in without soaking them.
  • Fresh Herbs:You’ll need fresh parsley and chives for the salad. Add more or less to taste.

For the Creamy Dill Dressing

  • Mayonnaise:Use your favorite high-quality mayo here. I like Vegenaise. This dressing is pretty light, so if you prefer a little more robust creaminess, add an additional 2-3 more tablespoons of mayonnaise and a splash more lemon juice to the dressing.
  • Apple Cider Vinegar and Fresh Lemon Juice:Both add a sharp, fresh flavor to the dressing.
  • Fresh Garlic: Adds an earthy flavor, interest, and a little spice to the garbanzo salad.
  • Fresh Dill:The tastiest part of the salad dressing! Chop fine so you don’t get a big chunk all in one bite. You’ll need two teaspoons. If you’d like to substitute dried dill, use 3/4 teaspoon.
Crunchy Garbanzo Summer Salad with Creamy Dill Dressing (3)
Crunchy Garbanzo Summer Salad with Creamy Dill Dressing (4)
Crunchy Garbanzo Summer Salad with Creamy Dill Dressing (5)
Crunchy Garbanzo Summer Salad with Creamy Dill Dressing (6)

At a Glance: How to Make Garbanzo Salad with Dill Dressing

Unsoaked wheat berries take a little under an hour to cook.Ifsoaked 8-12 hours, they’ll take about 35-45 minutes to cook. Depending on how chewy you like your wheat berries, you can cook them longer for a softer tooth. Here’s how to whip up this tasty salad (see recipe card below for details):

  • First, put your wheat berries on to cook in a pot with a tight-fitting lid. I like to use a Dutch oven.
  • Second, while the wheat berries are cooking, chop all the veggies and herbs. Set aside in a large mixing bowl.
  • Third, in a small bowl whip up the creamy dill dressing by adding mayo, minced garlic, lemon, apple cider vinegar, fresh chopped dill, andsalt. Whisk until creamy and smooth.
  • Next, once the wheat berries are done cooking, drain off excess water and rinse under cool water.
  • Last, add the wheat berries to the chopped veggies and pour the dressing over the salad. Toss and chill.

This salad is best served chilled and after the flavors marry. It lasts for about three days in the fridge, making it so convenient for a ready-made lunch.

Crunchy Garbanzo Summer Salad with Creamy Dill Dressing (7)
Crunchy Garbanzo Summer Salad with Creamy Dill Dressing (8)
Crunchy Garbanzo Summer Salad with Creamy Dill Dressing (9)
Crunchy Garbanzo Summer Salad with Creamy Dill Dressing (10)

About Wheat Berries

What berries are whole wheat kernels without the husk. There’re multiple varieties available, including hard and soft. Milled wheat berries produce whole wheat flour.

Look for hard winter red wheat berries or hard winter white wheat berries for this recipe. They both have about the same flavor and texture. Hard red wheat berries take just a little longer to cook. Once cooked, they have a very chewy texture with a mild, nutty flavor.

They take close to an hour to cook (unsoaked), but because of this, you can adjust to desired chewiness. Start checking the wheat berries at about 40 minutes. If they’re too tough, continue cooking for another 10-15 minutes.

Cooked wheatberries are delicious in salads like Roasted Beet and Wheat Berry Orange Salad and stews like Smoky White Bean and Kale Wheat Berry Stew.

Crunchy Garbanzo Summer Salad with Creamy Dill Dressing (11)

Expert Tips

  • Gluten-Free? since wheat berries are not gluten-free, you can easily substitute cooked short or long-grain brown rice or quinoa for the wheat berries in this garbanzo bean salad with delicious results.
  • Chopped Veggies:for this recipe you’ll need about 7 cups of chopped veggies (excluding the onions). Feel free to play with the ratios depending on preference or what you have on hand.
  • For a Creamier Salad: the salad dressing is light but flavorful. If you prefer a bit more creaminess, add an additional 2-3 tablespoons of mayo to the creamy dill dressing.
  • Freezer Friendly: wheat berries freeze with ease. If meal prepping, you can cook the wheat berries, cool completely and freeze for up to two weeks.

More Garbanzo Bean Salad Recipes to Make

  • Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad with Chickpeas
  • Smashed Chickpea Salad Sandwich
  • Grilled Panzanella Salad with Quinoa and Chickpeas
  • Vegan Chicken Salad with Chickpeas

Crunchy Garbanzo Summer Salad with Creamy Dill Dressing Recipe

Total Time:1 hour hour

Servings:6 -7 side salads

Calories:252kcal

Author:Traci York

Hearty, delicious, and full of vibrant veggies, this salad holds beautifully for up to three days making it ideal for meal prep. It travels with ease for picnics, potlucks or packed lunches. This recipe is vegetarian, vegan, and easily gluten-free.

You'll need about 7 cups chopped veggies (excluding the onion). Play with the ratios and adjust to preference. For example, want more cucumber? Reduce the amount of carrots by 1 cup, and add an additioanl cup of cucumber.If you looove dill, add a few more tsp to the mix.

*This recipe serves 6-7 side salads. For dinner salads, it serves 4-5.

Ingredients

For the Salad:

  • 1/2 cup (135 grams) Wheat Berries* (see note) Hard white or red. For GF try brown rice.
  • 3 cups (750 grams) Water
  • Big Pinch of Fine Sea Salt
  • 1 1/2 cups (252 grams) Cooked Garbanzo (Chickpea) Beans or 1, 15 oz can, drained and rinsed
  • 1 1/2 cups (175 grams) Red Bell Pepper about 1 large pepper, diced small
  • 1 1/2 cups (205 grams) Green Bell Pepper about 1 large pepper, diced small
  • 1 1/2 cups (190 grams) Cucumber skin on, about 1 medium diced small
  • 2 1/2 cups (300 grams) Carrots peeled, diced small, about 7 small carrots
  • 1/4 cups (30 grams) Purple Onion finely diced
  • 1/4 cups (10 grams) Curly Parsley chopped
  • 2 tablespoons Chives chopped

For the Dressing (see note**):

  • 1/3 cup (75 grams) High Quality Mayonnaise I like Veganease
  • 1 tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons Lemon Juice
  • 2 teaspoons Garlic minced, about 2 medium cloves
  • 2 teaspoons Fresh Dill chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoons Fine Sea Salt
  • Fresh Ground Pepper to taste

Instructions

For the Salad:

  • In a small sauce-pot or Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid, add the water, salt and bring to a boil. Rinse the wheat berries in a colander then drop them in the boiling water. Cover the wheat berries with a lid, turn the heat to med-low and simmer for up to 55 minutes. Start checking the wheat berries at about 40 minutes to see if they are as soft as you prefer. If not, keep them cooking another 10-15 minutes. The wheat berries are done when tender, but still have a good chew. Red wheat berries take about 10 minutes longer to cook.

    Once done, rinse under cool running water and drain throughly.

  • Meanwhile, chop all the veggies and herbs and transfer them to a large mixing bowl. Once the wheat berries are done, transfer them to the bowl with the veggies.

For the Dressing:

  • Place the mayo, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, dill, salt and a few grinds of pepper in a small mixing bowl and whisk. Set aside.

To Assemble:

  • To the mixing bowl with the veggies and wheat berries, add the parsley and chives. Pour dressing over the salad and stir ingredients until evenly distributed.Adjust seasoning to taste with salt and fresh ground black pepper and more herbs if desired. Cover and chill for at least an hour before serving so the flavors have time to marry. Garnish with lemon wedges, dill and parsley. Refrigerate for up to three days.

Notes

*Wheat Berries: Soaking grains 8-12 hours make them easier to digest. I’ve not committed it to habit yet, but I’ve cooked wheat berries soaked and unsoaked. The cooking time only varies slightly. If soaked, start checking your wheat berries at about 35 minutes, if unsoaked 40 minutes for a texture check. It’s really up to taste how far you want to take them – chewier (less time) or softer (more time).
**As written, the dressing is light. For a creamier dressing, add up to two more tablespoons of mayo when mixing the dressing.
Recipe adapted from PCC Natural Markets.
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 252kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Sodium: 314mg | Potassium: 513mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 10506IU | Vitamin C: 88mg | Calcium: 67mg | Iron: 2mg

Made It? Leave a comment below! The most helpful comment may include recipe rating, feedback, any modifications and/or helping other commenters. On Instagram? Take a snap of your make and share, tagging @VanillaAndBean #VanillaAndBean!

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Crunchy Garbanzo Summer Salad with Creamy Dill Dressing (2025)
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